Hawks want point guard for roster spot

The Hawks are evaluating options to fill their 15th roster spot, but the player most likely will be a true point guard.

Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said the team plans to fill the final spot and is looking over the international, NBA D-League and buyout markets. The Hawks will consider 10-day contracts and end-of-season contracts.

“We are still constantly looking at the list and evaluating who might be the right person or the right fit for us,” Budenholzer said Wednesday morning. “Obviously, we haven’t made a decision, but it’s a pretty constant dialogue.”

Jose Calderon is “one of the possibilities,” according to a person familiar with the situation. The team’s interest in the point guard, who recently was bought out by the Lakers, was first reported by ESPN’s Marc Stein.

The Hawks have an open spot after waiving Lamar Patterson over the weekend. The Hawks brought in Gary Neal and Patterson on 10-day contracts before the NBA trade deadline. Both are combo guards. Budenholzer said the most likely scenario will be a true point guard.

“We obviously brought in a guy like Gary (Neal) who is more of a (shooting guard/ point guard),” Budenholzer said. “I think the 15th guy has to have some point guard in him, if not just a stone-cold point guard, which is probably more likely.”

The buyout market will be set today with the NBA’s playoff eligibility waiver deadline. Players must have been waived by their current team by midnight Wednesday to have time to clear waivers and sign with another team before the deadline for postseason eligibility.

Howard dissatisfied with clarification: Dwight Howard is glad the NBA clarified that he should not have been ejected from Monday’s win over the Celtics for picking up a second technical foul, but not appeased.

“I wasn’t satisfied about it,” Howard said Wednesday. “I was put out of the game. If things would have happened where they came back and we would have lost, that would have been a bad situation. The good thing about it is we got the win.”

Howard picked up a pair of third-quarter technical fouls in the 114-98 win over the Celtics. The first came when he shoved the Celtics’ Al Horford after a foul. The second came five minutes later when he hung on the rim after an offensive rebound and dunk. The NBA issued a clarification following the game that because the second technical was “non-unsportsmanlike” it was not cause for ejection.

“It was a tough situation, and I’m glad it got cleared up,” Howard said. “There is nothing we can do about it now. I’m glad we got the win. That’s the only thing that matters.”

The non-unsportsmanlike technical foul counts in the game, but does not count against ejection or Howard’s season total. He is up to 10 after the latest that were issued. A player who reaches 16 technical fouls is a season receives a one-game suspension. He also faces a one-game suspension for every two technical fouls after the limit.

Budenholzer said he has impressed upon Howard since the start of the season how important it is that he remain on the floor.