Hawks sign forward Chris Silva to Exhibit 10 contract

The Atlanta Hawks have signed forward Chris Silva to an Exhibit 10 contract. Silva went undrafted out of South Carolina in 2019.

On July 11, 2019, the 6’8″ forward signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Miami Heat. Three months later, he signed a two-way contract with Miami.

In his rookie 2019-20 season, through 44 games played off the bench, Silva averaged 3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

https://twitter.com/SilvaObame/status/1562935111263322112

On October 23, 2019, the forward’s NBA debut, Silva finished with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks in the Heat’s 120-101 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Then, his deal was converted into a standard contract on January 15, 2020.

In 11 games played with Miami in the 2020-21 season, while shooting 69.2% from the field, the forward averaged 2.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.

Hawks sign forward Chris Silva to an Exhibit 10 contract

On January 14, 2021, in the Heat’s 125-108 road loss against the Philadelphia 76ers, Silva scored a career-high 13 points in 21 minutes of action. He finished 4-for-6 (66.7%) shooting from the floor.

Additionally, the Heat traded Silva and Maurice Harkless to the Sacramento Kings for Nemanja Bjelica on March 21. He appeared in just four games with Sacramento. The forward was then waived by the Kings a month later.

On September 20, Silva signed a contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Of course, he was then waived by the team on Oct. 15.

Two months later, he signed a 10-day contract with Minnesota. But the forward only appeared in one game.

On Oct. 26, he signed with the Iowa Wolves, the team’s NBA G League affiliate. In 12 games played with Iowa, Silva averaged 15.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Also, he averaged 57.8% shooting from the field.

In the Wolves’ 105-103 loss to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on Dec. 10, Silva ended his performance with a career-high 32 points. He amassed 18 rebounds too. He definitely has potential to make it on the Hawks.

Equally important, in the 2021-22 Showcase Cup, he ranked eighth in total rebounds (117), 15th for made free throws (27) and 17th for made 2-point field goals (66). He’s an excellent G League player.

Over the next five weeks from December 2021 to January 2022, Silva signed four 10-day contracts with the Heat.

In nine games off the bench with Miami last season, the forward averaged 2.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Plus, he averaged 53.3% shooting from the floor.

NCAA statistics and accomplishments

Furthermore, in four years and 134 games played at South Carolina in the NCAA, Silva averaged 21.7 minutes, 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. He shot 50.8% from the floor and 50% from downtown as well.

At the end of his junior 2017-18 season, Chris Silva was selected to the SEC All-Defensive Team. And the forward won SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year.

In Silva’s senior 2018-19 season, he was selected to the All-SEC First Team and SEC All-Defensive Team. He averaged a career-high 15.2 points per game during his final college season.

If the soon-to-be 26-year-old plays well in the G League next season, he will benefit the Hawks’ frontcourt in the coming future.