'Everything's just falling into place' for Kent Bazemore in return to Hawks
ATLANTA -- They awoke at 2 a.m. in Hawaii last month and drove an hour and a half to the top of Haleakala Mountain. Some 10,000 feet up, they watched the sunrise -- and Kent Bazemore made his move.
"(We) went to this secluded spot and we were like right above the clouds," The Hawks swingman recalled Wednesday. "Then the sun came up and I did it. ... She's still talking about it."
Bazemore got engaged to Samantha Serpe, then days later opted to remain in Atlanta on a four-year, $70 million contract, and just this week he was approved for a mortgage. Commitments, in so many shapes and forms, have truly defined Bazemore's summer.
"Everything's just falling into place," the 27-year-old said. "It's been an amazing summer and it's just been a testament to the belief in my support system and the hard work I put in."
Sitting at a table on the basketball court at the William Walker Recreational Center -- alongside new teammate Dwight Howard, who played on the court as an Atlanta youth -- Bazemore discussed the most high profile of his undertakings.
"This is so cool," Bazemore said, surveying a crowd that included Serpe, his family and stands filled with school-aged basketball campers. "One of the high points of my life, and you couldn't choose a better place to be. I said I wouldn't get emotional ... "
“I said I wouldn’t get emotional, but I just love it here...Why walk away from something so perfect?” @ATLHawks' #24 pic.twitter.com/ZaGJQ8MCya
— FOX Sports Southeast (@FOXSportsSE) July 13, 2016
From undrafted out of Old Dominion in 2012 to earning a place in the league, one which he solidified in the Hawks in 2015-16 -- his first as a full-time starter in the NBA -- the reality of how far he'd come took hold.
"I just love it here," Bazemore said, fighting back tears. Hawks general manager Wes Wilcox put his hand on his shoulder as he continued. "... It just made sense. Why walk away from something so perfect? ... Its not often in this league where you can say you want something to happen and it happens. So when you get to come back, it's that more special."
Needing to pick up for the Atlanta's previous 3-and-D find DeMarre Carroll, who left for the Raptors, Bazemore averaged career-highs nearly across the board, helping the Hawks advance to the second round of the playoffs before falling to the eventual champion Cavaliers in four games.
He scored 11.6 points per game along with 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists, and shot at 44.1 percent from the field, all while posting 4.1 win shares and 3.8 defensive win shares.
Like Carroll, who became a hot commodity on the open market after breaking out with the Hawks, Bazemore was sought after. He reportedly was offered four-year, $72 million deals from the Lakers and Rockets, but met with just one team, Houston. It brought a contingent of Hall of Famers Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon, James Harden and coach Mike D'Antoni to Atlanta to fete him.
"It was a pretty tough presentation," Bazemore said. "They gave me this huge iPad and it had like these Samsung goggles where you can do the tour (of Toyota Center). I was like 'These dudes are serious.'"
But there were uncertainties with the reloading Rockets in Bazemore's mind -- Howard hadn't decided to leave for Atlanta at that point, and Harden had yet to agree to his four-year, $118 million contract extension -- and he had found comfort in Atlanta, in the style of play and with coach Mike Budenholzer.
"It just feels like home" @24Bazemore is proud to be back with the @ATLHawks and is 100% #TrueToAtlanta pic.twitter.com/qEnhPqnOIg
— FOX Sports Southeast (@FOXSportsSE) July 13, 2016
"You can't fathom this stuff," Bazemore said of his journey. "The emotion that I had today was the first time feeling that way in a long time. I struggled living in the moment, so when it does happen, it all kind of crumbles at once. I'm working on that, but life is great. Life is great."
The Hawks will have a different look in 2016-17, chiefly with Dennis Schroder likely claiming the starting point guard duties with Jeff Teague having been dealt to the Pacers, and Howard joining Paul Millsap on the front line now that Al Horford has joined the Celtics.
But how it all gels and whether Atlanta will be in position to advance past the second round of the playoffs for the third straight year can wait. For now, Bazemore is simply basking in a life-changing summer -- one that showed a return on his investment in self.
"It's good when you put in that hard work that it benefits you," Bazemore said. "It just motivates me and I've been, just after all this stuff, so motivated to continue to do what I'm doing and just keep reaching.
"That's all I've been doing since I left college is just reaching and reaching and reaching. Everything's been falling into place."
Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney and Facebook. His book, 'Tales from the Atlanta Braves Dugout: A Collection of the Greatest Braves Stories Ever Told,' is out now, and 'The Heisman Trophy: The Story of an American Icon and Its Winners' will be released Nov. 1, 2016.