With the introduction of two-way contracts in 2017, NBA teams have a multitude of manners of retaining talent to be able to develop into standard contract players down the line. Under these kinds of contracts, teams are able to option players to a G League affiliate when desired while also calling them up to practice and even appear for the senior team if needed.
This offseason, teams are now allowed a maximum of three two-way contracts at a time. And the Hawks like many have already taken advantage of that roster flexibility by using two tenders on rookies.