Tiago Splitter has sustained a grade 2 right calf strain. An MRI performed at the Emory Orthopaedics & Spine Center confirmed the injury.

Splitter suffered the injury while rehabbing from offseason hip surgery and related hamstring strain.

Splitter will be out a minimum of six weeks and his status will be updated as appropriate.

Dwight Howard believes he is in a better place back in his hometown with the Atlanta Hawks, finally mature enough to handle his responsibilities, find the right work/life balance and cut off any unnecessary distractions.

“For people who didn’t know me and didn’t know how hard I worked, it gave a perception that that’s all I’m about is goofing off. That’s not me at all,” Howard told The Vertical. “I take what I do serious but at the same time, I want to have fun while I’m doing it. I didn’t like hearing that.”

Howard has visited at least 10 juvenile detention centers across the country, all during a period in his career in which he had injuries and personality clashes with teammates.

“I wouldn’t say these last couple of years have been challenging,” Howard told The Vertical. “I don’t live with regrets. These last couple of years of my basketball career, what it did was, it kind of molded me and shaped me into the person that I am today. I don’t look at my past as being something bad, but something that has kind of put me in a great position. Spending time with these kids, the only thing it did was give me motivation to continue to push forward and not allow some of the things that have happened to me in my career stop me from being the best that I can be.”

Howard admits he still wonders what could have been if he ended up with the Brooklyn Nets in 2012.

“But I’m a big believer that everything happens for a reason. There is a reason why the Brooklyn thing never happened. I thought it was going to be great, but all that stuff just led to me being back home in Atlanta, to the best situation possible for me,” Howard told The Vertical. “It’s the perfect time, perfect situation, perfect team. Everything has been great. All the things I’ve always prayed for and asked for, this team has it, and it’s crazy that it’s my hometown team. And we’re all very grateful.”

Howard is nearing his 31st birthday and is growing more reflective.

“When I first came in the league, I thought I was going to play forever. I still want to play until I’m 40, but I thought I was going to play basketball until I was 60. That’s what happens when you’re young. Once you get older, you realize there are lot of things that are important.

“I know who I am, but in this world, people always try to force you to be what they want you do be, instead of who you are,” Howard told The Vertical. “For a lot of us basketball players, we come into the NBA so young and your whole life is put out there on blast, and you’re forced to have to grow up in front of the world. The world sees all the good things, but they also see all the failures that you have, so you’re forced to really grow up and sometimes you just want to be a kid, but you can’t. There are lot of great life lessons that I’m learning, but I’m happy to see my progress.”

Howard is optimistic about this stage of his career.

"I would say the phase that I’m in now is going to be better and more rewarding than the beginning of my career.”

Nate Duncan coined the phrase "Hawks University" for the way the Atlanta Hawks have developed several younger players in recent seasons during the tenure of Mike Budenholzer and Wes Wilcox.

“We’ve heard rumors. It’s humbling to be referenced in that way," said Wilcox. "But really, (Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer) has really set the tone for us in that our goal every day is to just get better whether it’s in the front office, whether it’s on the court, whether it’s in athletic performance. That really has permeated all of basketball operations and maybe the organization as a whole. We come in every day with the mindset that we are going to get a little bit better today. We are going to work our butts off. I don’t hear it all. It’s flattering but we just keep our heads down and keep on working.”

Budenholzer wasn't familiar with the term when asked about it recently.

Dwight Howard was ejected late in the fourth quarter in the Atlanta Hawks' 100-96 loss at the Charlotte Hornets after throwing an elbow at the head of Cody Zeller.

Before the possession that ended with the hit on Zeller, Howard appeared to get frustrated with him at the other end of the court when he got boxed out on a free throw.

"It wasn't like I tried to hit him in the face," Howard said after the game, "but my job is to protect my house at all costs. I am making no apologies for it. I can't do nothing but live with it."

Asked if he thought the foul was flagrant, Howard responded, "It's basketball."

Zeller said after the game he didn't think Howard's elbow to the face was a dirty play.

"I have taken a lot of hard hits with two older brothers," Zeller said. "I knew it was going to be a physical game. But it was a huge play in the game because they couldn't go to him late in the game and we went on a run."

The Atlanta Hawks have acquired the right to own and operate an NBA D-League team that will play in College Park, Ga., beginning with the 2019-20 season. Additionally, the City of College Park has agreed to construct a 3500-seat arena in which the new franchise will serve as the primary tenant. With the purchase, the Hawks become the 16th NBA team to own and operate an NBA D-League affiliate, while the NBA D-League grows to 23 teams.

“Today’s an exciting day in the NBA D-League as we welcome the Hawks and the City of College Park to our growing family,” said NBA D-League President Malcolm Turner. “With the addition of the Hawks to our ownership ranks, more than half of NBA teams now own and operate their NBA D-League affiliate – an important step toward our goal of having a 30-team minor league.”

“Securing a D-League team for the Atlanta Hawks was among our top priorities when our ownership group took over the team,” said Tony Ressler, Atlanta Hawks Principal Owner and Chairman. “Coach Bud and Wes Wilcox would agree that having a local D-League franchise will play a significant role in building a championship-caliber team by helping us develop players, like the six now on our roster who have D-League experience. We would like to thank the City of College Park for becoming the host city of what will be another exciting part of our community and the Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club.”

The new arena will be built at the Gateway Center, a conglomeration of upscale Marriott hotels and office space surrounding the Georgia International Convention Center, connected to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport via light rail. The arena is scheduled to be completed by summer 2019.

Steve Koonin signed a new three-year contract with the Atlanta Hawks to remain Chief Executive Officer.

Koonin’s original contract was with the previous ownership group after he joined the organization in April of 2014. The new contract is with the present ownership group, with principal owner Tony Ressler who purchased the team in June 2015.

Koonin oversees the business, financial and strategic operations of the Hawks and Philips Arena.

James Harden and the Houston Rockets will face Dwight Howard and the Atlanta Hawks for the first time on Saturday.

Harden and Howard were teammates for three seasons until the big man left to sign with the Hawks in free agency on a three-year, $70.5 million deal.

A source said the relationship between Howard and Harden was "cordially bad."

"Yeah we're cool," Harden said.

Harden was asked about the perception that they had friction.

"It didn't bother me. I know what the truth is, it's no beef. We never got into a heated argument. It just didn't work out."

Harden said he didn't know why the pairing didn't work.

"Trust me, if we knew, it would have worked out," he said.

Host Danny Leroux (@DannyLeroux) and Dan Feldman of NBC’s Pro Basketball Talk and the Locked On Pistons Podcast (@DanFeldmanNBA) break down the NBA’s rookie scale extension and option deadline.

They review just-announced extensions for Steven Adams, Victor Oladipo, Rudy Gobert, Cody Zeller and Gorgui Dieng along with previously agreed-to deals for Giannis Antetokounmpo, CJ McCollum and Dennis Schroder.

After that, they discuss some of the significant option decisions including RJ Hunter and James Young for the Celtics, Adreian Payne for the Timberwolves and Nik Stauskas with the 76ers. 

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Mike Scott will miss approximately four weeks while undergoing a series of non-surgical procedures for his left knee soreness.

Scott's status will be updated as appropriate.

Scott will be an unrestricted free agent in the 2017 offseason.