Hawks' Brand in no rush to make decision on future

The future of 16-year veteran Elton Brand is up in the air after the Atlanta Hawks were swept from the NBA Playoffs in a Game 4 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday night.

He will take the next couple of weeks to decide if playing another year in the NBA is something he wants to do - whether it's with the Hawks or another team entirely.

“I’ll see if I [have] another year of trying to get prepared and what it takes to be on an NBA roster," said Brand on Thursday, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“There is a lot of work you have to put in. … After two or three weeks, I’ll know. See if I have that itch. This team I might not and just lay back on the couch. We’ll see.”

Brand has expressed interest in possibly signing with the New York Knicks as he enters unrestricted free agency this summer.

His minutes have slowly diminished every year since 2011, having suited up for the Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers and Dallas Mavericks during that time. It's difficult to imagine many teams being eager to take a chance on a 36-year-old big who's clearly in the twilight of his career, although he does offer some value as a veteran leader at the end of the bench.

In 36 appearances for the Hawks during the regular season, Brand averaged 2.7 points and 2.8 rebounds with a true shooting percentage of 45.2. He saw just four minutes of action during Atlanta's postseason run, accumulating more personal fouls (3) than points (1).