Atlanta Hawks 2017-18 Player Grades: Isaiah Taylor
Isaiah Taylor was a fun prospect to watch for the Atlanta Hawks this season. He was signed as an unrestricted free agent earlier in the year after being cut by Houston during training camp.
He’s an exciting player with a lot of potential but is missing a few key aspects to make the jump to a starting-caliber player’s level.
He averaged a respectable 6.6 points. 3.1 assists and 1.4 rebounds while playing 17.4 minutes a game during the 2017-18 season. Since he didn’t shoot the ball all too well — attempting only 1.2 three-pointers a game while making only 1/4th of them, IT got most of his baskets off the dribble which is a good base to have in which a solid jump shot can be added to his resume.
His best game of the season came against his old team, the Houston Rockets, where he had 26 points on 3 of 6 shooting from 3 with 3 assists and a rebound. Performances like this are extremely helpful to a young player like Taylor, as it gives him the confidence that if his volume were to increase then he would still be a useful and perhaps even more effective player.
Taylor is currently on a 2-year/$2.8 million contract. This gives us time to let him work and get used to the culture but also gives us a quick out in case it doesn’t work.
One aspect of Taylor’s game were his great instincts to not turn the ball over. He had a better assist-to-turnover ratio than Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard and even LeBron James. I’m obviously not saying that Taylor is better than all 3 of those players combined, but it is a nice feather in his cap and complements his play style well.
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Taylor could be a nice long-term piece for the Atlanta Hawks, as he is still only 23 years old, and we’re excited to find out how he fits in after the team brings in 3-4 new players via the 2018 NBA Draft.