Soaring Down South
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NBA Free Agency: LeBron James To Lakers Might Speed Up Hawks Rebuild

By Zackery Rogers

ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 25: Omari Spellman #6, Trae Young #11 and Kevin Huerter #1 of the Atlanta Hawks pose for a portrait after an introductory press conference on June 25, 2018 at Emory Healthcare Courts in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 25: Omari Spellman #6, Trae Young #11 and Kevin Huerter #1 of the Atlanta Hawks pose for a portrait after an introductory press conference on June 25, 2018 at Emory Healthcare Courts in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Sunday night Klutch Sports Group reported that the free agency of LeBron James was officially over and that he would be taking his talents to Los Angeles.

LeBron and the Los Angeles Lakers agreed to a 4-year, $153.3 million contract. This signing would cause the Twitter world to go crazy.

With LeBron choosing Los Angeles in free agency, the Eastern Conference is now wide open. Currently, the three teams to beat in the East are the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors. (In that order!)

The Red Sea in the East

The King’s decision to sign with the Lakers will help Eastern Conference teams that are on the coming up, rebuilding or tanking. But how will this affect the Atlanta Hawks in particular, who are in the second year of their rebuild?

Atlanta still has a ways to go before they get back to competing in the Conference Finals. (even though it was a sweep, 2014-15). By James signing with the Lakers, Hawks General Manager Travis Schlenk can take his time recreating Atlanta’s roster.

At the 2018 NBA draft, Atlanta traded for Trae Young via the Dallas Mavericks and drafted both Kevin Huerter and Omari Spellman. Now for some, this draft may have been disappointing. But Schlenk is slowly making progress toward replicating the Golden State Warriors blueprint.

Keep in mind that former Warriors head coach Mark Jackson fought to get management to draft Klay Thompson. Now, Huerter is not Thompson or anything close, but he has promise. His nickname is the Red Mamba for crying out loud. This year’s free agency will benefit the Hawks for a couple of key reasons.

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