In the second year of a full-scale rebuild, the Atlanta Hawks made some wild moves in the 2018 NBA Draft but remained relatively quiet in the early stages of free agency.
In the draft, the Hawks traded the draft rights to one of the most widely touted European prospects of all time, Luka Doncic, for diminutive point guard wunderkind Trae Young out of Oklahoma. They also selected Kevin Huerter at 19th overall and Omari Spellman at 30th overall.
Sure, the Hawks added some new faces and, in Young, one of the most well-known collegiate players of all time to a roster that has been lacking in star power since Dominique Wilkins left.
So what of these moves, and how will they affect the starting lineup of the Atlanta Hawks in the 2018-19 season? Though many new faces will be on the roster next season, many of the familiar faces from 2017-18 will also be on the roster, which means the starting lineup will almost be unchanged from last year’s to begin the year.
Of course, who knows how many of these players will remain on the roster for the entirety of 2018-19, but as it is, here is the projected starting lineup of the Atlanta Hawks in 2018-19, separated by position.
Atlanta Hawks Starting Point Guard: Jeremy Lin
Though there was much bluster and hand-wringing about a possible Dennis Schröder trade (even on this very site), the Hawks’ leading scorer from last season remains on the team at this current juncture.
However, after a recent, rather shocking, three-team swap with the Denver Nuggets and Brooklyn Nets, Jeremy Lin is now a member of the Atlanta Hawks, which means that Schröd is likely not long for the team.
Even though Schröd had his best season in 2017-18, putting up a career-high in points per game at 19.4 and a single game career-high of 41 points against the Utah Jazz, he was never a favorite of the Schlenk and Ressler front office, meaning that the team made a surprising trade to obtain Linsanity.
The 29-year-old Lin has only played 37 games over the past two seasons, which means he will likely be extremely motivated this upcoming season for the Hawks.
A career 35 percent three-point shooter, Lin will be more of a shooting threat from outside than DS17 ever was, as everyone knows that Schröd wants to drive to the rack at the earliest opportunity to try and score easily around the rim.
Lin should provide a little more spacing on offense, as he shot a career-high 37.2 percent from three-point range in 2016-17 on a career-high 4.3 attempts per game — definitely going in a positive direction with his outside stroke.
Where Schröd has seemed to be rather prickly at times as a teammate, Lin seems to be far more personable, meaning that the Hawks locker room might be a bit more unified than in recent years with Lin as the primary ballhandler.
Though Trae Young, is, of course, the most important point guard for the future of the Hawks, Jeremy Lin was obtained to provide some solid veteran starting point guard minutes, as well as a new face as the team’s primary starting ballhandler.
Again DS17 is currently still on the Hawks, but with the arrival of Lin and Young, his days as a Hawk are certainly numbered.
Atlanta Hawks Starting Shooting Guard: Kent Bazemore
Another player who had a career year last season in the Hawks backcourt, Kent Bazemore will almost certainly be the team’s starting two guard when the 2018-19 season begins.
There were plenty of trade rumors swirling around Bazemore during last year’s trade deadline as well as the offseason, but, so far, no deal has been made involving Baze – although all contending teams could use his energy and prototypical three-and-D skill set on their team in the regular season and playoffs.
Since no moves have been made yet involving the 29-year-old Baze, he will likely be the team’s starting two guard on the first day of the Hawks 2018-19 regular season.
Baze has improved his outside shooting considerably over the years, and he has slimmed down over the years – making him faster and more agile. He logged career-highs in assists (3.5), steals (1.5) and blocks (0.7) per game in 2017-18, and his well-rounded skill set and clutch shooting led the Hawks to some come-from-behind victories last season.
As previously mentioned, his 39.4 percent shooting from distance was the best on the team among qualified players, and nothing has changed (yet) that makes one think that Baze’s starting slot has been lost this offseason.
Atlanta Hawks Starting Small Forward: Taurean Prince
Going into his third season in the league, Taurean Prince can look back on the 2017-18 season and realize he grew a lot, and, hopefully, can reach his full potential going forward.
Though the early and middle portions of Prince’s 2017-18 season were up and down to say the least, he truly came into his own after participating in the Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star weekend, and the ball was put into his hands for long stretches of the game down the end of the year – when both Dennis Schröder and Kent Bazemore were out with injuries.
Those added ballhandling responsibilities seemed to unlock something in TP’s game, and he erupted for 38 points twice in two weeks against the Bulls and the Bucks.
At 24 years old, Prince is a little bit old for a “younger player,” but that means he also came into the league with a little more college seasoning than a lot of these one-and-done college prospects (such as Trae Young and Omari Spellman).
Prince will certainly be the team’s starting three in the 2018-19 season, and he will hopefully continue to improve his game as a part of the team’s promising, high-upside young core.
Atlanta Hawks Starting Power Forward: John Collins
The only change from our projected starting lineup from last season has Second Team All-Rookie member John Collins stepping into the hole left by the departure of Ersan Ilyasova last season.
JC was already starting games after Ilyasova was waived by the Hawks last season, so this change should come as no surprise.
Collins was almost certainly the Hawks’ best player last season, as he led the team in win shares and Player Efficiency Rating, though his scoring numbers and raw production lacked the punch of, say, Dennis Schröder’s.
Still though, Collins is a stunning athlete, and his fiery performances in the Utah and Las Vegas Summer Leagues were enough to put the league on notice that he is for real, and he is ready to take the league by storm as a starting four in the 2018-19 season.
Of course, incredible achievements in Summer League are a rather shoddy indicator of actual NBA production, but Collins’ natural strength, rebounding prowess and excellent touch around the rim should make him an excellent choice as the Atlanta Hawks’ starting power forward in the 2018-19 season.
Beyond that, JC showed multiple new skills in Summer League, such as an improved handle and ability to nominally create for himself off the dribble as well as a confident and good-looking three-point stroke, that he took with no hesitation during his limited time in Utah and Vegas.
Watch this space, because if JC can become a knockdown three-point shooter, the Hawks have a potent offensive weapon on their hands for years to come.
Atlanta Hawks Starting Center: Dewayne Dedmon
In a somewhat surprising move, Dewayne Dedmon decided to opt in to the $7.2 million dollar player option on the contract he signed in the summer of 2017.
With an extremely thin market awaiting any big man this offseason, Dedmon decided to take the sure thing with the Hawks and perhaps continue to increase his value and stature around the league.
In his first starting gig with the Hawks last season, Dedmon showed an all-around skill set for a seven-footer, and he also flashed a heretofore unseen ability to step out and hit shots from distance.
Dedmon plays hard and with an intensity that was nice to see from a Hawks team that did not seem to be particularly locked in during some stretches during the 2017-18 season. DD always plays hard, and he should be able to instill some of that same energy and intensity into rookie big man Omari Spellman, who will likely play under Dedmon and Mike Muscala in the pecking order.
On this expiring, Dedmon will likely make for an attractive trade chip for the Hawks, should they try to swing something for a team looking for proven frontcourt depth. Since Dedmon showcased an ability to stretch the floor last season too, almost any team contending team could be looking for the skills that Dedmon will bring to the table.
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So there you have it, the projected starting lineup for the Atlanta Hawks in the 2018-19 season. Though the team is rebuilding with plenty of new, young faces, the starting unit of 2018-19 will look very similar to the one that started games in January and February last season – though that might change when the trade deadline hits.