Atlanta Hawks: Goals for DeAndre’ Bembry in 2018-19

After two seasons in the NBA, DeAndre’ Bembry of the Atlanta Hawks is no closer to knowing what his role in the NBA will be going forward.

The Atlanta Hawks selected DeAndre’ Bembry 21^st overall in the 2016 NBA Draft, only 9 spots later than Taurean Prince. As such, the two are intrinsically linked from a developmental standpoint.

Prince was able to immediately ingratiate himself with Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer, relying on him as the team’s starting small forward during the end of the team’s ill-fated Dwight Howard experiment in 2016-17.

Bembry rarely saw action, only getting the scantest of playing time in the dingiest minutes of garbage time. When he did play, however, he always seemed to make things happen – using his length and inherent defensive skills to stifle opposing players and fly up and down the court with his athleticism and speed.

However, the promise of that first season was not to be fulfilled in his sophomore campaign – once again being outshined by his 2016 compatriot Prince, who really came into his own down the stretch and has made himself an indispensable part of the Atlanta Hawks future – despite a criminally low NBA 2K19 rating.

Bembry suffered through multiple injuries last year, but when he did play, he was often miscast in the early part of the year as a lead ballhandler off the bench, a role to which he is ill-suited and, frankly, looked terrible in during last season.

Bembry struggles his way through the year, logging the lowest Player Efficiency Rating (7.6) on the team while also logging a staggeringly high 24.8 turnover percentage – not a good combination.

As such, Bembry’s goals for next season are simple: 1) establish a role, 2) improve ballhandling and 3) increase three-point attempts.

First off, Bembry needs to make it clear that he belongs on an NBA court. He must stay healthy and cut down on mistakes and turnovers when he plays next season.

Next, his ballhandling must improve. Even if he isn’t given as much leeway with the ball in his hands as he was last year, his handle still must get better if he wants to stick in the league.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, It’s clear that Bembry profiles most reasonably to a three-and-D wing role on any team in the NBA. While he has never shown an aptitude for long-distance spot-ups, his three-point attempt rate did go up from 18 percent in his rookie year to 23 percent last year.

With that increased workload, Bembry shot a respectable 36.7 percent from deep, though that was admittedly on only 30 total attempts.

For Bembry to truly become a part of the Atlanta Hawks future, he must work on his long-range shooting while maintaining his defensive acumen. If he does this, his 2018-19 season will likely be a success.