Atlanta Hawks: 4 Players Who Could Become Sixth Man in 2018-19
1. Trae Young
Out of the other three players, the obvious choice for the role of sixth man is probably Young out of Oklahoma. The 6-foot-2 guard may have the most offensive upside on the entire roster. Young going forward will be the point guard of the future.
In the meantime, Lin will most likely take the reigns of starting point guard, which will benefit Young. Bringing Young off the bench will help Lin gain confidence going down to stretch. Also, the former Brooklyn Net can take Young under his wing and show him how to play through adversity.
Young had an average summer league and started to settle down in the Las Vegas Summer League. Putting the 19-year-old in the sixth man role will teach him leadership, poise and late-game management.
The sixth man role is about more than coming off the bench and scoring. A good example of a solid sixth man is Shaun Livingston, who is arguably one of Golden State’s most important pieces outside of the team’s fantastic four (now five with DeMarcus Cousins).
Livingston does a great job of running the offense and controlling the tempo. At one point in time, the three-time champion was a heavily sought out point guard coming out of high school. After a devastating knee injury in 2007, no one would have thought that the 6-foot-7 guard would come back so strong.
Obviously, Young is healthy but will probably be learning from the bench in his first year, which will be helpful. The NBA’s style of play is much more physical than college and the young rookie has to learn how to affect the game in other ways than scoring. Young averaged 17 points, 6.8 assists and 1 rebound per game in the Las Vegas Summer League.
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Who do you think should be the Atlanta Hawks sixth man this year?