The 2018-19 Atlanta Hawks will be the most entertaining and likable unit in years. Let’s explore the reasons why this year’s time will be a lot of fun to watch.
After a dismal 2017-18 season in which Mike Budenholzer plotted his escape route and only John Collins, Taurean Prince and Kent Bazemore (and a smattering of Tyler Dorsey) provided any modicum of excitement for the future of the team, the Atlanta Hawks return with a new lease on life.
Much has changed since the end of last season, as even the team’s home arena will be almost unrecognizable from its state last season. On top of that, it even has a new name (though we would prefer a different one)!
With training camp already underway and the preseason right around the corner (first game October 1), we just wanted to take a breath and be thankful that the doldrums of last season will be shaken off – allowing all Atlanta Hawks fans to embrace this new squad and the culture of the Atlanta Hawks franchise.
The future is bright in Atlanta.
With a stable of high-upside young players led by Taurean Prince, John Collins, Trae Young, Kevin Huerter, Tyler Dorsey, DeAndre’ Bembry and Omari Spellman on the roster, the 2018-19 Atlanta Hawks will have the best potential of any recent team to reach new heights as a unit.
Beyond those youngsters, the Hawks added a bevy of switchable players who could slot into multiple roles, such as Justin Anderson, Alex Poythress, Daniel Hamilton and Thomas Robinson. Though these players might have a little more seasoning than say, the vaunted duo of Young and Huerter, they still have not reached their full potential in the NBA.
Pierce will also have two of the most well-traveled players in the NBA in the locker room to help him guide this youthful Atlanta Hawks squad: Vince Carter and Jeremy Lin.
Both Lin and Carter are two of the most likely players in the entire NBA and have been for much of their careers. Lin exploded onto the scene and became one of the biggest stars in the NBA early on in his career before fading into relative obscurity when compared to his early omnipresence.
Vince Carter has long been lauded as one of the best dunkers in NBA history due to his astonishing vertical leap and long arms that have been known to dip into the basket up to the elbow on dunks:
With both of those players on the team along with high-energy Atlanta Hawks vets like Dewayne Dedmon and Kent Bazemore, you have a terrific veteran core for the young Hawks to look up to next season.
All of this adds up to say: the 2018-19 Atlanta Hawks will be a far cry from the relatively unwatchable 2017-18 rendition. Almost none of the players (or coaches for that matter) had a stake in the future of the franchise, so the on-court product was more about improving their own stock rather than instilling a culture or winning personality to the Atlanta Hawks organization.
With one fell swoop, all of that changed this offseason, and the 2018-19 Atlanta Hawks should be one of the most entertaining and likable in recent memory, and they should be extremely fun to watch. We can’t wait.