An in-depth look at the best guards available to the Atlanta Hawks in free agency this offseason.
Though the focus for the Atlanta Hawks front office, led by General Manager Travis Schlenk, is likely on the upcoming 2019 NBA Draft, the team can also make moves in free agency and trades this offseason in order to augment a team that has as bright a future as any team in the league.
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Sure, the Hawks might not have won the Zion Williamson sweepstakes, but they already have a terrific young core headlined by potential Co-Rookie of the Year Trae Young and his fellow All-Rookie team member Kevin Huerter. John Collins, who was drafted in 2017, is also an important member of the franchise’s core going forward.
So what do the Atlanta Hawks need this offseason? Well, a likely upgrade at backup point guard or a more defensively talented shooting guard makes sense. If the need arises, Huerter could slide over and play the three, which would open a roster spot for a two guard – especially if/when the team trades away longtime Hawk Kent Bazemore.
We have previously explored a few backup point guard options, but let’s go more in depth with who would fit best on the Atlanta Hawks via free agency this offseason.
Caveat: Klay Thompson would fit like a glove on the Atlanta Hawks, but he will likely stay in Golden State – especially if Kevin Durant escapes to New York.
Danny Green
We have previously outlined why Danny Green of the Toronto Raptors would be an excellent fit on the Atlanta Hawks as a three-and-D shooting guard to pair with the heavy usage rate of Trae Young.
Green has thrived as an off-ball weapon throughout his career. That off-ball wizardry was typified by his supremely low usage rate of 13 percent per Cleaning the Glass, which was in the 13th percentile among shooting guards in the 2018-19 season.
However, Green knew exactly what to do in his limited minutes, and he actually led the Raptors in points per shot attempt with a lofty 1.27 per Cleaning the Glass – a number that was ahead of Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry.
Across the board, Green had one of his best seasons in 2018-19, as his sky-high 62.6 effective field goal percentage would attest. That rate ranked him in the 98th percentile of shooting guards – rarefied air for a catch-and-shoot specialist like Green.
With the Atlanta Hawks, Green could expect a steady diet of wide open catch and shoot opportunities due to the immense pressure that Trae Young puts on an opposing defense. Ice Trae was regularly getting double- and triple-teamed way up in halfcourt sets – meaning somebody is open.
If that player is Danny Green on the Hawks, he will likely make opposing teams pay. Beyond that, Green’s sterling defensive numbers (first among shooting guards in ESPN’s DRPM with a 2.19) would help aid the Hawks where they need it most.
Cory Joseph
Cory Joseph of the Indian Pacers produced a fairly solid 2018-19 campaign with the Indiana Pacers, and his role was elevated somewhat when Victor Oladipo went down with an ugly leg injury.
Joseph has long been known as a low-usage, spot-up threat on offense that plays mistake-free basketball, and that kind of player is exactly who the Atlanta Hawks need going forward – at least during the second year of its full rebuild.
Though Joseph’s offensive numbers aren’t the best (12th percentile in points per shot attempt and 20th percentile in effective field goal percentage per Cleaning the Glass), his defensive numbers are certainly impressive.
Joseph ranks 4th among NBA point guards in ESPN’s Real Plus/Minus metric with a 1.53. The only point guards ahead of him are Chris Paul, George Hill and Kyle Lowry. Joseph ranked ahead of noted guard defenders such as Patrick Beverley, Derrick White, Marcus Smart, Eric Bledsoe and Jrue Holiday – not bad for a player that likely won’t demand a massive salary this offseason.
Lastly, Joseph’s penchant for making the right pass at the right time can be quantified by Cleaning the Glass’s assist to usage ratio. Though Joseph’s usage is supremely low for a guard (15.9%, 12th percentile), his 1.3 assist to usage ratio is in the 86th percentile among guards – showcasing his ability to read defense and make quick decisions on offense – even if he isn’t serving as his team’s primary engine.
Patrick Beverley
Patrick Beverley has previously been explored as being a tremendous pickup for the Atlanta Hawks this offseason. His combination of tenacious point-of-attack defense while also being a terrific catch-and-shoot threat while also being able to run some pick-and-roll in secondary actions should make him a priority this offseason for GM Schlenk.
By all accounts, PatBev had one of his best seasons statistically – all on the lowest usage rate of his career at a measly 12.2 percent per Basketball Reference.
In a career-high 2137 minutes for a playoff-bound Clippers team, PatBev produced the highest true shooting percentage of his career at 56.1 percent. Combine that with a 1.13 points per shot attempt clip that ranked in the 79th percentile and an exceptional 1.32 assist to usage ratio, which ranked in the 87th percentile among guards and you have the perfect fit alongside Trae Young.
Beyond that, Beverley’s defense is his calling card, and his 6th-ranked DRPM among point guards (1.31) stands out among his peers. Beverley’s presence on the Atlanta Hawks would help instill a tenacious, fearsome streak into the Hawks’ young players – hopefully galvanizing them into putting forth more effort on the less glamorous end.
If the Atlanta Hawks signed Beverely, at least the team would have a “Kevin Durant stopper.”
Delon Wright
It might surprise you that Delon Wright of the Memphis Grizzlies (formerly of the Toronto Raptors) is already 27 years old. He was already 23 years old when he was drafted out of the University of Utah, however, and he has already played four seasons in the NBA – so yeah, that adds up.
Though Wright was an important part of the brilliant bench unit for the Raptors in 2017-18, the team put forth a different look in 2018-19 that featured the two-headed monster of Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam with glue guy extraordinaire Kyle Lowry plugging the gaps elsewhere.
Wright was superfluous and, as such, he was traded as part of the Marc Gasol deal ahead of February’s trade deadline.
After the trade took place, Wright’s numbers took off, and he produced career-highs in player efficiency rating, defensive rebound rate, total rebound rate, assist rate and usage rate during his 26-game tenure with the Grizz.
Though Wright has never been a terrific shooter, his strength lies in using his wiry frame to knife his way to the lane for easy attempts at the rim. His good length allows him to finish over and around defenders in the paint.
Per Cleaning the Glass, that penchant for rim finishing bore itself out during Wright’s Grizzlies tenure: 50 percent of Wright’s shots came at the rim, which was in the 93rd percentile among guards – tops on the team. Wright was also an excellent finisher at the rim with a 62 percent clip landing in the 79th percentile.
That combination of at-rim volume and efficiency, combined with a career-high assist rate belies a player that would make sense as a change-of-pace, proven backup point guard to Trae Young on the Atlanta Hawks.
Malcolm Brogdon
Speaking of players that you might be surprised at how old they are, welcome to the segment where we discuss beloved Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon. The President, as his nickname suggests, is almost always stoic and unemotional on the court – never showing if he’s drilled a game-winning triple or bounced the ball off his foot out of bounds.
That cool, calm and collected persona helped make Brogdon one of the most important Playoff performers for the Milwaukee Bucks.
In the regular season, the 26-year-old Brogdon was one of the best performers on a Bucks team that ran roughshod over the league to the tune of 60 wins. According to Cleaning the Glass, Brogdon was second only to presumptive MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo on his team in points per shot attempt: Giannis led with an absurd 1.3 PSA, but Brogdon was right behind him in the 98th percentile among guards with a lofty 1.23 PSA.
Brogdon would make for a terrific fit on the Atlanta Hawks not just because of the on-court fit, but because Brodgon is actually from the state of Georgia. Per a story by Chris Kirschner of The Athletic:
“Brogdon also grew up in Atlanta and went to high school at Greater Atlanta Christian in Norcross, led his team to two state titles and was named Mr. Georgia Basketball. Brogdon has called Atlanta ‘the best city in the world — other than Milwaukee,’ so coming home and playing for the Hawks likely would be something he would welcome.”
Other Options: Shake Milton, Klay Thompson
Last but certainly not least, let’s just ponder two extremely disparate options in the backcourt for the Atlanta Hawks in very different places in their careers: Klay Thompson and Shake Milton.
Though we said we wouldn’t get to Klay Thompson, his name is still just too omnipresent right now with the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals for the fifth straight year – especially now that he missed out on making any All-NBA teams this year, meaning he won’t be able to sign a supermax extension.
Thompson is one of the best three-point shooters in NBA history, and though his defense might be somewhat overrated overall, he can still turn it on in the Playoffs when he needs to shut someone down one-on-one – a skill that would fill a sore need on the Atlanta Hawks.
On the other side of the coin in Shake Milton. A beloved SDS favorite in the buildup to the 2018 NBA Draft, Milton was signed to a Two-Way Contract by the Philadelphia 76ers, which was never guaranteed into a “real” NBA deal – which meant the 22-year-old rookie had to watch on the sidelines as his teammates fell to the eventual Eastern Conference champion Toronto Raptors in 7 games.
It’s a shame too, as Milton (and his fellow rookie Zhaire Smith, who was available in the Playoffs) could’ve really helped the Sixers – who only had Jimmy Butler, J.J. Redick and T.J. McConnell as the team’s guards – that’s it.
Milton is a free agent this offseason, and if he wants to play way more minutes, the Atlanta Hawks could be a reasonable option.
Thanks for reading! The Atlanta Hawks offseason is only just heating up, so keep it locked to Soaring Down South for plenty more offseason and 2019 NBA draft coverage.