With 2 months until the regular season begins in the NBA, let’s explore the five most exciting players on the Atlanta Hawks roster for the 2019-20 season.
The Atlanta Hawks are still in the throes of a rebuild, but the sun has begun to peek through beyond the clouds.
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After the dark season of 2017-18 (the less said about those doldrums the better), the Hawks discovered a scintillating young core last year with Trae Young, John Collins and Kevin Huerter. Though hopes were high for Omari Spellman, the #30 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, he was summarily jettisoned during the offseason.
The swiftness with which Atlanta Hawks General Manager shipped off Spellman shows that he is not messing around, and that proactive style led to him being promoted and extended earlier this week – meaning he’s here for at least the near-to-mid future.
However, this story will not focus on Schlenk’s machinations this offseason, but rather the players themselves – in particular: The most exciting players on the roster heading into the 2019-20 season.
This list is meant solely for this writer’s excitement levels for these players in terms of on-court watchability – nothing more. As such, #4 overall pick De’Andre Hunter is not mentioned here due to not being particularly flashy or mysterious. Expectations are high for him, of course, but not in terms of excitement.
Let’s get the ball rolling!
Kevin Huerter
Our fifth-most exciting player for next season on the Atlanta Hawks might be a rather surprising choice.
When you think of Kevin Huerter, one might immediately think “deadeye shooter,” or “the second coming of Kyle Korver to the ATL.”
While both of those are certainly merited, Huerter is so much more than that, and any Atlanta Hawks fans who watched the team game-in and game-out knows that Huerter provided a shocking number of scintillating plays – though he did so with much less fanfare than his backcourt mate Trae Young due to the fact that Huerter had the ball for far less time than Trae did.
In fact, Huerter showed so many titillating glimpses of his skill last season that one would hope he would be willing to take on a larger role next season compared to his fairly measly 15.7 percent usage rate last year per Basketball Reference.
For one thing, Huerter can get up for some dunks when he wants to, and his athleticism is extremely underrated in general as is his slippery handle and Trae Young-lite level of passing acumen.
Though Huerter might not immediately jump out as an exciting player, he certainly does bring a fair bit of spice to the Atlanta Hawks – hence his best nickname: Red Pepper.
Bruno Fernando
Now we get into the new faces on the Atlanta Hawks for the 2019-20 season.
Rookies always get a ton of hype in the preseason (and during the season) simply because they are the “new shiny” guy on the block, and everything they do during their first season is that – a first.
However, in Fernando’s case, the hype should be even higher considering GM Schlenk had a first-round grade on Fernando but he waited until early in the second round to pull the trigger on trading up for the Maryland big man.
As such, Fernando was undervalued yet valued enough that he was prioritized in the second round by the Atlanta Hawks.
And there’s good reason for that, Fernando is clearly a physical specimen as he looks the part of an enforcing defensive presence and rim-running terror on the offensive end simply due to his jacked frame and hulking size.
While Dewayne Dedmon was extremely effective during his two seasons in Atlanta, he had more of a wiry, sinewy strength rather than raw heft – which is something that Fernando innately possesses.
Beyond that, his defensive chops should help the team improve on that end while he also delivers regular dunks off wizardly passes from Ice Trae.
Cam Reddish
Cam Reddish kicks off our top 3 for a plethora of reasons. First off, he is one of the most highly touted draft picks the Atlanta Hawks have acquired in recent memory – having been the #2 overall recruit out of high school, even ahead of his teammate Zion Williamson!
Secondly, Reddish fell to #10 in the draft, though many naysayers believe he might’ve fallen further had the Hawks not nabbed him at #10; that is unlikely, however, and possibly just meant as a slight against Reddish.
Certainly, Cam had something of a nightmare year for Duke, though he still produced an impressive number of highlights, including a game-winning triple against ACC rival Florida State.
Though his stats (35 percent shooting from the field, 33 percent from downtown, 77 percent from the line per Sports Reference) might not inspire confidence in his 2019-20 rookie campaign, that tantalizing talent is also what makes him so exciting.
What if Reddish actually hits his ceiling and becomes a swiss-army-knife offensive weapon with tremendous length, a smooth jumper and the ability to slash to the rim off-ball or drive into traffic on-ball. Toss in his rock-solid defensive instincts and you have the makings of a top-flight player in today’s NBA.
Obviously, Reddish’s peers agree, as he was voted as the rookie most likely to have the best career in the 2019 rookie survey by NBA.com.
John Collins
The first two players on this list should come as no surprise to anyone who watched the Atlanta Hawks, nor anyone who has read this writer’s work on Soaring Down South.
In fact, John Collins was originally slated for the #1 spot in terms of most exciting players on the team, but there can be only one – so JC fell to #2.
Still though, there can be no qualms about why he’s top 2 – Collins is an up-and-coming monster in the NBA and has already cemented himself as the steal of the 2017 NBA Draft (though Donovan Mitchell fans might have a word or two about that).
JC, who is still only 21 years old, upped his usage rate considerably last season due to being paired with a generational passer in Trae Young. But beyond that, Collins improved his own game to the point that he flirted with a 20 PPG/10 RPG average – just missing each one by mere fractions.
Of course, the excitement of watching Collins comes from his absolutely ridiculous athleticism, which is often highlighted by some truly nuclear dunks. Take a look, for posterity:
As you can see, the pairing of John Collins and the #1 player on this list should make for a tremendous future for Atlanta Hawks basketball, including the 2019-20 season.
Trae Young
There could be only one #1 most exciting player for next season of Atlanta Hawks basketball, and the choice is fairly clear to be honest.
In his first season in the NBA, despite single-minded double-teaming from opposing defenses, Trae Young completely lifted the Atlanta Hawks offense out of the doldrums thanks to his brilliant mastery of the modern NBA’s focus on speed, drives and three-pointers.
While Young’s three-pointer was never quite as reliable as advertised, he still has many opportunities to hone his shot over his career, and the rest of his game was so electric and enjoyable to watch that one could forgive some of his lesser decisions.
However, while watching Young, you never get the idea that he’s forcing the issue or making too many mistakes.
Even when he does some head-scratching moves (which are rare), his insane dribble package and truly otherworldly passing ability combine to make for such an entertaining player that you can’t help but smile while watching him.
Ice Trae made some truly bonkers highlights in his first season in the NBA for the Atlanta Hawks, so just think of how much better he’s gotten and how much more used to the NBA he will be next season. It’s enough to make one want to fast-forward to the start of the regular season, doesn’t it?
Either way, Trae Young is easily the most exciting player on the Atlanta Hawks next year. The season just can’t come soon enough.