Atlanta Hawks: Will Jabari Parker Accept Bench Role with Ease?
By Chris Guest
A quick look at how Jabari Parker of the Atlanta Hawks might handle his new role with the Atlanta Hawks during the 2019-20 season.
When the Atlanta Hawks signed Jabari Parker to a two-year deal this offseason, there was a general buzz of befuddlement around the league.
“Why would a young team take a chance on a fairly well-known commodity at this point in their rebuild?” was a commonly heard refrain after Parker’s signing. While taking a chance on a former #2 overall pick that’s still only 24 years old make sense for a rebuilding team, tying up the team’s cap space for two years – which is almost certain to happen with the final year of Parker’s deal being a player option – seems less forward-thinking.
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After playing great for the Washington Wizards to end his 2018-19 season, how will Parker accept his role as a bench scorer for the Hawks – especially seeing as he might not get as many minutes as he’d like alongside younger players that are sure to garner more attention from Head Coach Lloyd Pierce and the front office?
Per a recent story by Chris Kirschner of The Athletic (subscription required), the development of Dewayne Dedmon and Alex Len in consecutive should show that Parker has real promise as a big man for the Hawks going forward.
However, both of those players have shown at least an inkling of defensive talent (Dedmon far more than that). Parker, on the other hand, has gone on record saying that “they don’t pay players to play defense,” which is something that players such as Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert would surely disagree with.
For Parker, though his scoring will important off the bench, he must show a semblance of effort on the less glamorous end – such as when he did for about one half during his only stint in the playoffs with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Next. 3 Goals for Jabari Parker in 2019-20. dark
Parker clearly has a ton of talen and Dominique Wilkins believes he is a “amazing player” but he must be accepting of his role and also work towards morphing into what the Hawks need if he truly wants to help the team this year – and beyond.