Atlanta Hawks: Best-case hypothetical return from the hiatus
By Nate Friesen
Playing in the summer
One idea that would only slightly benefit the Atlanta Hawks came directly from Adam Silver and the NBA. The idea was to simply start the season in July and play into September. This solution would really only impact teams fighting for a final playoff spot, which the Hawks are not.
While this is certainly looking like what the NBA hopes to do, the benefits for the Hawks are minimal. The only real positive I can see from the Hawks perspective is that they would get more minutes for the young players like Cam Reddish and De’Andre Hunter, but that really isn’t an enormous benefit.
Hawks fans (and likely players) were already looking forward to next season to see how much all the young guys would grow. Playing another 15 games this season simply wouldn’t provide much for the Atlanta Hawks, especially if there are no fans in the building.
Although I would do almost anything to watch Trae Young and John Collins operate a pick and roll or Kevin Huerter hit a three-pointer or even just a nice Jeff Teague bounce pass right now. So if this is the decision they come to, it is most certainly better than nothing.