Atlanta Hawks Return? NBA Reportedly Close To 2nd “Bubble”

Reacting to news that the Atlanta Hawks season might be resuming in Chicago.

Atlanta Hawks fans may have just received a Christmas in July present from ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, who reported that the NBA is close to approving a second return to play bubble for the eight teams not included in the Orlando plans.

It’s been speculated that the league may have something up their sleeve for the teams excluded from Disney World, as for the most part, these are the youngest teams in the league. Going from March until December without playing meaningful basketball together would be very detrimental.

The Hawks would join the Bulls, Hornets, T-Wolves, Warriors, Knicks, Cavs, and Pistons in Chicago

Obviously no concrete details have come out yet on what the bubble would contain and if it would be just Summer League-style exhibitions or a tournament of sorts, but the news is exciting nonetheless.

Assuming the September date holds up, the teams would be just about two months away from returning to the court together. The biggest positive from the Atlanta Hawks’ perspective is getting Clint Capela out on the floor with the young core and seeing how they mesh before next season.

It would also give young guys like Cam Reddish, De’Andre Hunter, and Bruno Fernando a proper end to their rookie seasons, while also giving free-agents-to-be like DeAndre’ Bembry, Jeff Teague, and Damian Jones one more audition for the team (or others).

As for the motivation of the teams to play in near-meaningless games, AJC’s Sarah K. Spencer reported that the Hawks would be “supportive” of sending their players to the bubble, and Trae Young took to Twitter to share his excitement:

It’s the first step in a plan that will likely have more news slowly trickle out in the next few days. Come back here and follow us on Twitter for updates as they happen.

Would you watch the Atlanta Hawks if they returned?