The Atlanta Hawks have been extremely active this offseason; here’s a grade for every move they made in free agency and the NBA draft.
Since switching picks with the Dallas Mavericks to bring Trae Young to their city, the Atlanta Hawks have been expected to make some moves to keep him happy and did so this offseason. Despite losing some momentum when John Collins was sidelined last year, the Hawks have made it known that they’re looking to win now and to secure that ever-so-elusive playoff berth.
As other teams in the eastern conference looked to revamp their rosters in preparation for the return of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and other superstars, the Hawks went into their break knowing they had work to do to be competitive. Team president and general manager Travis Schlenk had his work cut out for him in addressing the Atlanta Hawks’ shooting and defensive woes, as well as their lack of experience and depth.
Here’s a look at how the peach state squad did this offseason.
NBA Draft
Onyeka Okongwu (No. 6 overall)
When the Atlanta Hawks drafted Onyeka Okongwu with the sixth overall pick, they made it clear that their priority for the future was addressing their defense. Many first heard his name mentioned with the likes of Lonzo Ball and the second overall pick in the same draft, LaMelo Ball, who Okongwu played with on the Chino Hills High School team that took the basketball world by storm.
One of the worst teams in the league in terms of defensive efficiency, the Hawks added a big body, a six-foot-nine Okongwu who averaged almost 3 blocks, 8.6 rebounds, and a steal in his sole season with the USC Trojans. As impressive as he was on the defensive end, Okongwu is no slouch on offense either. Okongwu averaged 16 points per game while shooting 61% from the field and 72% from the free-throw line. He’s a great addition to a Hawks team expecting a breakout season from John Collins and the return of Clint Capela at center. Solid pick that filled an obvious void. Schlenk and co. made the right move here.
Skylar Mays (No. 50 overall)
The Hawks grabbed four-year LSU hooper, Skylar Mays, with the 50th pick. Averaging 16.7 points per game while shooting 49 percent from the field and 39 percent from three, Mays clearly knows how to put the ball in the bucket. He’ll more than likely spend the season in the G-League as the Hawks made moves in free agency to bolster their backcourt. We’ll discuss those later but Mays at 6-4 is a great one to groom for the future in ATL.
Grade: A+
Now, let’s dive into the several free agency moves the Atlanta Hawks made in the offseason.
Solomon Hill: One year, veteran’s minimum
This move was likely to secure more veteran leadership for the big guys. Solomon Hill’s once-solid career was thrown off by injuries. There shouldn’t be much expected of him as far as production goes. If other guys go down with injuries, he’ll be able to step in.
Grade: C
Nathan Knight (Undrafted)
Like the Solomon Hill move, this one was is for insurance on the Hawks bigs. Nathan Knight had great numbers in the not-so-competitive Colonial Athletic Association for William and Mary for the past 4 years. He averaged 20.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game last season and received the award for conference Defensive Player of the Year. He’ll probably spend most of the season in the G League and be called on later down the line. It’s also a pretty good steal on a two-way contract should Knight prove to be useful.
Grade: B
Tony Snell
Two things you always want to be able to go to your bench for are shooting and defense. Tony Snell provides both of those for the Hawks.
In adding Tony Snell in the Dewayne Dedmon deal, the Hawks add a good shooter to the roster. After the draft last night, it became clear that adding shooters was going to be the priority in the coming days. Snell shot 40 percent on 4 attempts per game this past season.
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) November 19, 2020
On top of knowing how to put the ball in the basket, Snell at 6-6 adds more size to the Hawks roster.
Grade: B
Kris Dunn: 2 years, $10 million
What a pickup. This may quite possibly be the steal of this free agency period. Five million dollars per year for one of the best defensive guards in the NBA is impressive.
Hawks are determined to get better defensively in the backcourt rotation, bringing on Rondo and Kris Dunn on two-year deals. https://t.co/pn3tayvhAA
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 21, 2020
Kris Dunn averaged two steals per game last year and had a 3.1 defensive box plus/minus, the second-best in the league. He’ll do much to blanket the defensive liabilities of both Trae Young and Rajon Rondo in the backcourt. He doesn’t shoot the ball particularly well, nor is he the best playmaker, but adding Dunn to the two aforementioned names makes for a well-rounded depth chart at the point guard position.
Grade: A+
Danilo Gallinari: 3 years, $61.5 million
More veteran experience for the Atlanta Hawks with this move. Over his 12-year career, Danilo Gallinari has shown that he can simply score the basketball. One of the most efficient scorers in the league, Galo averaged 18.7 points per game shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from three last season.
Gallinari and Bogdanovic will do a lot to improve the Hawks shooting this season. At six-foot-ten, Gallinari will back up John Collins and stretch the floor to make room for Collins and Clint Capela in the paint. Adding their new draft pick Onyeka Okungwu will sure up any doubts on the defensive side that Gallinari might give you.
The only issue I might find with this move is the price tag. Paying $20 million a year for a 32-year-old bench player is a lot. No doubt about it. But, as I stated earlier, the Hawks had money to spend. Grabbing a still-deadly 3-point shooter and giving the frontcourt the mentorship that the backcourt got with the addition of Rondo is not a bad move. Given the depth the Hawks now have, there’s no reason for Galo to rack up minutes at a rapid pace, so that should ease the mind of any who might bring up his health issues.
The name of the game is to score the ball. Danilo Gallinari can do that. Really well. Any time you add supreme shooting, you’re doing a good job.
Grade: B+
Rajon Rondo: 2 years, $15 million
Since drafting Trae Young, the Hawks have struggled to find consistency in the backup point guard position. Despite Brandon Goodwin making strides and finding a rhythm, securing now two-time NBA champion Rajon Rondo gives the team a big boost in off-court intangibles; mentorship and guidance for Trae Young, playoff experience, and a coach on the floor. As active as the Hawks were, Rondo is the perfect glue player to make them all work together.
Those who oppose the move will point out Rondo’s regular-season disappearing act that he’s somewhat perfected over the past few years, but we all watched him prove his worth on the NBA finals stage for the Los Angeles Lakers. If you thought the Hawks overpaid for him, they clearly had money to spend. I’ve watched this front office spend money on much worse than a two-time champ. He’s also a liability defensively, which now gives us two Hawks point guards with that stigma. However, another Atlanta free agency move addressed this issue. We’ll talk about that next.
Grade: B
Bogdan Bogdanovic: 4 years, $72 million
One of the most highly touted free agents of the offseason, Bogdan Bogdanovic, landed in Atlanta after a sign-and-trade with the Milwaukee Bucks failed to stick. Drafted by Phoenix with the 27th pick in 2014 and traded to the Kings in 2016, the 28-year-old Serbian shooter was a backup for most of his three seasons in Sacramento but saw an uptick in scoring when he was inserted into the starting lineup last year. He averaged a career-high 15.1 points per game last season and saw drastic improvements in his midrange and free throw shooting percentages.
Whether he comes off the bench or starts for the Atlanta Hawks, Bogdanovic should prove to provide instant offense. As the worst three-point shooting team in the league last year, he solves their catch and shoot problem, and has an impressive 61 percent shooting percentage around the rim.
While most are anticipating his production on offense, the Bogdanovic addition still leaves much to be desired defensively. He’s got nice size and strength to him which should help make up for what Trae Young lacks on the defensive end, but only time will tell if it actually works out that way. He’s no world-class athlete but he does move well. It’ll be interesting to see if the Hawks decide to bring him off the bench or to go ahead and give him the two-guard spot over Cam Reddish.
At any rate, the Atlanta Hawks are definitely much better with Bogdanovic on the squad. We’ll see if he and other Hawks players can have breakout seasons to push them into the playoffs.