The Atlanta Hawks signed Solomon Hill at the start of the season to a one–year, minimum salary deal. He was signed as insurance, as a 3-and-D wing player who can do a bit of everything. Unfortunately, Hill is not particularly talented offensively but can play some really solid defense.
Well, anyone who followed the Hawks this season would be well aware of the injury issues suffered by the franchise. They lost De’Andre Hunter for most of the season, the same with Cam Reddish. They had Danilo Gallinari on the sidelines at the start of the season and John Collins missed nine games towards the end of the season.
There was even a game where Hill played some backup center minutes, and the next game he was bringing the ball up the court. He truly did it all for the Hawks all season and was one of the main reasons that the rest of the Hawks on the floor could take the team to a win. He played his role well.
The Atlanta Hawks were lucky to have Solomon Hill all season
Despite Hill losing his playing time during the playoffs due to his lack of offense, the Hawks were lucky to have Hill this season. He still had plenty of moments that had Hawks fans tearing their hair out. He committed boneheaded turnovers and just seemed to forget where he was meant to be on offense at times.
However, Hill put everything into his time on the court and was a good example for the younger Hawks players. They are more talented than Hill, but he bought his knowledge and experience of the Finals run of the Miami Heat from last season.
Atlanta Hawks season highlights for Solomon Hill
While Hill only averaged 4.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 0.7 steals in 21.3 minutes per game this season, he had a number of highlights. One of these was during the playoffs in New York when Nerlens Noel decided to knock past Trae Young and then walked straight at the Hawks team.
As a veteran and a player who makes an impact by doing the little things, Hill walked straight at Noel, and the two bumped each other. Noel did not react well, but Hill showed the Knicks that even when the game was not on, they would not tolerate intimidation tactics, especially against their team leader.
On the court, Hill had several good games offensively. He had five games where he scored more than ten points including one game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Hill scored 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting, which is an incredible game. Hill shot the 3-ball at 32.1 percent for the season but unfortunately, the Hawks lost this one despite his elevated shooting.
Hill seemed to like regular-season games against the Bucks, he only had one game this season where he collected more than 10 rebounds. He started the final game of their season series and help get the win for the Hawks with 12 rebounds.
It was an incredible effort because the Hawks were without Trae Young and it allowed the rest of the team to be a little bit more offensively focused.
Atlanta Hawks contract and season grades for Solomon Hill
Contract Grades
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Given how much Solomon Hill did for the Atlanta Hawks this season, if he was paid $5 million then this would have been a decent contract. However, Hill had one of the best contracts in the NBA last season and he was only on $2.2 million. He was a low-key high-value pickup for the Hawks in the last offseason.
While many people look at the raw numbers of a player to judge his effectiveness, Hill has defied this trend for his entire career. Fortunately for the Hawks, Hill earned big money in his last deal with similar numbers. This means he might want to try again next season with a cheap contract.
Contract grade: A+
Season Grades
Considering Hill signed on with the Hawks when they were being coached by Lloyd Pierce, he would have little concept of what role he was going to be given. Well, he managed to carve out a role on the defensive end and this got him playing time.
Without Hill’s durability, the Hawks would not have qualified directly for the playoffs, they would have been a play-in team for sure. Despite the fact that he had such low production, he was a crucial member of the squad during the regular season.
Season grade: B+