Atlanta Hawks: 5 reasons to pass on pursuing Ben Simmons
Reason the Atlanta Hawks should pass on Simmons No. 3: There are enough darts at wing
The old saying goes “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish are both better on one end of the floor than the other at this point in time. That is on defense, the primary trait Simmons possesses that would make him attractive to the Hawks.
At 6-foot-8, none offer the size of Simmons. Nor are they the facilitator he is. But, with Young and an improved bench, that isn’t much of a worry. And what they do offer in that aspect fills in the gaps.
But Hunter and Reddish have already displayed both a willingness and diversity in scoring ability that are greater than Simmons has.
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Hunter began the season shooting 43.5 from downtown over the first 10 games of the regular season. Then, in a five-game stretch before initially going down last season, Hunter averaged 22.4 points, 3.8 boards, 3.4 assists, and 2.0 steals. His return in the postseason was cut short by the same injury but he is expected to be ready for camp.
Reddish has had a much more tumultuous start to his career. But he’s also teased the kind of ceiling that makes fans bristling at the constant trade rumors surrounding him understandable.
He only played four games but went off for 21 points on 6-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc in Game 6 of the ECF.
Atlanta’s decision to let Reddish skip summer league also bodes well for the odds that he gets a real chance to show what he can do. For him, that means being more consistent mostly on offense, but really on both ends.