Atlanta Hawks: 5 reasons to pass on pursuing Ben Simmons

Reason the Atlanta Hawks should pass on Simmons No. 4: Jalen Johnson could offer much of what Simmons does

If it were just Hunter and Reddish, who are both closing in on contract-decision time, there might still be an argument to get Simmons and play him at small forward. Both still have significant questions that could keep the Hawks looking for an upgrade or an interested team being hesitant to give up a lot.

Rookie Jalen Johnson comes with some questions of his own. The 20th overall pick in July’s NBA Draft has yet to step onto the court in a meaningful game.

But he’s displayed the kind of skillset that has some already making favorable comparisons to Simmons in his ability to defend multiple positions and, as we saw during Summer League, facilitate the offense.

Johnson, like Hunter and Reddish, offers a more diverse scoring ability that fits this roster better.

Indeed, it’s still all projection with the Duke product. But that works in many ways. He’s under control for the next four years with restricted free agency after that, keeping the Hawks books cleaner for longer. He also is less likely to interest a team like Philly looking for win-now pieces.

Don’t be fooled by the Hawks early entrance into the postseason mix last season, this is still a team full of players developing. Having the kind of options to pivot in case things go awry is critical at this point.

That means, in addition to not having a home with the Hawks at power forward or center until January at the very earliest, and it looking highly unlikely even then, Simmons would also be a hard sell as an improvement over what the Hawks can get from their young trio. Even if having patience can be a hard sell in its own right.