The Atlanta Hawks had a number of questions on their roster going into the offseason. They were then dealt a blow when last season’s rookie Onyeka Okongwu had shoulder surgery and it was announced that he would be out for the first three months of the season.
This led to the Hawks signing Johnny Hamilton very early on in the free agency period. As he signed an Exhibit-10 deal, the Hawks showed that they were not confident in his ability to play the backup role for any period of time.
This meant that they also signed Gorgui Dieng to a single-season deal. Dieng is a veteran of the league who is well known for his defense and his ability to space the floor. he is a really good size and appears that he could be a good backup for Clint Capela.
The Atlanta Hawks need a great effort from Gorgui Dieng this season.
While it is not yet guaranteed that Dieng will be the backup big man for the season, that storyline still has to play out in training camp, he has the guaranteed deal. This means that the roster spot is his to lose which is always a good place to be.
Dieng had a really good warmup leading into training camp, being named to the AfroBasket All-Tournament team, leading the entire tournament in scoring, and finishing in the top-three for rebounding. Now he needs to turn his attention to the new NBA season. With that in mind, let’s look at three goals for Gorgui Dieng in the 2021-22 season.