Which players should the Atlanta Hawks look to move on from next?

Player the Atlanta Hawks should move on from No. 1: TLC’s contributions are appreciated, but…

When the Hawks were running around with the largest roster in NBA history thanks to a record number of players on 10-day contracts being needed to overcome an ailing rotation. One player who sort of skipped that step was Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot. He signed a one-year deal back in September before COVID forced him into a much larger role than anticipated.

His deal became fully guaranteed one week ago on Jan 7.

This season, the lanky wing is averaging 4.7 points and 1.6 rebounds in 27 appearances with 12 starts. He’s shooting 38.5 percent from the floor and 34.7 percent from three.

It’s an improvement over the previous season for Luwawu-Cabarrot but still short of his career-best in 2020 when he averaged 7.8 points on 43.5 percent shooting and 38.8 percent from deep.

His perimeter defense hasn’t been what the Hawks had hoped either with his matchups shooting better than 51.0 percent on three in his defense. But the biggest issue for Luwawu-Cabarrot is when he’s been at his best for the Hawks.

TLC’s splits show a stark difference in his production as a starter as opposed to a reserve.

He averages 7.4 points, 2.6 boards, and 1.7 assists as a starter compared to 2.5/0.8/0.3 off of the bench. His efficiency is far better from the pine though with Luwawu-Cabarrot shooting 37.0 percent overall and 33.9 percent from beyond the arc when he started but 41.4 percent from the floor and 36.8 percent from outside with the backups.

So why give up on him if he is more efficient as a reserve? Because the Hawks offensive rating improves by 5.3 points when he’s off of the floor while the opposing team’s offensive rating falls 1.5 points in the same situation.

His spotty offense and leaky defense aren’t helping anything and, if the Hawks continue on their current trajectory, they would be better off giving his minutes to the likes of Skylar Mays.