Did the Atlanta Hawks make a mistake not signing Malcolm Hill?
The Atlanta Hawks signed Malcolm Hill to a 10-day hardship contract when they were in the depth of their Covid crisis. The G League standout then came into the lineup and showed that he was able to space the floor and play within the Hawks system.
Fortunately for the Hawks near the end of his contract, they started to get their players back, meaning they did not renew Hill’s deal. Given that the Hawks went spiraling down into a losing streak that was almost historically bad, this may have been a mistake.
Hill only played three games for the Hawks but he averaged 5.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 15.3 minutes per game. He was also incredibly efficient shooting the ball at 62.5 percent from the floor, 60.0 percent from deep, and hot all four of his free throws.
So what happened to Malcolm Hill after he left the Atlanta Hawks
Well, as luck would have it for Hill, he would sign a 10-day contract with the now league-leading Chicago Bulls. He has only played two games there but they have also been impressed by the energy and talent that Hill brings to the floor.
He is averaging 8.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 24 minutes per game which are serviceable numbers for a rotation piece. This has led to the Bulls signing Hill as one of the two-way players, keeping him with the franchise for the remainder of the season.
So this leads to the question, did the Hawks make a mistake not signing Hill to another 10-day contract? As is the norm with these questions, there are multiple components to the answer. When the Hawks were getting most of the core back at the start of the year, Hill was eligible to re-sign.
Due to his size, he plays the wing position which is where the Hawks have too many such players. They moved two of these with the Cam Reddish trade which freed up a roster spot but by this time it was too late, Hill had already put pen to paper in Chicago.
With the Hawks struggling offensively, it would have been great to have Hill come on a hit his long-ball at a good clip. This is particularly so as the Hawks’ wings have been on and off the court with injuries.
Ultimately though, there is not much room at the wing position for another player who up until recently was only considered a very good G League player. There is no way that he was going to push his way past De’Andre Hunter, Bogdan Bogdanovic, or Kevin Huerter in the rotation.
This means that while it would have been nice to have Hill on the roster from a developmental point of view, he would not have impacted the Hawks’ chances too much this season. The Hawks made the right call letting him go. Had he been around after the trade it might have been a different story but the timing was wrong for both parties.