The Atlanta Hawks traded away Cam Reddish in mid-January, the 13th to be precise, and at the time of writing, they have played five games since. They received Kevin Knox back and he has played well since coming to the franchise, accepting the role which he has been given.
However, the player who appears to be benefitted the most from the Reddish trade is the backup point guard, Delon Wright. The former member of the Sacramento Kings franchise prior to being traded for this season wore the brunt of most of the criticism for the team losing momentum when Trae Young sits.
He did not appear to be a good fit for the second unit but now with Reddish gone, he is running the unit with more confidence. It is a combination of this confidence in his role and the players around him who appear to be fitting into the structured roles of the team. This can only help a point guard who is trying to get the most out of his unit on the floor.
The Atlanta Hawks are benefitting from a more confident Delon Wright
Now, Wright has played solidly on defense since arriving in Atlanta, his issues have been at the other end of the floor. This has started to change in the five games since Reddish has been traded with Wright’s statistics starting to trend upwards as well.
In these games, Wright has averaged 6.4 points, 2.8 assists, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.6 steals in 19.8 minutes per game. This compares favorably with the rest of the season where he is averaging 4.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 0.9 steals in 17.8 minutes per game.
While part of the uptick can be explained by two more minutes a game, Wright is also able to let his defense create offense for himself and others. He also has the defensive prowess of Onyeka Okongwu behind him and this allows him to become a little more adventurous looking for the steal.
However, the biggest difference is the second unit is all pulling together to achieve the same goal, to win games. This is always going to help the point guard.