The Atlanta Hawks have not had the season that they would have been looking forward to after they finished within two games of the NBA Finals last season. If not for the ankle injury that Trae Young suffered thanks to the referee’s foot, the Hawks had the chance to go all the way.
This season did not start out as well. The Hawks had several players who had offseason cleanups and then had injuries throughout the preseason. Nate McMillan’s goal of chemistry was always going to be hard to achieve. The Hawks then lurched from illness and injury crisis almost until the end of January.
While we know all of this, there is still going to be a level of letdown if and when the Hawks are eliminated from the postseason. While they are certainly a good team, they will likely lose Lou Williams to retirement and potentially other players in the coming offseason and will therefore need to replace them.
Why the Atlanta Hawks should make a play for Donte DiVincenzo
Donte DiVincenzo was traded by the Milwaukee Bucks mid-season to the Sacramento Kings, in the year after DiVincenzo helped the Bucks to the title. The problem for the Kings is that DiVincenzo is unhappy with the way that the Sacramento franchise used him.
He believes that the team played him less in order to lower his value in free agency as DiVincenzo is a restricted free agent next season. His current qualifying offer is around $6.6 million and the Kings would love to keep the 3-and-D player.
The Hawks may be interested in DiVincenzo if they are unable to re-sign Delon Wright. He brings tremendous 3-point shooting on top of his defense and can also bring his experience of winning a championship to the franchise.
The problem for the Hawks is that they are already paying $144.2 million in salary next season. If they were to sign DiVincenzo they would need to trade a key piece or not guarantee Danilo Gallinari’s $21.4 million contract. So the question is, would DiVincenzo bring enough to the Hawks to sacrifice Gallinari or another key piece?
While this is a difficult question to answer, the Hawks are not where they need to be if they want to win a championship. They need to change some of the pieces around Young but it is unlikely that DiVincenzo would be the piece to get them there.