The Atlanta Hawks were eliminated by the Miami Heat in five games in their first-round playoff series. The last play of the game summed it all up where the Hawks struggled to get the ball in, finally getting it to Danilo Gallinari. He was hemmed into the corner and instead of taking the shot which may have tied the game, the defense forced him to turn the ball over.
The thing is, the Hawks played most of this season with one hand tied behind their back thanks to the level of injury and illness which beset the team. However, they also kept losing games they should have won and this impacted their finishing position as much as the other bad luck.
They bought back most of their core from last season and then added Gorgui Dieng and Delon Wright. Unfortunately, the front office did not add enough players who were capable of moving the needle which helped lead to their early exit.
The Atlanta Hawks will look to trade Danilo Gallinari this offseason.
At the start of the seasonw we looks at the pros and cons of trading Gallinari. The Italian sharpshooter was going through a slump and this was having a huge impact on the fortunes of the team. Fortunately he developed into the most crucial piece in the second unit, even winning the sixth man of the month award once.
Gallinari is nearing the enf of his career and he also has a tremendous contract where he is only guaranteed $5 million for next season. If he does get his contract guaranteed then he is due $21.4 million, but it is the final year of his deal.
The Hawks need to decide if he is going to be able to help bring a second star to the fold. The other option is that he may be able to bring a younger version of himself to the franchise who fits the Hawks timeline better.
Either way, it is hard to see Gallinari being on the Hawks roster at the start of next season.