The Atlanta Hawks signed Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to a training camp deal prior to last season. In what would be a sign of how the season would go, the Hawks had to wait for Luwawu-Cabarrot as his visa was held up in France. This was a season where what could go wrong, did go wrong.
Luwawu-Cabarrot outlasted all the other training camp players to secure the 15th spot on the roster. Given how bad the injury crisis was last season at the wing position, it is no surprise that the Hawks wanted the insurance that Luwawu-Cabarrot provided.
Well, it was good management for the Hawks as the injury crisis from this seasons was scarily similar to that of last season. De’Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish, and Bogdan Bogdanovic all were on the sidelines. It was made worse this season because Solomon Hill also injured his hamstring, meaning he would miss the whole season.
The Atlanta Hawks benefitted for a short time from Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot’s play.
Luwawu-Cabarrot was not in the Hawks rotation until the injury issues took hold and then he was inserted into the starting linup. When a deep bench player is called up to start you know that there are issues. He started to look comfortable with the team, having one game where he was unstoppable from behind the 3-point line.
The when Kevin Knox came into the team, immediately embracing his role, it appeared that Luwawu Cabarrot was out of the rotation for good. Well, the Hawks had further injury issues, this time to John Collins and Luwawu-Cabarrot outplayed Knox for the rotation minutes that were avaiable.
The problem is, though all of this, is that despite periods of good play, there were some plays which, to put it simply, hurt the Hawks. He would miss a layup on one play and then air ball a three-ball the next, or have an inexplicaple turnover.
His defense was not special enough to keep him on the court during this time and he ended up only playing at the end of qurters or junk time in the playoffs. Given where the Hawks want to end up next season, they need to find a player with greater x-factor potential.
So, should the Hawks pass or pursue Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot next season? The Hawks should find another player for the slot, passing on Luwawu-Cabarrot.