The Atlanta Hawks can run back the vast majority of their roster next season with nine of their top 10 minutes leaders last season set to return and trade deadline acquisition Saddiq Bey poised to take the spot of veteran guard Aaron Holiday – the lone free agent of that bunch – in terms of playing time.
What the Hawks will do this offseason is anyone’s guess as any number of directions seems possible. But, if they run back this group, there are a few things we would like to see if they stay the course even if that seems unlikely at this point.
First, we will take a look at some of the lineups we’d like to see from the Hawks a bit more and, hopefully, after a full offseason under Snyder, we will.
Speaking of Bey, our first lineup features the five-year veteran.
Trae Young – Bogdan Bogdanovic – Saddiq Bey – John Collins – Onyeka Okongwu
This lineup was an easy one to pick, sitting atop the list net efficiency differential for the Hawks among qualifying lineups (those with at least 100 possessions together) with a plus-63.7 rating, per Cleaning The Glass.
That was good enough to rank in the 100th percentile among all lineups to qualify during the regular season.
Unfortunately, we only got to see it for 105 possessions, barely enough time to even register. That being said, if the Hawks run it back with this same group next season, featuring a lineup that compliments Trae Young with Bogdan Bogdanovic and Bey’s shooting as well as John Collins and Okongwu’s defense seems like a wise choice.
What the group lacks in rebounding and perimeter defense they make up with scoring punch.
That may be an even more appealing scenario than it sounds on the surface considering the Hawks were not stopping many opponents anyway.