Ranking the 7 worst Atlanta Hawks starters of the Trae Young era
1. Damian Jones (2019-20), started 27 total games
During the summer of 2019, the Hawks took a flier on Damian Jones as he was acquired from the Golden State Warriors via trade. After three seasons with the Warriors, Jones showed enough to warrant the roll of the dice from the Hawks. The hope was that he could add depth to the frontcourt or even (in a best-case scenario) develop into a spot starter for the team in the future. In fact, during his lone season with the Hawks, he probably played more than most thought he would.
Jones would appear in 55 games for the Hawks that season, starting 27 of them. Jones averaged nearly six points and four rebounds per game on 68 percent shooting from the field. However, perhaps partly due to the inconvenience of a global pandemic, the Hawks didn’t re-sign Jones following the 2019-20 season.
Jones has flashed from time to time since then, spending time with Phoenix, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Utah but has yet to catch on consistently with a team. He was recently traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Looking back at the supporting cast that the Hawks have shuffled through during the Trae Young era, it probably hasn’t been as bad as most people believe. Still, you’d have to imagine that the hope for this organization moving forward is that they still have yet to see the best supporting cast possible around the face of their franchise.