Asa Newell has looked thoroughly impressive every time he’s been given an opportunity. Newell dropped 11 points, a rebound, and a steal in 19 minutes during a Wednesday night loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, shooting 4/5 from the field and 2/3 from deep.
While it won’t show up on the box score, the rookie hailing from UGA did a remarkable job of being communicative on defense and filling the lane in transition. These minor improvements from his summer league and early-season performances have helped Newell leap from a rookie who belongs in the G League to an NBA rotation-caliber player.
Newell can help the full-strength Hawks
Newell still has strides to make as an overall player. His handle limits him from getting to the rim as often as his athletic ability suggests he should, and he’s still prone to rookie mistakes on both ends of the floor.
Regardless, he has a place in the full-strength Hawks roster. This game marks the fourth career game in which Newell has played non-garbage time minutes. He played over 20 minutes in two games against the Lakers and Thunder when the Hawks were injured, and he chipped in for four crucial minutes in a game against the Magic when the Hawks were in foul trouble.
In these four games, Newell was never the worst player on the floor for the Hawks. He is active as a cutter and in transition, has the right mindset on offense, and hustles hard on D. Add in his value as a spacer (he’s shooting 47.6% from deep!), and you have a legitimate, versatile NBA role player waiting for scraps of minutes on the stacked Hawks’ bench.
Of course, NBA rotations are a zero-sum game – an increase to Newell’s minutes must come from somewhere. The most reasonable sources of minutes are from Mo Gueye and Keaton Wallace. Gueye is an essential piece to this team with his rebounding and defense, but the Hawks don’t always need his skill set. With Gueye, his offensive limitations can prevent him from impacting the game, as seen when he was benched just 2 minutes into the third quarter in favor of Newell in the Clippers game.
Wallace fills a different role on this squad, serving as the backup point guard with a stout defensive presence. But Wallace doesn’t help the Hawks’ struggles with turnovers or offensive creation, nor do the Hawks play particularly well when he’s on the floor. The Hawks should embrace length and pace in the minutes without Trae Young, which should give Newell the nod over Wallace.
Newell probably won’t crack the rotation this month. Quin Snyder likes to ease into rotation changes, and Newell could benefit from increased playing time in the G League. But he could also benefit from time in the NBA, as could the Hawks.