When Kobe Bufkin was traded to the Brooklyn Nets for cash considerations, nobody outside of Atlanta or Brooklyn took much notice. It was just another third-year former mid-first round pick being exchanged for cash, clearing up cap space for the Atlanta Hawks and allowing a tanking team to take a swing at a once exciting prospect.
After Trae Young had an injury scare against the same Nets team, however, the consequences of the trade became all too real. While we don't know the details of the injury at the present moment, Young likely will be out for some amount of time, even if the results of the MRI are all good news. The Hawks have nothing behind Young as far as point guards, primary creators, or whatever your preferred term is for the person controlling the ball on offense.
To make matters worse, Atlanta can’t sign Bufkin due to a restriction from the NBA on signing players you recently traded. While the rule makes sense to prevent teams from “trading” a player in under-the-table deals just for them to rejoin the team, it was not intended for moments like this.
What can the Hawks do moving forward if Young misses extended time?
Jalen Johnson is a skilled creator and the most obvious choice of replacement for Young’s offensive production, but he’s a different type of player than Young. While he certainly could be capable of sliding into Young’s role to some capacity, he wouldn’t be as effective as Young or as he is in his current, less ball-dominant role.
Behind Johnson lies a sea of shaky playmaking talent. Vit Krejci has the most directly applicable skillset to Young, but he has received three DNP-Coach’s Decisions through just five games. Quin Snyder clearly does not want to play him. There is a pool of players in Snyder’s favor who could fill this role, but they are not “point guards” at heart.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker is a fun creator in spot moments, but his experiment as the backup point guard in Minnesota to phase the aging Mike Conley out of the starting lineup last season was disastrous. The same principle applies to Luke Kennard, who is less confident in his ball handling than you would like from the one. Keaton Wallace is officially a “point guard," but only because of his height. He has yet to show reason to be excited about his playmaking capabilities.
The free agent market appears to be the only place Atlanta can turn to, but they cannot reacquire their former first-round pick. Delon Wright, Cory Joseph, Monte Morris, and Patty Mills are the most attractive options on the free agent market. Luckily for the Hawks, they have a roster spot available after only signing 14 players to their 15-man squad. It would be nice to have a player like Bufkin to try and remedy this problem in-house, however.