Hawks finally answer biggest offseason question with Dorian Finney-Smith trade

It feels like for the majority of the offseason, the heaviest conversation surrounding the Atlanta Hawks was what exactly they'd do to get their roster down to 15 players.

They spent most of the summer at 17, and got the first tough decision out of the way when they waived Devin Carter - the talented young guard who spent the first two seasons of his career with the Sacramento Kings.

With only one more summer decision left to make, Atlanta took their time, but ultimately chose to deal Buddy Hield and Ryan Nembhard to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for veteran Dorian Finney-Smith. A two-for-one swap does just enough to put the Hawks at 15. Finally.

They could've simply waived a guy, but they valued a fresh face more

One of the biggest issues Atlanta ran into last season was their lack of quality depth at forward.

If they decided to part with Mo Gueye, or someone else on a similar low-commitment contract, for nothing, it wouldn't have gotten them anywhere closer to contention. They would have been letting the restrictions win.

While Dorian Finney-Smith doesn't seem like the type of player to be the missing piece to a championship run, what he provides, at his best, is invaluable.

There's no such thing as having too many defensive-minded forwards on a roster. In the modern NBA, it's the most important archetype to possess. Considering his past offensive impact and veteran presence, as well, Finney-Smith could become quite the glue-guy in the locker room for a young Hawks team.

While Buddy Hield was a quality veteran to have, once Atlanta opted into his deal for the upcoming season, the writing was on the wall for his tenure here. When considering who could be an odd-man out in the roster crunch, his name was brought up most frequently.

Now that the crunch is out of the way, the Hawks can prepare for the season

The only thing left to do is wait.

While the roster isn't technically finalized, it's difficult to imagine them going out and making another trade, or even waiving anyone else.

At 15 players, they should enter the season with this group together.

It seems they've made all the adjustments necessary following their first-round exit last postseason, and now, with a revamped group, they'll look to continue their climb up the Eastern Conference standings.

Welcome to Atlanta, DFS!

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow