The Atlanta Hawks landed Jonathan Kuminga at the trade deadline, and it looks like he could head up a new era for the organization. And luckily for the Hawks, they managed to snag a perfect supporting piece for the Kuminga era in the Trae Young trade: Corey Kispert. His 3-and-D play style perfectly accentuates what Kuminga, Jalen Johnson, and the rest of the squad bring to the table.
Neither Kuminga nor Johnson is the best three-point shooter. That’s where a guy like Kispert comes in. He’s an elite shooter from beyond the arc, which will help space the floor beautifully for Kuminga and Johnson to drive to the basket.
That’s why he’s such a great fit.
Corey Kispert is ideal role player next to Jonathan Kuminga
The Young trade was a long time coming for the Hawks. For the past couple of years, it felt inevitable that the Hawks and Young would go their separate ways, and it finally happened this season.
Atlanta shipped him off to the Washington Wizards in exchange for CJ McCollum and Kispert. McCollum’s time in Atlanta has been up and down, and though Kispert has gone through a couple of rough patches from deep, he’s been pretty reliable.
Kispert has good size for the wing position and holds up well on the defensive end. Add in his three-point shooting, and he should be a perfect long-term role player for the Hawks (especially at just 27 years old).
Lately, Kispert has been shooting the ball particularly well.Â
In his last five games with the Hawks, he’s played 19.8 minutes per contest, and the team is 5-0 in those games. Kispert is averaging 13.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists while shooting 52.2% from the floor and 41.4% from deep range on 5.8 three-point attempts per contest.
Obviously, Kispert needs to remain consistent from beyond the arc if he wants to become the ultimate role player alongside Kuminga and Johnson in Atlanta.
However, it’s clear he has the capability to do so. He’s a great shooter, and with Kuminga and Johnson’s abilities to get downhill, draw multiple defenders, and kick out to the three-point line, he should get clean looks.
McCollum was always the biggest name coming back to Atlanta in the Young deal. Kispert flew relatively under the radar. But now, he looks like the more important piece.
This summer, McCollum could move on to another team, but the Hawks have Kispert under contract for three more years, with a team option in the final year (and he is making under $14 million in all three seasons, on a declining deal).
He’s a great, cost-controlled role player to deploy alongside Kuminga moving forward.