4 Hawks who definitely won't be back, 4 who shouldn't return next season
By Tyler Watts
Shouldn’t be back: A.J. Griffin
Griffin was the 16th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and displayed promise as a rookie. He averaged 8.9 points in 19.5 minutes per game and shot 39.0 percent from 3-point range. The Hawks were excited about the 6’6 wing, but it quickly became a lost second season for the 20-year-old.
Griffin played in just 20 games and averaged 8.6 minutes per contest. He was away from the team dealing with a personal matter for a stretch, but mostly just found himself outside of head coach Quinn Snyder’s rotation.
It is not like Atlanta is loaded with wing depth. Dejounte Murray, Bogdan Bogdanovic, De’Andre Hunter, and Jalen Johnson were ahead of Griffin in the rotation. Saddiq Bey was too before tearing his ACL in March. There should have been minutes available with Murray playing some point guard and others getting minutes at the four.
Griffin did not exactly dominate during his six games in the G League either, and it may be time for both sides to part ways.
If the Hawks have no plans of playing A.J. Griffin, they should move on from the 20-year-old and let him develop elsewhere. It is a strange situation that certainly needs to be fixed before next season.