What does Vit Krejci's first triple-double mean for the Atlanta Hawks?

The Atlanta Hawks (26-34) have spent the better part of the past two seasons developing Vit Krejci. The 6'8" combo guard came across from the OKC Thunder via trade when the Hawks sent out Maurice Harkless. Both teams also received trade exceptions as part of the deal.

There was a period after last free agency that the Hawks waived Krejci and he signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Unfortunately for Krejci, the Timberwolves decided to waive him. However, as is always the case, one teams loss is another's gain. The Hawks re-signed Krejci to a two-way deal on December 22nd.

Instead of being on a full contract as he was when he first came to the Hawks, this two-way deal showed that the Hawks are still interested but want to see more from the guard. To that end, he has only played one game with the Hawks, where he saw the court for two minutes. All the rest of his basketball has been in the G League with the College Park Skyhawks.

How is Vit Krejci's development going for the Atlanta Hawks?

So far this season Krejci has managed to average 9.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.6 blocks in 29.8 minutes per game. He is not even shooting the ball very efficiently, only going at 40.2 percent from the floor, 31.1 percent from the perimeter, and 72.7 percent from the line. However, he is the starting small forward on a team looking to finish in the playoff mix this season.

The reason for this is that Krejci can do, and does, a whole lot of everything each and every night. He is able to produce what his team needs each night. This is an incredible skill to have and one of the most desirable to NBA teams. However, players need to be able to do it night in and night out.

To that end, Krejci managed to produce his first triple-double against the Cleveland Charge and in doing so had a plus/minus of 15 impact on the box score. He had what I like to call a Rondo triple-double, with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. He also had three steals and a block in 35 minutes of game time.

Krejci also has improved his shot selection, going 3-of-5 from the floor, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 1-of-1 from the line. It is this complete stat line that is going to be of interest to the Hawks. Krejci is starting to show that he is making the right calls at the right time. This could see him playing in a deep bench role next season where the coach puts him on in specific situations.

This could have been of the development plan for Krejci all along. Like AJ Griffin, who the Hawks are trying to develop into a specific role, Krejci is working towards finding a niche with the varsity squad. One thing is for sure, the third-year man is showing growth which is lucky because he is only eligible for one more year on a two-way deal.

Krejci may have just partially inked his next deal, be it two-way or a full deal thanks to his triple-double when his team needed it.