While the Atlanta Hawks' surge up the Eastern Conference standings towards the end of last season was thrilling, their postseason exit was inevitable considering some of the obvious holes on the roster.
Their ascension arrived rapidly, so it's hard to blame those who were on the roster or in the front office. Now, all they can do is look forward to improving even more in their next campaign - one there's a reasonable amount of hype for.
It's understandable to be excited about the immediate outlook of the squad, as it seems they addressed their biggest weakness that was on full display in their lone playoff series. They now have undeniable forward depth.
Aaron Wiggins could be the most underrated pickup of the summer
It's not difficult to see why the acquisition of Lu Dort got all of the attention.
He's just two seasons removed from being an invaluable starter on a championship team, earning All-Defense honors in the process.
It's his former teammate in OKC - and current teammate in Atlanta - however, that could end up having the biggest impact towards improving the Hawks' win total.
The roster's biggest weakness last season was their lack of forward depth off the bench.
Jonathan Kuminga was a fine temporary fix, but he was the only semi-reliable option behind Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson.
They were clearly missing someone who could be as reliable on offense as they were on defense - on a nightly basis. Wiggins, 27, looks to bring Atlanta exactly that.
In their final preseason game ahead of the regular season, Wiggins showed Atlanta why they acquired him in the first place. The Hawks treated their matchup against the Mavericks like a regular season game, playing their main rotation in their expected roles.
The former Thunder saw 22 minutes off the bench, recording 19 points, seven rebounds and two assists, knocking down four threes along the way.
Any production similar to this will be invaluable to their trajectory
He likely won't be able to replicate this level of production on any given night, but even 60% of it would go a long way towards Atlanta's pursuit of contention.
Wiggins consistently forced the Mavericks into uncomfortable looks, all while making them pay on the other end.
He was Atlanta's third leading scorer on the night.
He's not alone in this production, either, making his stellar play that much more valuable. If one of the starting forwards were to go down, it seems the Hawks will be just fine.
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