The countdown for the official start of the Atlanta Hawks season is now a mere 17 days away. Preseason action starts up on October 4th, when the Hawks travel down to South Beach to take on the new-look Miami Heat. The regular season opener will take place in Atlanta, as the Hawks host Luka Doncic, and the Dallas Mavericks on October 21st. There is a lot to get excited about for Hawks fans, as the team tries to build off their success and “surprise” Eastern Conference finals appearance in 2021 NBA playoffs.
The Hawks have essentially returned the same squad that was within two games of the NBA finals. General Manager, Travis Schlenk, had a busy offseason and added some pieces to help fill out any deficiencies that existed on this roster. Adding depth to an already deep collection of players, the Hawks can now roll out numerous combinations of line-ups. Head Coach, Nate McMillan, should have a fun time, and his hands full, on how to allocate and stagger minutes for this rock-solid roster. Let us dive into the latest-Hawks additions and their potential impact on the team.
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Delon Wright (Combo Guard/6-5)
Role: Lead-back-up point guard duties
Last Season Stats: 10.2ppg/4.3apg/4.3rpg/1.6spg
Season Prediction: 8ppg/4apg/4rpg/1spg
The Hawks acquired Wright from the Sacramento Kings, via a three-team trade involving the Boston Celtics. This is an immediate band-aid to the back-up point guard problem in Atlanta. The franchise had been searching for a solution behind Trae Young for a couple off-season’s now. Wright brings a veteran presence and a steady hand that can lead the second-unit for the Hawks. Expect him to become the lead ball handler for the bench rotation and a very nice rotational piece. This will also give Hawks guard, Louis Williams, the ability to come off the bench as a pure scorer, instead of the secondary playmaker that we saw in spurts of the playoffs last year. Wright will be a welcome addition and an immediate contributor off the bench.
Gorgui Dieng (C/PF/6-10)
Role: Backup center for the first half of the year; spot minutes when Onyeka Okongwu gets back in the fold
Last Season Stats: 6.7ppg/1.3apg/3.6rpg
Season Prediction: 5ppg/1apg/5rpg
Veteran center, Gorgui Dieng, was signed outright in the offseason to a single-year deal. Dieng is an underappreciated center in this league. He’s a stretch 5 who is a career 36% 3 point shooter, and a serviceable rim protector. The now 31-year old is on his fourth NBA team just within this past year. With Dieng, Hawks fans should not expect anything that would be a game breaker. He is a solid presence in the paint and brings the Hawks another added element in terms of hustle or motor. He will most likely anchor the back-up center role while Onyeka Okongwu out [reports say he will be sidelined until late-February or even March of 2022). Dieng’s will be another big body to throw at the likes of a Joel Embiid if the Hawks cross paths again with the Philadelphia big man.
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (SF/6-7)
Role: Serviceable rotational piece; maybe takes the spot of Solomon Hill to get those spot minutes
Last Season Stats: 6.4ppg/1.2apg/2.2rpg
Season Prediction: 3ppg/1pg/2rpg (if any)
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot was signed to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal early in September. TLC appeared in 58 games for the Brooklyn Nets last season, which had notable depth issues the entire season. The Hawks are already rich at the wing positions with: Kevin Huerter, Cam Reddish, DeAndre Hunter, & Bogdan Bogdanovic taking up the bulk of the minutes. It is hard to see where TLC fits into the equation. Nevertheless, the NBA season is long, and with injuries marring the Hawks last year, he could be a nice “next-man-up” addition, and bolsters our depth, yet again. Other than that, he may take the place of Solomon Hill, if coach McMillan ceases his minutes to Cabarrot. If this makes anyone feel better, TLC did play a vital role for Team France this past Olympics, eventually falling short to Team USA in the Gold Medal game.
Jahlil Okafor (C/6-10)
Role: Fighting for that back-up center role while Okongwu is out
Last Season Stats: 5.4ppg/0.5apg/2.4rpg
Season Prediction: N/A
The Okafor signing may have come as a bit of a surprise for Hawks nation. Okafor and the Hawks agreed to a non-guaranteed deal on September 16th. The former #3 overall pick in the 2015 draft now turned NBA journeyman big is playing for his sixth-different NBA franchise, since being drafted number three overall in 2015 to the Philadelphia 76ers. The only logic to this signing is to have him compete with Dieng to see if he can become another rotational big off the bench? Do not be surprised if he is not even on the roster by the end of the year or midseason. Okafor’s career has not gone as planned since leaving Duke after his stellar freshman season. The non-guaranteed deal and fringe roster player highlights that perfectly.
Drop your comments below on how you think our newest-Hawks will do this season:
