The Hawks Made Some Big Moves This Offseason
The Hawks had a lot of cap space this offseason, hoping to rebuild to a contending team in the East. They already had solid pieces like Trae Young, John Collins, Clint Capela, and Cam Reddish. They drafted Onyeka Okungwu 6th overall in the draft, but they didn’t stop there, making good use of all their cap space. Here’s how the Hawks transformed their team in a matter of hours.
2020 NBA Draft
With the 6th pick in the draft, the Hawks made an intriguing pick. They selected undersized center Onyeka Okungwu. Okungwu is being compared to Bam Adebayo, very good on offense around the paint and a stout defender. This pick does bolster up their frontcourt featuring John Collins and Clint Capela. But Okungwu won’t develop as fast as he would because of the lack of minutes. I still think Okungwu is very talented, although I would have preferred to see the Hawks take Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton would have complimented Trae Young as Haliburton is an excellent defender while Young is far from that. But selecting Okungwu here isn’t terrible, just not the best selection that they could have done.
Free Agent Signings
The Hawks had a lot of cap space this summer, and they put it to good use as they got 5 new free agents that will really help this team out.
Danillo Gallinari – 3yr/$61.5 Million Dollar Deal
Gallinari has been a solid scorer for most of his career, and even at the age of 32, he is still a very good scorer. Gallinari averaged 18.7 points last season for OKC, and the Hawks picking him up gives them another scoring option. The only thing I would say with this pickup is don’t let Gallinari get in the way of the development of guys like Cam Reddish and De’Andre Hunter. I know Gallinari is good and he will help this team, but don’t completely take out Hunter and Reddish because there is a better option. Gallinari gives this team some scoring, but he does go against their recent mold of selecting young athletic wings. But this is a solid pickup by the Hawks nonetheless.
Bogdan Bogdanovic – 4yr/$72 Million Dollar Deal
Bogdanovic has had a weird offseason this far. He was traded to the Bucks, but he didn’t want to be traded there and he became a restricted free agent. Then he signed an offer sheet with Atlanta, and the Kings let him go for some odd season. But now Atlanta gets some more shooting. Bogdanovic is a good shooter and scorer overall, although his defense isn’t great. I like Bogdanovic over a guy like Kevin Huerter, and this is definitely an upgrade. But again, Bogdanovic’s defense isn’t spectacular by any means, and the Hawks will definitely need some more defense in the future if they want to be successful. But again, this is a very good pickup by the Hawks.
Rajon Rondo – 2yr/$15 Million Dollar Deal
Just a year after winning the 2020 title with the Lakers, Rondo leaves to become the backup for the Hawks, and I absolutely love this move. Rondo is savvy and an excellent backup to Trae Young. Rondo is a great passer and will be one of the leader for this very young Hawks team. I also like the idea of Rondo mentoring Young, teaching him what he has learned during his long career. The Hawks finally get some resemblance of defense in their back-court, and they get somebody who can mentor Young and play 15-20 minutes off the bench. And if the Hawks make the playoffs, they are getting Playoff Rondo. What’s not to love about this move?
Kris Dunn – 2yr/$10 Million Dollar Deal
Kris Dunn has been one of the best defensive guards in the league over the past couple of seasons. The 4 year pro averaged 2.0 steals for the Bulls this past season. And over his career, Dunn has averaged 1.5 steals. Dunn’s average defensive rating is 109, a solid rating. Dunn can’t shoot from deep, as he shot just 26% this past season. So while Dunn isn’t a great offensive talent, the Hawks already have enough offense. Adding Dunn to provide some much needed defense off the bench makes this team more well-rounded.
Soloman Hill – 1 Year Deal
Soloman Hill is a solid 3&D wing for this Hawks team. Hill has been a long-time bench player for a multitude of teams, and this addition of defense again helps the Hawks. Soloman shot 37% from 3 this past season. Hill has always been a solid defender, and he helps round out the bottom half of this bench. I don’t expect Hill to be a game-changer for this Hawks team, but he can help this Hawks team be less of an all-offense team.
The Hawks changed a lot during this offseason. They selected Onyeka Okungwu 6th in the draft. Okungwu is very talented and has a chance to be very good, but the Hawks had better options (Tyrese Haliburton). And with all of their cap space during this offseason, the Hawks made a lot of good moves. They picked up the savvy scoring Danilo Gallinari to help bring the attention off of Trae Young. They got the sharp-shooting Bogdan Bogdanovic and a veteran backup PG in Rajon Rondo. Kris Dunn is a defensive specialist and Soloman Hill brings some shooting and defense off the bench as well.
I really like where the Hawks went this offseason, with moves like signing Kris Dunn and Rajon Rondo being great ones. I would have liked to see Tyrese Haliburton being selected at the #6 spot in the draft, and I think that while Gallinari is good, they should stick with Cam Reddish and De’Andre Hunter. But this offseason was a big splash for the Hawks as they are definitely in playoff contention now in the Eastern Conference.
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