Atlanta Hawks

Trae Young is going to be an All-Star in the NBA for years to come. In his second season in the NBA, Young averaged 29.6 points and 9.3 assists, while shooting 36.1% from three-point range. He has superstar written all over him and is the face of the Atlanta Hawks for at least the next decade. 

So, what did the Hawks do to help him this offseason? They went out and drafted Onyeka Okongwu No. 6 overall, a lengthy and athletic big man, and signed some veteran players to strengthen and help this young core in Atlanta. The Hawks signed Danilo Gallinari, Rajon Rondo and Kris Dunn all to multi-year contracts and made this team a legit playoff team in the Eastern Conference.

Danilo Gallinari was one of the top players in this free agency class and after averaging 18.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and shooting 40.5% from three last season, he is a guy who can join any team and play significant minutes immediately. He can virtually fit any system in today’s NBA and was a big acquisition for the Hawks. 

The addition of Danilo Gallinari was a picture-perfect signing for the Atlanta Hawks as his game is exactly what they have been looking for on the wing. Unlike his roles in the past where he would play the power forward position and in the post, the Hawks will mainly use him on the wing since they have Clint Capela and John Collins commanding the paint. Allowing Gallinari to do what he does best, catch-and-shoot, from the wing, opens up the court tremendously for Trae Young and expands this Hawks offensive so much. The Hawks have also signed Bogdan Bogdanovic to an offer sheet that the Kings have yet to match, so it seems like he may also be joining the Hawks, giving them another high volume three-point threat.

The Atlanta Hawks, with their additions this offseason, look like they have quietly become one of the league’s best perimeter-oriented teams and it should come as no surprise this season if they are the league’s top three-point shooting team. Trae Young, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Huerter, Cam Reddish, Danilo Gallinari, and DeAndre Hunter are all threats to score from the perimeter, and with John Collins and Clint Capela cleaning up the rebounds in the paint, look out for the Atlanta Hawks.

This team should be one of the most exciting teams to watch this upcoming season and out of all 30 teams in the league, are amongst the top in terms of having a solidified youthful core to build around and play around with for the next decade.