1. Ricky Rubio
One of the most glaring weaknesses in the Atlanta Hawks roster last season — which was even further exposed in the playoffs by the Miami Heat — is their lack of offensive creation outside of superstar point guard Trae Young.
The Heat were able to commit multiple defenders to keep Young from getting two feet into the paint and dared any other Hawk to beat them.
Atlanta ultimately was unable to generate enough offense to make Miami pay for their sell-out strategy on Ice Trae and were downed in five quick games. The Hawks can expect a similar ending for future seasons if they can’t acquire another playmaker to either play alongside Young or behind him with the reserves.
Ricky Rubio continually proves himself to be one of the most underrated players in the entire league. Before going down with a heartbreaking, season-ending ACL tear, he was putting up stellar numbers off of the Cleveland Cavaliers bench.
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Through 34 games, he was averaging 13.1 points and 6.6 assists in just 28 minutes a night. Although his efficiency left a lot to be desired, his ability to create for himself and his teammates helped lead the Cavs to their impressive start at 20-14 before his injury.
Cleveland desperately missed his wizardry with the ball and never fully recovered once he was sidelined, flunking out of the Play-In Tournament with two straight losses.
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Now, he’ll hit unrestricted free agency and should have quite a line of suitors ready to bid for his offensive orchestration. Due to his injury, his price tag should take a considerable hit, and the Atlanta Hawks might be able to secure his services for their reserve unit with their MLE.
