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Kristaps Porziņģis’ availability has not been great this season, which is why the Hawks were a candidate to go out and trade for another big man in the first place. Instead, they flipped a center for a cursory look at a combo forward, a guard and no bigs.
Atlanta’s offense has not looked so hot since the Trae Young trade—and to be sure, it wasn’t any great shakes before that. Jonathan Kuminga has on-ball moments that make you go “Whoa,” and Buddy Hield can buoy the team’s efficiency with his gravity. Overall, though, this feels…aimlesss.
Minimal harm will be incurred if that’s the case. Kuminga has a team option for next season while Hield is guaranteed just $3 million. The Hawks could also view their salaries as vessels through which they make a bigger trade over the summer. They did not have that option with Kristaps Porziņģis, who is entering unrestricted free agency.
Planning that far ahead would be interesting. It could potentially prove genius. The immediate basketball implications just don’t inspire much confidence. Kuminga isn’t a good enough shooter to ensure he won’t prove redundant alongside any combination of Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher, and at least for the timing being, depth at the 5 is reaching uncomfortable levels of dependence on N’Faly Dante and Christian Koloko.
Maybe the Hawks have another move up their sleeve now. Or perhaps head coach Quin Snyder figures out how to coax an alchemy of play-finishing, consistent rebounding, defense and shooting from Kuminga that Golden State never could. Color me skeptical. This seems more like an attempt to acquire offseason salary ballast than anything else.