Last season saw Atlanta add more versatile youth to their roster, and the continued development of Trae Young as a lead guard. As the season went on, we saw Cam Reddish continue to get more comfortable offensively, while giving them much needed defense at multiple positions at times, as well as DeAndre Hunter showing flashes of what allowed him to be a starting wing for his entire first full season. Kevin Huerter had some injuries, but showed more playmaking ability, while continuing to space the floor at a high level for them, and giving them some of the better defense on their roster. John Collins has shown to be a really good offensive player, but I personally think he should probably play the 5 on a team with good defense around him, or next to a really strong defensive 5 that can defend the perimeter, and lengthy, disruptive wings. There are ways to put lineups around him on this roster, but it isnt the perfect fit, as constructed. I see him as a really good option for them as a scorer off the bench. It should be interesting to see if they decide to keep him, especially after some of the moves they made in the offseason.
Heading into the offseason, it was clear Atlanta needed to do something to improve their defense significantly, as well as their league worst 33.3% 3 point shooting percentage. Outside of continued development from within, they needed a playmaker that can defend, and play next to Trae Young in certain lineups, and they needed defense, and some added shooting from the 3/4 spots. They had a lot of money to spend in Free Agency, and they're super young, so it was probably time to add some veterans, and not necessarily try to develop too many people at the same time, but I think there were ways for them to continue to upgrade intelligently in free agency, while also allowing their young players to get better.
With Kris Dunn and Solomon Hill, as well as drafting Onyeka Okongwu, they did exactly what they needed to do, grabbing 2 of the top available options for them on my personal list, and by adding Rajon Rondo, they improved their team's basketball IQ significantly. Kris Dunn gives them that playmaker that can defend multiple positions, and play next to Trae Young. He could potentially be a really significant piece for them, and could be a perfect fit next to Young to allow him to play off the ball, and maximize their shooters, while also allowing them to hide him on defense. Solomon Hill used his time with the Miami Heat well, and should give them strong minutes defensively, and space the floor well enough to be a good fit around the rest of their wing rotation. I thought they could use another player like him, someone along the lines of a Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Sterling Brown, Shaq Harrison type, with the more expensive options ending up elsewhere.
Instead, they decided to spend their money on Danilo Gallinari and Bogdan Bogdanovic. Offensively, they should make them a potentially high scoring team, with lineups that could put a lot of shooters on the floor, although with arguably multiple players that need the ball in their hands. Defensively, I question this team's ability to make them competitive enough to make the playoffs. I think they have the ability to be one of the teams fighting for a playoff race, but I think they still need to make a move or 2 for that to happen this season, which is entirely possible, as they have a lot of assets to use, as well as young players they can potentially trade, with some redundancy on their roster.
Trae Young
Kris Dunn
DeAndre Hunter
Danilo Gallinari
Clint Capela
John Collins, Cam Reddish, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kevin Huerter, Onyeka Okongwu, Solomon Hill, Rajon Rondo, Tony Snell
I feel like this gives them the most balance in their rotation, and gives them some really dangerous second units. If they have enough development from within, they could be a really tough matchup every night, and should play some exciting, close games that could potentially decide their entire season. With them spending the way they did, the playoffs are likely becoming more of a hopeful reality for them, sooner than later, so they should be a team to watch in making moves, because they will need to do something to add another defender, if they want to make that reality true this season.
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