RADIO
One of the busiest teams this offseason was the Atlanta Hawks, much to the surprise of a lot of folks around the NBA. After finishing 20-47 (second-fewest wins in the East) and failing to get an invite to the bubble this summer, the Hawks decided to make a splash in free agency and bring in some veterans around their young core with the hopes of being a playoff team in 2020-2021.
Atlanta had the third-worst defensive rating last year and played at the seventh-fastest pace in the NBA. That recipe was usually good for some big fantasy performances by the Hawks and their opponents but didn't work so well for winning basketball games. During the season they acquired both Clint Capela and Skal Labissiere in trades but neither of them set foot on the court for the Hawks due to injuries. This year, both big men should be healthy with Capela slotting into the starting center gig. Obviously, the Hawks want to build around their dynamic duo of Trae Young and John Collins. We don't know if Young is the second coming of Steph Curry just yet, but he did some pretty impressive things last year. Meanwhile, Collins missed a big chunk of the season due to a suspension but also flashed signs of being on the verge of superstardom with play.
Atlanta also has some young talent on the wings in Kevin Huerter (3-point assassin), Cam Reddish, and DeAndre Hunter who they will want to keep in the rotation. But they clearly wanted to upgrade their bench this season and increase their depth at every position and it's pretty clear that they did. Whether or not they will contend for a playoff spot remains to be seen, but I'm going to attempt to sort out what these moves will do for the fantasy value of both their returning players and new additions.
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The Newest Hawks
Rajon Rondo - PG, signed as a free agent
The Rondo signing was a bit of a surprise, especially after Atlanta had already signed Kris Dunn. But Rondo should be able to carve out enough of a role as the main playmaker off the bench to retain some late-round value. He's always been a solid producer with minutes and has a very fantasy-friendly game. I'll be interested to see if he plays many minutes alongside Trae Young as the Hawks could go really small with some three-guard lineups if they want to. He'll need to carve out around 15-20 minutes to be worth rostering in standard leagues.
Kris Dunn - PG/SG, signed as a free agent
Dunn and Rondo seem a bit redundant here but I suppose the plan is to play them together off the bench with Rondo at the point and Dunn playing more off the ball. He's a solid defender and can contribute in rebounds, steals, assists, and even some blocks, but the path to enough playing time could be challenging with what could be a very crowded rotation. Dunn has just never been able to score the ball with any consistency so having him out there with Rondo really limits the Hawks' second unit offensively even if he does improve their defense. Neither Dunn nor Rondo should affect Trae's minutes or production either.
Danilo Gallinari - SF/PF, signed as free agent
I really like this signing and from everything I am reading, Gallo is okay with taking on a sixth-man role for Atlanta and coming off the bench at the four behind Collins. His minutes were already trending down in OKC and he seems to be willing to accept that he's a 25-minute player at this point in his career. While the decrease in minutes might hurt his overall volume of scoring and rebounding, playing with Trae Young and Rondo should afford him a lot of open threes and he should still be a solid source of points, boards, and threes. Just don't overdraft him with the expectation that he's going to play starter's minutes.
Bogdan Bogdanovic - SG, signed as restricted free agent
So I may have buried the lede here, but I absolutely love this addition, too. I was surprised to see that Bogdan nixed the deal to the Bucks but he was rewarded with a big payday as the Kings weren't willing to match the rather lucrative offer that Atlanta made. I am a big fan of Bog. He can do a little of everything and has the type of crafty offensive game that we've seen from these European players. He adds another legit scorer here on the wing to take some pressure off Young and Collins and is solid off the dribble, too. The Hawks have a lot of guys on the wing now, but you'd expect Bogdan to get the majority of the minutes at the two and his fantasy upside is absolutely going to be there if the Hawks play fast again this season.
Tony Snell - SF, acquired via trade from Detroit
Solomon Hill - SF, signed as a free agent
Snell has always been a pretty solid rotational wing but has never amounted to much of a fantasy player. I can't imagine he steals too many minutes from Reddish and Hunter, but he's still a decent "three and D" player. He's likely irrelevant for fantasy purposes, though.
Hill should be buried on the depth chart and is likely going to serve only as depth behind Reddish, Hunter, and Snell. He, too, can be ignored.
Conclusion
Overall, I really like what Atlanta did this offseason. They have a bit of a logjam in the backcourt and on the wings, but their overall depth looks great now as they are pretty deep at every position. I didn't even mention the two rookies they just drafted, Skylar Mays and Onyeka Okongwu, either. Trae Young and John Collins are still first-round picks and the fact that they have more help this year should mean they are able to stay in more games and avoid blowouts. I don't see the outlook for those two changing all that much.
Capela should be a nice mid-round target at center, while Bogdanovic is another I guy I want to target there, too. Gallinari is the safest of the bench players for fantasy value, while Huerter, Dunn, and Rondo are going to have to be really efficient in fewer minutes to be worth rostering outside of deeper leagues. Cam Reddish is a dark horse to break out, but he could possibly just end up being a glue guy who isn't asked to score much now that Atlanta has added more shooters.
Good luck in your drafts, RotoBallers, and never hesitate to reach out to me on Twitter @ThunderDanDFS or in the RotoBaller Premium slack chat!
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