The Atlanta Hawks were in store for a busy NBA free agency period as being one of the few teams in the league with sizable cap space. Their first major move was to bring in former Oklahoma City Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari to pair with Trae Young.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Hawks and Gallinari are finalizing a three-year deal worth $61.5 million.
It’s clear there was a substantial need for the Hawks to bring in more established NBA talent to help build a winner around Young. Atlanta has mostly tried pairing a bunch of young players together and hoping it can lead to progress in player development— proving to be a failure, so far.
There are some concerns with the potential fit when considering the rest of the Hawks’ personnel. Unless Atlanta’s intention it to move on from John Collins, having a laterally slow forward at both positions with Young at point guard is asking for problems defensively.
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There would be a lot to like about having Gallinari at the four spot alongside an established center like Clint Capela. However, there appears to be a logjam brewing at the center position as well since Atlanta used its 1st round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft to select Onyeka Okongwu.
It will be interesting to see how the pieces end up fitting together for the Atlanta Hawks. For now, being able to attract a talent like Danilo Gallinari is a good sign for the progression of the franchise. Next, it will be about putting the pieces together to win games.
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