Hawks’ Jonathan Kuminga trade gamble has little downside after Kristaps Porzingis move flops

Coming into the season, the Atlanta Hawks were crowned by many as having one of the best offseasons in the league. The first move they made was trading for Kristaps Porzingis and not having to give up much but Terance Mann, Georges Niang, and the 22nd pick in the NBA Draft.

Porzingis was one of the moves that was bound to take the Hawks to the next level. Fast forward to the trade deadline, and he’s only played in 17 games after left Achilles tendinitis sidelined him for the past several weeks, and the POTS illness forced him to miss games as well. In all, the experiment was a low-risk, high-reward move, but the risks shone more than the reward.

To erase that from their memory, the Hawks decided to make another low-risk, high-reward move, and that was trading Porzingis to the Golden State Warriors for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield.

For weeks, Kuminga’s trade request has flown under the radar, as other stars took the spotlight. It’s been evident since last season that he and the Warriors needed a divorce, but with no suitor giving Golden State what they wanted, Kuminga stayed on the team with 16 straight DNPs at one point this season.

Kuminga has shown flashes throughout his young career, and his athleticism is the first thing that pops out to many. He has games where he’s efficient at the rim, and he’ll even hit a jumpshot or two. He’ll use his size to make sure his defender doesn’t get past him. It’s all the things that the Warriors expected from him when he was drafted.

Then, you have the moments when he’s struggling, and for the Warriors and Steve Kerr, those were the times where, apparently, he didn’t need to be on the floor. Now, Kuminga comes to a team where it’s uncertain what his role will be, but for the Hawks, it doesn’t have to look perfect. And that’s okay.

After a few weeks of having CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert after the Trae Young trade, it’s safe to say that things are clicking for the Hawks. They’ve also added some much-needed center depth with Christian Koloko and, just recently, Jock Landale. The one thing the Hawks did need was more wing depth, and they got that with Kuminga.

No, he’s not the best shooter, but he can definitely drive the ball at a high rate. The Hawks already have enough shooting specialists in Kispert and now Buddy Hield. Also, almost everybody on the team can shoot from the perimeter. Kuminga is shooting 32% from the three-point line this season, and he’s barely getting them up because that’s not his game. When you’re surrounded by average to above-average shooters, driving to the basket should be a luxury, and that’s what Kuminga has been good at since being around players like Stephen Curry throughout his career.

That part of his game can help the Hawks, but what could take it to the next level is if he improves his passing. Kuminga has been labeled as a ballstopper, which is probably why things didn’t work out well with the Warriors, where their game thrives off of constant ball and player movement. He’ll be coming into a similar system with the Hawks, and they’ve excelled at it as the No.1 team in assists this season.

The hope is that he can buy into the system, while also knowing that it can help him get easy shots at the basket. As far as defense, he has the tools, but he has to use them consistently.

In all, this could be a move for the Hawks where they took a swing at a young player, and it all worked out. He has a team option worth $24 million next season, and if the Hawks believe that he can be a piece to help them moving forward, all they have to do is accept it.

If he doesn’t turn out to be a good fit for the team, and the reasons why he fell out of the Warriors’ lineup seep into the next few months with the Hawks, all they have to do is decline the team option after the season, and they’ll still have cap space to work with in the offseason. It’s that simple.

The Hawks don’t have to be tied to Kuminga if they don’t want to. In fact, they were able to fill another need on the team with the move, and it’s better to have a durable player on the roster than someone who you just don’t know if or when they’ll be able to suit up.

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