3. Which Young Players are Building Blocks?
The Atlanta Hawks have three promising young pieces, but the franchise must now decide: which of them are building blocks, are any of them worth pushing starters in front of them out of the door, and whether to include any in potential trades this offseason.
Those players are Onyeka Okongwu, Jalen Johnson, and AJ Griffin. Also, if you’ll notice, those are the Hawks; last three 1st round picks (Okongwu = 6th overall in 2020, Johnson = 20th overall in 2021, and Griffin = 16th overall in 2022). The Hawks have done well with those picks, but there are now decisions to be made.
Okongwu averaged 9.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game this year while shooting a very impressive 63.8% from the field (with strong defense) while serving as the Hawks’ backup center behind Capela.
Capela and Okongwu combined to form one of the best starting-backup center combinations in the league (and I would argue maybe even the best). While I’m sure the Hawks would love to just keep that duo together for a long time, Okongwu is heading into the final year of his rookie deal (and now extension eligible this offseason), and thus the Hawks have to make some kind of decision about what they believe his future to be this offseason. Is he ready to step in as the team’s starting center? That will be a key question this offseason.
Johnson averaged 5.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game this season on 49.1% shooting. Johnson showed a ton of flashes this season in terms of his athleticism and playmaking, but now the Hawks must decide exactly what his role can be on a hopeful championship-caliber team next season. Johnson is also a guy that took a step forward late in the season once Quin Snyder took over (averaged 7.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 2.4 APG on 52.4% shooting under Snyder).
I’m not quite sure he’s ready for a starting role yet, but it’s hard to argue that Johnson is likely ready for more than the 14.9 minutes per game he averaged this season.
Griffin saw his playing time diminish under Snyder some but had an impressive rookie season overall. In total, he averaged 8.9 points and 2.1 rebounds per game on 46.5%/39.0%/89.4% splits while receiving some All-Rookie team consideration. Even with Griffin losing some minutes under Snyder, he still impressed as a rookie and is another guy the Hawks must decide exactly what role they want him to have next season.
Are these players ready to step into starting (or more prominent roles)? The Hawks must also decide if they are willing to include any of these three (and if so, which ones) in any pursuit of a star this off-season (more on that later).