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With the current state of the Eastern Conference, teams are trying their best to position themselves to climb to the top next season. The Orlando Magic already made their move, trading for Desmond Bane weeks ago to bolster their roster. Now, it's the Atlanta Hawks' turn, as they made a deal to trade for Kristaps Porzingis, while sending George Niang to the Boston Celtics and Terance Mann to the Brooklyn Nets.
Porzingis has spent the past two seasons with the Celtics, and when he's been on the floor, his impact shows up on both sides of the ball. Injuries and other health-related issues cut down his playing time, but when he was available, the Celtics knew what they were getting. With new ownership in Boston and plans to save money, there was a good chance he was getting moved in the offseason.
Porzingis has now found himself on the Hawks, where the style of offense should be somewhat similar to the Celtics when it comes to spacing the floor.
Kristaps Porzingis gives the Hawks another floor spacer
Throughout Porzingis' career, he's been one of the better perimeter shooting bigs in the league. Last season, Porzingis averaged 19.5 points per game, shooting 48% from the field and 41% from the 3-point line. The Hawks are probably licking their chops looking at that 3-point percentage, and over his career, he's shot 37% from deep. The Hawks have shown that they want versatility from their centers, and that's what they got last year from players such as Onyeka Okongwu, Larry Nance Jr., and Dominick Barlow, all players who could extend their range.
Though those players had the ability to stretch the floor, Porzingis is a tier above them in that category, and he's shown that he can get hot at any minute. Outside of his 3-point shooting, he can be a mismatch in the mid-range and paint, and can shoot over almost any defender because of his 7'2 length.
With how teams would try to switch everything with the Celtics, Porzingis would find himself most of the time with an advantage on offense, and he easily made work of the opposition.
The Hawks have a new rim protector
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For the past few years, Clint Capela had been the anchor of the Hawks' defense and was one of the better rim protectors in the league. After Okongwu was inserted into the starting lineup and there was less of Capela on the floor throughout the second half of the season, it was obvious that they needed someone who could be that true rim protector.
Coming into the offseason, the Hawks would have had chances to add someone either in the draft or free agency, but now, the issue may not be as pressing with Porzingis in the fold. At 7'2, he doesn't even need to lift his feet off the ground at times to block a shot, but he can definitely meet somebody at the rim if he has to. The frontline of the Hawks' defense was already good with Dyson Daniels, but now, opposing teams will have to deal with Porzingis once they get in the paint.
Porzingis brings ‘optionality'
General manager Onsi Saleh used the word “optionality” faithfully in his pre-draft availability with the media a few days ago, and he used it to describe the many avenues the Hawks could go into to improve their roster. When speaking about Porzingis, the Hawks can deploy him in different lineups that can help on both sides of the ball. With Porzingis's ability to shoot the ball at a high level, they can pair him and Okongwu together in the frontcourt in some situations if they want to go big and match up with other teams.
Of course, people will want to know who starts between Porzingis and Okongwu, but that shouldn't matter right now. In any situation, Okongwu will be playing the most minutes out of both of them, and Porzingis may be better off playing around 20-25 minutes to keep him fresh throughout the season.
Overall, the Hawks got a key chess piece on their team with Porzingis, and with the No. 13 pick and free agency coming up, there will be many more ways to help this team turn into a contender in the Eastern Conference.
