It’s official! The Atlanta Hawks decided to keep their 20th overall pick, and with it they selected forward out of Duke University Jalen Johnson. Johnson is a 6’9 athletic forward who can shoot pretty effectively, especially from the three point line. In thirteen games last season with the Blue Devils Johnson shot 44% from three. However, he did only take eighteen total three point attempts in his one season with Duke. Obviously, there won’t be much pressure on Johnson to produce offensively in his rookie campaign, but he should be an effective “3 and D” guy next season for the Hawks. While it is true that you can never have too much shooting, or too many good wings on your team, what does this pick mean for the future of the Atlanta Hawks?
Atlanta Hawks guard/forward Cam Reddish, who was rumored to be apart of possible draft night trades for the Hawks to be able to move up in the draft in a lottery position, as of right now seems that he will remain an Atlanta Hawk at least for the time being since Atlanta has no more picks in this years draft unless the trade back into the draft which is highly unlikely. However, the Jalen Johnson pick does make it seem like Cam Reddish could still very likely be traded at some point during the offseason. Cam Reddish is a 6’8 forward from Duke and Jalen Johnson is a 6’9 forward from Duke, if you read between the lines you might find the writing on the wall. There are no official reports but there have been rumors that Atlanta Hawks General Manager Travis Schlenk doesn’t think that the team will be able to keep his entire young core in Trae Young, John Collins, De’Andre Hunter, Kevin Huerter and of course Cam Reddish. I think it goes without stating the Hawks will keep Trae Young and give him max money. ESPN Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski said during ESPN’s NBA Draft broadcast that the Hawks and John Collins are close to getting a deal done, so that doesn’t leave much money for improving players in De’Andre Hunter, Kevin Huerter, and Cam Reddish, which is why it’s been rumored that Cam Reddish could’ve been dealt during draft night, simply because Travis Schlenk and the Hawks in his opinion need to refresh another rookie contract. Schlenk is right, each one of Atlanta’s young core players have shown improvement every season, and with their contracts expiring all at the same time essentially some tough decisions will have to be made, and it looks like Travis Schlenk’s mind could be made up.
Again, some very tough decisions are on the horizon for Travis Schlenk and Atlanta Hawks owner Tony Ressler. Do you move on from one of or maybe even both guys that have been more reliable and consistent in their careers thus far in Kevin Huerter and De’Andre Hunter, or do you move on from the guy that while has shown flashes of greatness and star potential hasn’t been really consistent or healthy in Cam Reddish? Travis Schelnk has done an absolute amazing job not only rebuilding this team, but rebuilding this team, and making them competitive again quickly with great draft picks, and bringing in solid free agents to round out the roster, so whatever he and the Atlanta Hawks do I think Hawks fans must give Schlenk the benefit of the doubt.
No matter what happens this offseason Atlanta Hawks fans should be very excited to see Jalen Johnson and also Atlanta Hawks 48th overall second round pick Sharife Cooper suit up for the team next season, as the Atlanta Hawks will embark on another journey to the NBA Finals and hopefully an NBA Championship. Congratulations to Jalen Johnson and Sharife Cooper, and welcome to Atlanta!