Hawks’ Jonathan Kuminga gamble has few downsides after KP move falls through

Entering the season, Atlanta Hawks has been crowned by many as one of the best offseasons in the league. The first move they made was trading for Kristaps Porzingis and they don’t have to give up much, but Terrence Mann, Georges Niang, and the 22nd pick in the NBA draft.

Porzingis was one of the moves he had to take the Hawks to the next level. Fast forward to the trade deadline, and he’s only played in 17 games after Achilles tendonitis sidelined him the last few weeks and POTS forced him to miss games as well. Overall, the experiment was a low-risk, high-reward move, but the risks outweighed the rewards.

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

For weeks, Cummings’ trade request flew under the radar while other stars took center stage. It’s been clear since last season that he and the Warriors needed a divorce, but without a suitor to give Golden State what they wanted, Kuminga was left with a 16-game losing streak at one point this season.

Kuminga has shown flashes throughout his young career, and his athleticism is the first thing that comes to mind. He has plays where he is efficient at the rim and will even hit a rebound or two. He will use his size to make sure his defender doesn’t get past him. Those are all things the Warriors expected from him when he was drafted.

Then you have moments when he struggles, and for the Warriors and Steve Kerr, those were times when, obviously, he didn’t have 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 following the Tree Young trade, it’s safe to say things are looking up for the Hawks. They have also added much-needed center depth with Christian Kolok and, most recently, Jock Landale. The only thing the Hawks needed was more wing depth, and they got that with Cummings.

No, he’s not the best shooter, but he can definitely drive the ball at high speed. The Hawks already have enough shooting specialists in Kispert and now Buddy Hield. Also, almost everyone on the team can shoot from the perimeter. Kuminga is shooting 32% from the three-point line this season, and he’s barely making them 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 him to the next level is if he improves his passing. Kuminga is labeled as a ball stopper, which is probably why things haven’t worked well with the Warriors, where their game thrives on constant ball and player movement. He will step into a similar system with the Hawks, and they have excelled in it as the first team in assists this season.

Hopefully, he can embrace the system while also knowing that it can help him get easy shots at the basket. Defensively, he has the tools, but he has to use them consistently.

All in all, this could be the move for the Hawks when 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 he can be a part of helping them move forward, all they have to do is take it.

If he doesn’t prove to be a good fit with the team, and the reasons for him being dropped from the Warriors’ roster play out over the next few months with the Hawks, all they have to do is decline the team’s postseason option and they’ll still have plenty of room to work 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 this move, and it’s better to have a durable player on the roster than someone you just don’t know if or when he’ll be able to fit.