SB Nation’s Brad Rowland talks Atlanta Hawks | Hoops Addicts Anonymous 31

The Atlanta Hawks’ rebuild is in full bloom. SB Nation’s Brad Rowland discussed Trae Young’s All-Star season and other topics.

      

      

The Atlanta Hawks may not be included in the NBA’s restart, however, their future is bright and their fanbase has plenty of reasons to be excited.

Site manager of SB Nation’s Peachtree Hoops website, Brad Rowland, joined the Hoops Addicts Anonymous podcast and hosts Geoff Campbell and Chip Murphy to talk Hawks basketball, the 2019-20 season, upcoming draft, and offseason outlook.

It’s only fitting that the conversation started with Trae Young. The second-year guard out of Oklahoma averaged just under 30 points per game and shot just over 36% from the three-point line. That production led to Young’s first All-Star selection, cementing his status as the Hawks’ franchise player.

Despite this, Young’s defense, or lack thereof, has been a focus for his detractors. Rowland was asked if Young can be the best player on a championship team.

“When you’re dealing with a 6-foot point guard, who’s defensively challenged, it’s really difficult to build a title-contender around him. You almost have to be perfect…I don’t know, it’s a challenge, he certainly can be, but the margin for error to build a title-contender, with him as the No. 1 option, provided he never gets better defensively, it will be challenging.”

Campbell and Murphy also asked Rowland about John Collins and his long-term fit with the Hawks. Despite a long suspension, Collins put up impressive numbers, scoring over 20 points per game and averaging over 10 rebounds per game as well.

However, the trade for Clint Capela and his contract suggests that the Hawks may not be as certain about Collins and his status as a franchise pillar going forward.

“Capela became available because the Rockets decided that they couldn’t have him on the floor anymore with Russell Westbrook etc. and the Hawks needed a center in a bad way…the extension topic has been a big one on Hawks Twitter…for 2021, they have a pretty big incentive not to extend him, because their last time having cap space will be in 2021, because after that Trae Young needs to get paid, etc.”

“So if they want to be big players in the free-agent market next summer, in 2021, when there are max players available, they have a really big incentive not to extend John Collins,” Rowland explains. “Also, he had the suspension this year, and you can debate how much that will actually impact things, but they [Hawks] weren’t happy, I can tell you that.”

This summer promises to be a very important one for the Atlanta Hawks. With one of the most promising young cores in the league, fans have a lot to look forward to in the future. A big thanks to Brad Rowland for joining the HAA podcast. Please give him a follow on Twitter and read all the amazing content at SB Nation’s Peachtree Hoops website.

And as always, don’t forget to hit that subscribe button for the Hoops Addicts Anonymous podcast on all podcast platforms!