Atlanta Hawks: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards

Sixth Man of the Year: Kent Bazemore

This prediction depends on two things: whether Bazemore gets bumped out of the starting lineup and whether he stays with the team for the whole season.

If Bazemore does remain with the Hawks, I could see him ceding the starting shooting guard position to rookie Kevin Huerter — who needs the playing time after missing all of Summer League. Bazemore may have the better track record, but this team probably isn’t making the playoffs, so it better serves Atlanta to give the former Maryland standout the bulk of the wing minutes.

If Bazemore comes off the bench, he has the tools to possibly compete for the Sixth Man of the Year award. Sure, he can’t create his own shot the way recent winners like Jamal Crawford, Lou William, and Eric Gordon could, but he can hit 3s (39.4 percent last year) and play good defense (2.0 defensive win shares in 65 games), so there’s a chance that his two-way game could make him a valuable reserve — be it for the Hawks or some other team.