20. The rising Atlanta Hawks
After middling around the Eastern Conference playoff picture for the better part of a decade, the Atlanta Hawks sunk to the bottom to better a potential return to the top. By doing so, the front office stockpiled young talent at nearly every position, with the coming season the stage to begin trecking back up the standings.
Everything about these Hawks begins and ends with their mesmerizing point guard. Trae Young was a boom-or-bust prospect coming out of college and certainly looked the former with incredible court vision coupled with a long-range arsenal.
.@TheTraeYoung did Trae Young things, going for 23 points last night#TrueToAtlanta pic.twitter.com/qrwmDEB2SE
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) October 15, 2019
John Collins was 0.5 points and 0.2 rebounds per game away from averaging 20 and 10 as a sophomore. Aside from his brewing chemistry catching lobs from Young, Collins shot a respectable 34.8 percent from distance last year, an encouraging figure for a player so heavily reliant on his athletic abilities
Those two are the pillars for Atlanta basketball in the future and they are flanked by high-upside rookies in De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish, two lanky interchangeable wings who are sure to make the Hawks a stingy defensive unit.
The list of adjectives to describe Atlanta is quite long, ranging from energetic and dynamic to high-flying and versatile. The Hawks aren’t likely to make a playoff push, but as a team built for the modern age, they are sure to entertain with prosperous talent that is sure to blossom at any moment.