Atlanta Hawks: Buy or sell each pending 2020-21 free agent

DeAndre’ Bembry – Sell

The first restricted free agent on the list, DeAndre’ Bembry has had a disappointing four-year run with the Hawks. In the most important season of his career, Bembry appeared to regress, sealing his fate with the franchise.

In 2019-20, the shooting guard averaged 5.8 points per game, a drop from the 8.4 points per game he averaged in 2018-19. He saw his rebounding and assists totals drop as well.

Most importantly, the 3-and-D player continued to lose his ability to shoot from distance. Bembry hit just 23.1 percent of his threes, one year after hitting 28.9 percent from distance. For his career, Bembry is now a 26.9 percent shooter from 3-point range, well below what he needs to be shooting to get consistent minutes.

Bembry’s defense remains a net positive for the Hawks, but his offense is a more significant negative to the team. His Hawks tenure may have ended with an abdominal injury that cut his season short before the pandemic cut the rest of Atlanta’s season short.

Bembry was the 21st overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and it’s always tough for a team to part with a homegrown player. But there are younger, cheaper, and better options on Atlanta’s roster now and that’s where the franchise’s focus needs to be.