5 roster moves the Atlanta Hawks need to make this offseason

5 roster moves the Atlanta Hawks need to make the offseason

Feb 6, 2022; Dallas, Texas, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter (12) and forward Danilo Gallinari (8) and forward John Collins (20) walk back on to the court during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

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Apr 10, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari (8) reacts after scoring a basket during the second quarter against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

5 roster moves the Atlanta Hawks need to make this offseason: 4. Trade Danilo Gallinari

One of the reasons that the Hawks have such pressure on their salary cap is that Danilo Gallinari is due $21.4 million next season if his deal is guaranteed. If the Hawks choose not to guarantee his deal and waive him, he is only due $5.0 million. The Hawks have until June 29 to make this decision.

This is a really good scenario for the Hawks to include Gallinari in a deal with a team looking for assets. The Hawks could include some draft capital or a young player with Gallinari to sweeten the deal. This would then give them more room to move heading into free agency.

The biggest problem with Gallinari earning this much money is that he only starts with John Collins out of the lineup. Combine this with Bogdan Bogdanovic’s salary, and the Hawks have almost $40 million owed to two bench players and over $46 million at the power forward position. This is a positional imbalance in spending which is costing the Hawks in other areas.

The main issue for the Hawks trading Gallinari is that he was the most important member of the second unit. They will need to find another avenue to the hoop for this second unit to be as successful next season as they were last season.

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