After two years in Atlanta, Dejounte Murray was traded to New Orleans in July, leaving an open backcourt spot in the Hawks‘ projected starting lineup next to star point guard Trae Young. Who will fill that opening? Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscription required) considers the options, suggesting that as many as five players could be in the mix for the job.
Bogdan Bogdanovic and Dyson Daniels look like the top candidates. A Young/Bogdanovic pairing in the backcourt could create some problems on the defensive end, according to Williams, though she notes that Bogdanovic improved on that end of the court last season. Daniels, meanwhile, has the makings of an elite point-of-attack defender, but he has yet to display much of an offensive game at the NBA level and will be new to the Hawks’ system.
Vit Krejci, Garrison Mathews, and Kobe Bufkin are the other shooting guard possibilities Williams looks at, though she acknowledges that not all of them are locks to end up in the regular rotation, let alone to vie for a starting role.
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- The Hawks will hold their training camp next month at the University of Georgia in Athens, per Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, while the Hornets will conduct their camp in Durham at Duke University, according to Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer. It’ll be a familiar setting for Hornets big man Mark Williams, who played his college ball with the Blue Devils.
- Assistant coach Nick Friedman, who spent the past five seasons in the Hornets organization, is joining the Capital City Go-Go – the Wizards‘ G League affiliate – under head coach Cody Toppert, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Friedman and Toppert previously worked together with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Northern Arizona Suns, Scotto notes.
- The Heat announced on Thursday that they’ll be unveiling a statue of Dwyane Wade outside Kaseya Center on Sunday, October 27, as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald relays. Wade will be honored by the team the following night during the Oct. 28 home game vs. Detroit.
It’s tough to tell who will have the better season… The Hornets or the Hawks…
Honestly? I think the Hornets. Capela’s limited as a C, Trae can try as hard as he wants and will still be a bottom-tier defender. Johnson and Risacher are both good wing options (legit believe Johnson can become a superstar someday) and Hunter is always solid, but Krejci and Daniels at the 2 both have holes in their games (Krejci isn’t a good defender and Daniels can’t shoot). Gueye is intriguing, but only that. Okongwu is kind of caught without a position as he’s a natural 5, but the Hawks don’t seem to want to give him a full-time role, and he’s slow at the 4 without a good shooting touch.
If Williams stays healthy, then even without LaMelo, the Hornets have the better starting 5 with Micic, Green, Brandon Miller, Bridges, and Williams. Guys like Tre Mann, Nick Smith Jr., and of course Salaun too.