Hawks/Jonathan Kuminga partnership was fruitful, even if temporary

It was a risky deal for the Hawks when they traded Kristaps Porzingis to Golden State for Kuminga and Buddy Hield (who is still somehow on Atlanta's roster), but Kuminga played a huge role for this team once he got healthy.

He was never a perfect fit on the roster, especially alongside star Jalen Johnson, but he excelled in transition (a huge part of the Hawks' offense), and he played much better on defense than anticipated. Atlanta lacked real depth on their team after the All-Star Break, but Kuminga was the top option for the Hawks off the bench and was used to guard a variety of different positions due to Atlanta's lack of size. Kuminga was put in situations where he had to guard Karl-Anthony Towns and other bigs on the Knicks roster.

During his 16 games with the Hawks (15 of which he came off the bench), Kuminga averaged 12.3 PPG and 5.3 RPG while shooting 48% from the field and 35% from three. His three-point shooting was up and down during the regular season, but it was disastrous in the playoffs, with the Knicks almost refusing to guard him when he was spotted up behind the arc. Kuminga could also stall the offense with his insistence on playing an isolation style type of basketball that would hurt the rhythm and flow of the Hawks movement style of offense.

Overall, I think coming to Atlanta and playing in the role that he did was a good thing for him. Even if he wanted a larger role and a larger contract this summer, closer to the value of the team option that the Hawks declined, it was better than staying in Golden State, where he was not getting a chance to shine in any capacity.

Kuminga showed that he is an elite transition player, which will be useful playing alongside LaMelo Ball, he can guard wing players and even bigs if necessary, and he still has untapped potential. He will now get a chance to start for an elite team and that might not have been a possibility if not for his short stay in Atlanta.