Atlanta Has An Important Decision to Make After Recent Injury News
The Atlanta Hawks have been one of the most injured teams all season and they have not been able to get their top rotation healthy and see what they have. Trae Young, De'Andre Hunter, Jalen Johnson, Clint Capela, Onyeka Okongwu, Saddiq Bey, and Kobe Bufkin have all missed time this year and now, the Hawks are going to be without Johnson and Okongwu, potentially for the rest of the season depending on how they fare in the playoffs.
Here was the update the Hawks released today on Johnson and Okongwu:
"Forward Jalen Johnson left Tuesday’s game vs. Miami with a right ankle sprain. An MRI taken yesterday at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex revealed a Grade 2 lateral ankle sprain. He will be re-evaluated in approximately three weeks.
Center Onyeka Okongwu (left big toe sprain) underwent a non-surgical procedure on Tuesday at the Southern California Orthopedic Institute to address ongoing inflammation in his left big toe. He will be re-evaluated in approximately four weeks."
The Hawks are now in a tricky position roster-wise. They are going to be without Johnson for at least three weeks, meaning he won't play in the play-in tournament and likely would miss the entire first-round of the playoffs if the Hawks make it that far. Without Johnson or Bey this season, the Hawks have relied upon Vit Krejci for big minutes and he has delivered more than expected. The problem for the Hawks is that Krejci is on a two-way contract and cannot play in the playoffs unless he is converted to a standard contract. Krejci has been playing huge minutes when Johnson, Hunter, or Bey was out and giving the Hawks a lot when it comes to three-point shooting and he has improved as a defender. His most underrated trait has been his ability to drive and kick to open shooters. The Hawks have gotten more than they could have imagined from Krejci, but unless they do something with the roster, he won't be able to play in the most important games of the year for Atlanta.
Which begs the question, what will Quin Snyder and the Hawks do?
To me, they have to find a way to get Vit on the roster because they are out of options at the position and Krejci has been very good, although it is in a small sample size. The Hawks don't have a lot of options at forward, with only Garrison Matthews and Wesley Matthews as possible options to start in his place right now. To make room for Krejci, Atlanta needs to cut someone and there are only a couple of realistic scenarios.
Atlanta will need to evaluate if they would rather keep Trent Forrest or Wesley Matthews, as there is no one else on the roster that makes sense to release. Those guys don't play major minutes when the Hawks are healthy (or mostly healthy) and seem like the most likely candidates that would be released.
Given the roster situation, I think Forrest is the most likely candidate. Atlanta is short on forwards and with Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, and Kobe Bufkin at guard, there are not many minutes for Forrest. Krejci has been too valuable to the Hawks as of late and they need his skill set with Johnson and Bey not able to play. There are only two more regular season games for the Hawks left this year and they don't have long before an important decision is going to need to be made. Either the Hawks don't bring Krejci to a standard contract or they release someone to make room for him.
