Atlanta Hawks: Young’s Injury Shows Point Guard Help Needed

Hawks Veteran Free Agent Guard Options

In the immediate future, the Atlanta Hawks will likely turn to Evan Turner or DeAndre’ Bembry to man the position, with the other player running the second unit, should Trae Young miss extended time. However, with the Atlanta Hawks showing the ability to play with the NBA’s best early this season, the team would be wise to make a more for an experienced true point guard.

Ray Felton and Four Former Hawks

There are still a few decent veteran point guards that don’t have a home this season. Raymond Felton, Devin Harris, and Jose Calderon all have a ton of NBA experience and are still on the market.

Harris and Calderon are also familiar with the Hawks organization having spent time in Atlanta in the past. Yet all three players are on the wrong side of 35 years old, so signing one would certainly be a temporary fix.

Shevlin Mack is another former Atlanta Hawks point guard that is still a free agent. However the 29-year-old is more of a shooter than a ball handler or distributor, meaning he isn’t the best fit.

Jamal Crawford is a grizzled veteran and yet another player that once played in Atlanta. He is among the best ball handlers to ever play in the NBA.

Crawford is more of a shoot first player than a distributor, but he showed that he can still can score the basketball with his 51 point effort last season. The 38 year old Crawford has 19 years of experience playing big time basketball, so there is definitely some knowledge he can pass on the Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks other young perimeter scorers.

Jeremy Lin

Jeremy Lin is another interesting name on the market. He spent over half of last season with the Atlanta Hawks, before requesting a buyout to join the Toronto Raptors and winning his first NBA Championship.

Lin has a good relationship with Trae Young after backing him up last season. The Atlanta Hawks also did right by him, in giving him the opportunity to win a title, so Jeremy might be inclined to help the team out if asked. He certainly appeared to still be interested in playing in the NBA this offseason.