The Atlanta Hawks went through significant front office changes this offseason. After being stuck in the play-in purgatory in recent years, the Hawks decided to bring in new lead decision-makers, and Onsi Saleh will act as the new general manager in Atlanta.
While what moves the Hawks will make this offseason remains to be seen, what is clear is the fact that they need to pick a direction. Whether it is going all-in to try to win around Trae Young, or tearing it down to build from scratch, the Hawks must go in any one direction that is not chasing the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Hawks Should Only Re-Sign Larry Nance Jr. for the Right Price
Regardless of which direction they choose to go, the Hawks need to make smart offseason decisions, especially about their own pending free agents.
Caris LeVert, Clint Capela, Garrison Matthews, and Larry Nance Jr. are hitting free agency next month. While Capela is reportedly as good as gone, the Hawks likely have some interest in bringing back the other three veterans. For Nance to stay in Atlanta, however, he will have to give a significant discount to the Hawks.
Nance has been playing on the two-year, $21.6 million extension he had signed in New Orleans before he was traded to Atlanta. Last season, he made over $11.2 million with the Hawks.
While the 32-year-old combo big was solid in his limited minutes before suffering a season-ending injury, he is not worth that salary. Nance can guard multiple positions and is a versatile player on both ends of the floor, even improving his outside shot in recent years (he was a career-high 44.7% from three last season), but he is coming off an offseason knee injury that leaves his ceiling in question.
Considering how Nance had injury concerns throughout his ten-year NBA career, the Hawks need to be cautious about the contract they offer him. Throw in Capela likely leaving town, and it would behoove Atlanta to keep Nance around as a depth big option.
At the same time, the Hawks should be very willing to let him walk if it's going to take more than the veteran's minimum deal to do so.