Hawks: Delon Wright was the perfect addition to Atlanta’s bench

After a few days of uncertainty, the trade that would send Delon Wright to the Hawks became official over the weekend:

Hawks confirm the acquisition of Delon Wright.

Kris Dunn, Bruno Fernando and a 2023 2nd round pick to Boston.

Tristan Thompson to Sacramento.

— Mike Conti (@MikeConti929) August 7, 2021

While I am still interested in Bruno Fernando‘s development, the emergence of Onyeka Okongwu (although injured) along with the signing of Gorgui Dieng shuffles him to the rear of the rotation. Kris Dunn only played in four regular season games last season, but he’s still a solid defensive piece. I don’t really care about second round picks two years away at this point. However, when the Hawks traded away Dunn for Wright, they essentially got themselves an upgraded version of Dunn:

Delon Wright’s 8 game stretch as the Kings starting PG with Fox out:

14.1 PPG
5.9 RPG
6.1 APG
2.4 SPG
38.5% from 3 on 4.9 3PA/G
57.2% TS

Very small sample size, but non-Trae minutes should be less problematic for Atlanta. pic.twitter.com/zDxc6rLqpJ

— Jake (@SuperiorNBA) July 31, 2021

He somehow managed to trick the Celtics into a threeway trade for a guy they needed more than the one they got

— Carlton (@CrispyCarlton) July 30, 2021

If you look at Wright; he has the size to defend smaller wings in addition to locking up second-unit point guards. As @SuperiorNBA pointed out, even in a small sample size, Wright flourished when he took over for De’Aaron Fox and was a legitimate point guard. Funny enough, as many of you know; I was very high on Ayo Dosunmu going into the 2021 NBA Draft. I never dreamed Jalen Johnson would fall that far… but NBADraft.net’s comparison for Dosunmu? You guessed it, Delon Wright.

I truly believe this is another brilliant move by Travis Schlenk. The Hawks get a veteran 6’5 combo guard that can shoot, rebound, distribute, and defend at a very high level. You can’t ask for much more off the bench, and after bringing back Lou Williams, I think this is going to be an even better second unit for the Hawks going into the 2021-2022 season. When you talk about a team that just made the Eastern Conference Finals, that’s very encouraging as a fan.