A secondary part of the trade to acquire the 4th overall pick was taking on the last year of Solomon Hill’s contract which will pay him over $12.7 million. That’s the second unwanted contract the Hawks have acquired – the first being Allen Crabbe earlier this month – leaving Atlanta with little cap space to attract free agents.
That was never the focus this offseason. Following this season, the Hawks will have $63.1 million in cap space coming off the books in the form of Miles Plumlee, Allen Crabbe, Kent Bazemore, and Solomon Hill, giving them plenty of room to chase two max free agents. As far as this year’s free agency, look for Schlenk to find young players with upside on cheap contracts like they did last year with Alex Len. They could also bring back their two veterans who are impending free agents – Dewayne Dedmon and Vince Carter.
The Pelicans have regretted handing Solomon Hill a $48 million contract ever since they gave it to him. He only averaged 4.3 points and 1.3 assists last year, and the Hawks shouldn’t be expecting more. They only took on his contract to get this deal done. Schlenk has made the goal for the upcoming season clear; continue to develop their youth and acquire future assets before going all-in in 2020 free agency.