The Hawks had an inspiring run to the conference finals with several wings stepping up at different times: Bogdan Bogdanovic, De’Andre Hunter, Kevin Huerter and Cam Reddish.
Lost in the shuffle: Kris Dunn, who signed with Atlanta last offseason then missed nearly the entire season with leg injuries. Especially with the deep Hawks, he now faces a tough road establishing himself as a quality NBA player.
But as badly as he wants to prove himself, Dunn won’t reject his $5,005,350 player option to seek more playing time elsewhere.
Shams Charania of The Athletic:
Atlanta Hawks guard Kris Dunn is picking up his $5 million player option for the 2021-22 season, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 27, 2021
Atlanta needs a backup point guard behind Trae Young with Lou Williams entering unrestricted free agency. But Dunn, 27, hasn’t shown he can handle that role. He’s a good perimeter defensive specialist – if healthy.
The Hawks could try to trade Dunn. They made the conference finals basically without him last season. Atlanta’s payroll could rise quickly with John Collins a restricted free agent.
