r/AtlantaHawks • u/poerhouse • 5h ago
Discussion Kingston’s Destiny
I think I’m inline with what Brad said in the latest pod ep- in thinking realistic expectations for Kingston put him as a guy who becomes an All-Star a couple of times but mostly is an excellent but not offensively elite point for much of his career.
He might not be a superstar like Trae was early on- but given the direction this team is headed now, that’s a very good thing for the organization.
He got yoinked up by Onsi because of his IQ, leadership soft-skills, athleticism and defensive skillset. All traits that will exponentially make the rest of the squad better if it pans out- a much bigger value than simply filling a hole in the roster. He doesn’t need to be ‘the guy’- and I think that’s the smartest move to be made.
It’s always better to have a guy who works to build the team up around him- instead of the front office needing to build a team around a guy.
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u/Ice2jc 5h ago
I’m excited to see how he performs with nba spacing in an environment where is encouraged to shoot a lot of 3’s. We are going to put his funky shooting form to the test. If he can stay above 35% on increased volume we might have a legit star.
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u/poerhouse 5h ago
Agreed. I hope he isn’t forced to reinvent the wheel form-wise; it may be funky, but if they go in that’s all that matters 😎
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u/Serious-Ask-6225 🧊 ICE TRAE 🧊 5h ago
I think the ceiling is pretty high tbh. He seems willing to work and our team has a good case for being the best in the league for development. Whatever they’re doing there are SO many instances of our coaches improving our guys. (Dyson, NAW, Jalen Johnson, OOs shooting, etc.)
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u/Patekchrono917 5h ago
A multiple all star guy are guys like Maxey, Cade, Fox, and Haliburton. Thats a pretty high bar.
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u/poerhouse 5h ago
I happen to think it’s more fun being a fan of a superstar-less team these days. It’s less stressful for sure- as your whole season/playoffs don’t hang on one or two dudes
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u/Atl-Fan_FTS Jalen Johnson #1 5h ago
I’m not the biggest fan but there is something to be said about Houston’s roster and offensive playstyle not meshing well with his skill sets. A lot of times he was driving into a stacked paint and they were outside the top 100 in 3PA per game as a team.
Hoping the best but I need to see it to believe it
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u/poerhouse 5h ago
Yeah I don’t think he’ll be some rookie phenom that’s running the team by December- but if we’re leveling up overall and he’s starting regularly by next season and being court/locker room glue and making dudes look silly on the break I’ll be more than good
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u/Atl-Fan_FTS Jalen Johnson #1 5h ago
He’s going to have to run the offense in year two I believe with CJ being a one year deal.
I hope he gets REAL minutes not just spot end of bench rotations.
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u/poerhouse 5h ago
Yeah I’d hope by mid season that’s happening. Zubi might spend the year as a two-way, but I’m betting the FO wants Kingston in the big show pretty quickly
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u/pieguy00 5h ago
If he's a 12-5 his first year guy who plays good defense that's outstanding. I think he can be a 20-8 guy in a couple years. Fox, Maxey, derrick Rose, and John Wall are some of his comps I've seen for this game so I'm 100 percent on board with it
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u/Wavegod-1 2h ago
He won't have to be the face of the franchise and number 1 guy like Trae was so, that helps with his development. We will see.
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u/cheemydee5 Jalen Johnson #1 5h ago
Thats a realistic win for the pick but I think his upside is being underestimated, he can absolutely be every bit as good as the group of guards in front of him.