Is it Dennis Schroder’s time to shine in Atlanta?

Once upon a time, trying to start from the bottom and get here, the Philly 76ers traded Jrue Holiday for Nerlens Noel and a draft pick which would become Dario Saric. It’s still going to take a while to know whether that trade was a good idea or not, dependent on Noel’s development, Holiday’s long-term health prospects – which the 76ers were accused of having knowingly obscured – and Saric’s impact, which we should know more about pretty darn soon. Still, trading Noel for Teague is about as clear sign as you could get that the Sixers are under new management.

But rather than peering into the crystal ball you need to make heads or tails of what future Sixers teams will be like, let’s take a moment to talk about the Hawks. First and foremost, if the trade goes through, it means the Hawks are finally ready to unleash the Schröder. Whether this is a good or bad idea remains to be seen.

Dennis, who will be entering his third year, is certainly an intriguing player but not one who at this point offers full confidence to a team as far along as the Hawks. It’s an interesting move, to say the least, to barely be willing to throw the young guy 20 reliable minutes, this year (he averaged 20.3), and be ready to hand him the keys next. That could be a front office/coach difference, and it could be just time to see what the guy’s made of. But you don’t often see a team which finished so high make this kind of move.

The thing is that as a 2^nd year man, Dennis was consistently inconsistent.  In his best month, February, he scored 12.6 and dished 4.6 on 48 percent shooting from the floor and 41 percent from three. But, he shot 36 percent or lower nine times in his last 12 games and struggled significantly with turnovers. At his best, he can be very, very good and the ideal way to make that more common is minutes. But who knows? He can also be pretty bad.

Still, the greater ramifications for the Hawks have to do, of course, with Noel himself. The thing is, while it might seem strange to add to what is already the Hawks’ major strength, the frontcourt, a closer look reveals how much sense it actually makes. There are a lot of things that could happen to the Hawks over the next couple of years, and Noel, whose rookie contract goes through 2017/18 with a club option, could be a security blanket for all of them.

Basically, Al Horford could leave this year – he’s an unrestricted free agent – and Paul Millsap could leave after next year, when he has a player option. If neither does, there are still plenty of minutes to be had backing up both, instead of the likes of Mikes Scott and Muscala, Kris Humphries, and even Tiago Splitter. It would also let Al play a little more power forward, his preferred position, which would presumably be an inducement to him to stay.

If Al re-signs and Noel plays center, then the team might be able to do without Millsap next year or in a couple of years, but could nevertheless survive quite happily if he decided to stick around. It’s therefore more or less the case that picking up Noel – as long as he continues to develop – seems like a good move no matter what the Hawks do and what their players decide.

And while, of course, you expect a team that finished 4^th in their conference to try to keep their core together, 2016 has been a weird year. It’s not like anyone thinks this year’s Hawks can compete with the Spurs, Warriors, and Cavs, and it hardly seems like any of them are going anywhere.

So we’ll see if this thing happens but it’s a thumbs up from me for at least the guys from Georgia. And as for the Sixers, I don’t exactly hate it. It’ll be good to see what Jah can do with a better point guard, and they had to eventually decide who among their young studs they were going to keep. This kicks that can a little farther down the road.