The Atlanta Hawks traded away Trae Young because of his inability to help them on the defensive end of the floor. They may be forced to do the same with Dyson Daniels if he's unable to improve his offensive impact.
The 6-foot-7 guard has never been a dynamic offensive threat, but his recent unwillingness to shoot the ball from the perimeter is becoming a major issue for the Hawks. Daniels has not made a shot from distance in over a month. That's an alarming statistic for a starting guard in the NBA.
Daniels has never been a good 3-point shooter, but his performance has cratered to a new low this year. He's only shooting 11.1 percent from 3 this season. That's a significant decline from his career number of 30.1 percent. Neither mark is good enough for a starter on a team with playoff aspirations, but 11 percent is comically bad for a player of Daniels' stature.
Predictably, Daniels' willingness to even attempt shots from the perimeter has declined as the season has trudged along. It's hard to watch him and not see shades of Markelle Fultz in his game. Fultz, the former No. 1 pick also experienced a protracted shooting slump that ultimately saw him stop taking perimeter jump shots altogether.
How big of an issue is Dyson Daniels for the Hawks' future?
The Hawks inked Daniels to a four-year, $100 million extension with the idea that he can anchor their perimeter defense for years to come. The hope was that he could also provide offensive value with his ability to cut in the halfcourt and make plays in transition.
His ability to provide any halfcourt value on offense is dependent on him being guarded outside the arc. Opposing teams are not going to get anywhere near a player who will not shoot or make three-pointers. At the moment, Daniels' struggles effectively cause his squad to play four versus five in the halfcourt.
Atlanta does not possess the star power on offense to make up for that kind of deficiency. Jalen Johnson's emergence as a legitimate No. 1 option does wonders to open up the floor for his teammates, but his space is severely limited when Daniels' defender can double-team him without any hesitation.
The path forward for Daniels and the Hawks is clear. He has to find a way to regain some semblance of a shooting stroke if he is going to continue to profile as a starter in the present or future. That might require a complete rebuild of his shooting stroke and mental confidence to achieve.
The alternative for Atlanta and Daniels is pretty grim. No team will want to employ a backup making $25 million who can't boost their offense off the bench. If Daniels' shooting does not improve soon he's going to quickly become a negative contract that weighs down the Hawks' books moving forward.
It's a bit too early to panic, but Hawks fans have every right to be concerned about Daniels' shooting slump. If things don't turn around for him down the stretch, he'll drop out of his team's long-term plans.