What Onyeka Okongwu’s offseason surgery means for Hawks

The plan for Onyeka Okongwu after recovering from his foot injury early in the year was to bring him along as slowly as possible. Get him a few minutes at the end of a half and if he excelled, play him some more in the second half. If he didn’t look comfortable, he wouldn’t play more than 10 minutes some nights.

Fast forward a few months, and Okongwu was guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Eastern Conference finals and Joel Embiid in the semifinals and holding his own. The growth the No. 6 pick showed game-to-game was rapid and a good indicator of what kind of player he could end up becoming with more experience.

But that growth is on pause right now as the Hawks announced after midnight on Thursday that Okongwu underwent surgery for a torn labrum in his right shoulder. He’s expected to make a full recovery in approximately six months. That means the best-case scenario would have Okongwu healthy sometime in late January, meaning he’ll likely miss at least half the regular season if rehab goes well. Okongwu told The Athletic that he played through pain throughout the playoffs and that some days were more painful than others. He didn’t remember exactly when he tore his labrum, but it happened on a particular play in May.

It’s a brutal blow for both Okongwu and the Hawks because he emerged as a viable rotation player in the playoffs, and with a full, normal offseason of training and development under him, he was in line for a much bigger role at the start of next season.

“I told O I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player improve so much from the beginning of the playoffs to the end of the playoffs,” general manager Travis Schlenk said earlier this month. “When we drafted him last year he had the broken bone in his foot. Didn’t have a Summer League opportunity, wasn’t able to participate in training camp. Wasn’t able to play through the start of the season. To get maybe three minutes a game in the beginning to where he’s out there playing against a two-time MVP and holding his own … Very, very proud of him. Told him he should be extremely proud. But there’s a lot more there. And O knows that and we feel like that. He’s only going to get better.”

The center position coming into this season was a question mark because of Clint Capela’s foot injury he sustained the previous year and the inexperience of both Okongwu and Bruno Fernando. By the end of the year though, it turned into one of the Hawks’ strongest positions, mainly because of Okongwu’s ascension.

“He has a calmness about him,” Nate McMillan said during the playoffs. “He goes out there and he’s not afraid. He’s a confident player. He asks a lot of questions about what is needed, what should I do. He’s constantly asking questions to our coaches about things that he needs to do and how to do them. He has shown that growth. He does play as a very mature rookie coming into this league.”

I think Onyeka Okongwu is the first player I've ever seen:

– Block Giannis
– Force a jump ball on Giannis
– Break up a lob to Giannis

In a single game. Don't quote me on that, I just don't ever remember seeing it. Dude flashed some serious defensive upside tonight. pic.twitter.com/hbw6EhcJO9

— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) June 28, 2021

This surgery hurts the Hawks in the short term because there’s now a glaring hole on the roster at center. Capela is the only trusted center going into next season. Fernando is nowhere close to being a trusted rotation player and neither is Nathan Knight, who was on a two-way contract this year.

When the center rotation was an abomination two seasons ago with Alex Len, Dewayne Dedmon, Damian Jones and Fernando getting starter minutes at various points, the Hawks used John Collins there in nearly half of his minutes, and he held up well. The Hawks’ best lineup in the 2019 season was with Collins at the five. With him being a restricted free agent and the Hawks wanting to contend in the East, there could certainly be even more of an incentive to lock him up with a new deal. Looking at the current roster, he’s undoubtedly the best option as the backup five when the team goes small.

Because of the way the roster is constructed with many players still on their rookie-scale contracts, the salary cap will be an issue down the road, but the Hawks don’t necessarily have to deal with it in a major way this offseason because Trae Young’s likely max extension won’t kick in until the 2022 season. By then, if he’s still with the team, Danilo Gallinari’s final year is only partially guaranteed at $5 million, so that opens space.

The loss of Okongwu shouldn’t cause the Hawks to make a panic move this offseason, in the draft or free agency. Labrum surgeries are not career-threatening and players do come back at full strength with no setbacks all the time. There should be less concern with this surgery than there should be with De’Andre Hunter’s second meniscus surgery this year.

What makes it challenging for the Hawks to address a backup center spot is the understanding from whomever they sign that Okongwu won’t be out for the entire season, and when he is healthy, he’s likely going to slot back into the No. 2 spot behind Capela. That likely limits who would want to join Atlanta in free agency. The Hawks are also likely going to operate as an over-the-cap team, so that also cuts into the options they could sign. So what we’re looking at are players who could make around the minimum. San Antonio center Gorgui Dieng would be a great addition to fill this spot. The Hawks realistically needed a veteran center even if Okongwu were healthy. Dieng holds up defensively and can space out to the corners. Dedmon also fits this role, though the team just traded him this past season for Tony Snell. New Orleans’ Willy Hernangomez could fit as a pick-and-roll threat. Denver’s JaVale McGee is a good finisher who can block shots.

One thing working in the Hawks’ favor is there are numerous big men who could be signed to a cheap deal that can just fill gaps, particularly if the plan is to have Collins be the primary option as the backup center.

With the draft a week away, it would be somewhat surprising if the Hawks decided to take a true center at No. 20. Again, this is not a long-term injury concern for Okongwu and there’s no need to make a panic selection. The only way I’d recommend a center is if whomever is available is quite clearly the best player on the board and you just can’t pass him up, otherwise, it doesn’t make sense. The Hawks also have the 48th pick in the draft, and while they could select a center there, it’s more likely than not that player wouldn’t be ready to provide meaningful minutes right away.

There’s no sugarcoating it. The loss of Okongwu is a blow for the Hawks because it’s another setback in a prime developmental window for someone who can certainly turn into the team’s defensive anchor for many years to come.

What Onyeka Okongwu’s offseason surgery means for Hawks

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