During the 2019-20 season, Jones DeAndre Bembry became the longest-running Atlanta Hawks player on the roster. He has seen the Hawks reaching the playoffs like a rookie and has seen the team approaching a reconstruction completely in recent seasons. By default, 25-year-old Bembry is a team veteran.
Thanks to Cam Reddish, DeAndre Hunter and Kevin Huerter, Bembry’s minutes have gone down in the past 2 seasons. Multiple injuries ended the season with 43 games. During his limited minutes in the first four seasons, Bembry showed the ability to be a parasite in defense while overseeing multiple positions.
In addition, he showed an innate ability to handle the ball in his position as well. He has often played Trae Young’s reserve guard role in the past 2 seasons. It has the ability to stick paint and pass the ball easily. It can also attack off-the-ball, often when the recipient passes fierce dunking cuts. His dunks have been a fan favorite in recent seasons.
However, just as many players have discussed in this series, Bembry has significantly limited himself to the offensive end. Its lack of offensive firepower significantly hinders its ceiling and makes it a questionable measure between a guard tandem that is equally defective from that point of view. His defensive virtues are exposed on teams that cannot defend themselves and simultaneously cannot score. The 2019-20 Hawks are a perfect example of this.
At the same time, defensive versatility is certainly an invaluable resource, especially when the teams improve and approach the playoff contention. If the Knicks can surround themselves with a more offensive firepower, making a bet on Bembry (perhaps 2 years $ 9 million) would not be the worst decision.