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The Hawks made a move before Thursday's trade deadline, but to understand it best, it is worth a moment to consider the trade deadline from two seasons ago.

Then, the Los Angeles Clippers made a move that sent Tobias Harris to the Philadelphia 76ers for a return centered on future draft picks. After the trade, the Clippers improved their winning percentage, going 18-8 to finish the regular season before a respectable first-round exit at the hands of Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson.

In Harris' absence, Danilo Gallinari and Lou Williams ended up being the top two scorers on a team that won 48 games, and they did yeoman's work at the line. Those Clippers topped the NBA in made free throws; Gallinari and Williams led the way both by volume and percentage. Together, they made an incredible 792 of 891 free throw attempts (88.9 percent).

The Hawks acquired Williams Thursday along with two second-round picks and cash considerations in exchange for guard Rajon Rondo, giving him a second stint with the Hawks and pairing him once again with Gallinari as part of the team's bench unit.

"He's a great pro, great player," Gallinari said. "He has been showing it for so many years. He's a great scorer. I'm looking forward to playing with him again. We had a lot of fun when we played together in LA."

Hawks President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Travis Schlenk hopes that the change will spark some bench scoring.

“One of the things we’re all aware of is that when Trae’s gone to the bench we’ve struggled a little offensively. The hope is that bringing in Williams, as everyone knows, he’s one of – if not the best – bench scorers in the history of the league, three-time Sixth Man of the Year, so we felt like that addressed one of the things we saw we could fix moving forward, and the icing on the cake was the draft picks.”

Specifically, the addition of Williams gives the bench a point guard who is more than comfortable running pick-and-roll plays. Last season, Trae Young led the NBA with 940 pick-and-roll possessions as a ballhandler (14.1 per game). Lou Williams, playing in a sixth-man reserve role, ranked 7th with 643 pick-and-rolls (9.9 per game).

"Having somebody that can come on the floor that can run pick-and-roll and score in pick-and-roll, I think, is going to be a big boost for us," Schlenk said.

For years, Williams had center Montrezl Harris as an elite rim-running partner before Harris crossed town to join the Lakers in the most recent offseason. In joining the Hawks, Williams should get the same from John Collins and Clint Capela. The Hawks rank 2nd in the NBA with 242 dunks in large part because of the rim-running of Collins and Capela.

To acquire Williams, the Hawks had to send Rondo to the Clippers. Head coach Nate McMillan, a man who in his playing days did for the 1980s and 1990s Seattle Supersonics what Rondo has done for his teams in this era, heaped high praise on his former point guard.

"He meant a lot. He did a lot for the organization. We basically were bringing him in to really mentor Trae and bring experience in to help this young team try to take this next step, and I thought he did a good job of leading the young group and being the coach in the locker room for us – and mentoring Trae to become a veteran point guard."

Swapping Rondo for Williams gives the Hawks a backup point guard whose on-court style more closely mirrors the style of Trae Young. That continuity should help the Hawks keep their offense rolling when Trae needs a rest.

"Lou is a guy that is from Atlanta and has played in Atlanta," forward Solomon Hill said. "When I look at Trae and Trae's ability to get to the free-throw line, it reminds me very much of what LouWill can do."

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ATLANTA – Today, the Atlanta Hawks announced theme nights at State Farm Arena for the second half of home games for the 2020-21 NBA season. As part of this announcement, the team has officially started selling limited single-game tickets to the general public after limiting tickets during the first half of the season exclusively to Hawks’ Season Ticket Members only.

“We are thrilled to welcome more Hawks fans back to State Farm Arena as we continue the second half of the 2020-21 NBA season,” said Hawks’ Chief Revenue Officer Andrew Saltzman. “We have an exciting schedule, and we look forward to creating great experiences for everyone.”

As a continuation from the first half of the season which featured four Unity Night games, the Hawks will have six Unity Night games beginning with Thursday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m. vs. Oklahoma City. As part of this slate of games, the team will wear its 2020-21 MLK Nike City Edition Uniforms and play on the coordinating homecourt. This specific theme night will continue to take place on Friday, April 9 vs. Chicago, Thursday, April 15 vs. Milwaukee, Friday, April 23 vs. Miami for three match-ups all presented by State Farm®. The remaining two Unity Night games on the schedule are Monday, May 3 vs. Portland and Wednesday, May 5 vs. Phoenix to bring a total of 10 Unity Night games for the 2020-21 regular season. During each of these games, the team will honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in-arena and on various digital platforms.

With the team’s first game on April 4 in four years, the team has organized a special ‘404 Night’ presented by SportsRadio 92-9 The Game. The date which takes place on the fourth day of the fourth month represented the city’s famed area code, 404.

In addition, the Hawks have scheduled their annual Hispanic Heritage Night on Sunday, March 14 vs. Cleveland as well as their annual Pride Night for a game against Chicago on Saturday, May 1. The team’s annual Crowning Courage event, where the Hawks and Crown Royal honor veterans and active duty military, is set for Monday, May 10 during the team’s game against Washington. The Hawks will conclude the regular season on Sunday, May 16 against Houston with a special Fan Appreciation Night presented by adidas.

The safety of the fans, staff and players is of the utmost importance and in working with the NBA, local health officials and industry experts in healthcare, live events and hospitality, the Hawks &amp; State Farm Arena have developed a comprehensive safety plan mandating face coverings, limiting capacity to allow physical distancing, increased cleaning and sanitization procedures and frequency and contactless entry and screening as well as touchless restrooms and hand sanitizer stations.

Limited single-game tickets available at hawks.com/ticket/games or text (404) 878-3888to learn more and text a Hawks representative about ticketing options.

hawks-announce-theme-nights-for-second-half-of-2020-21-nba-season

HAWKS ANNOUNCE THEME NIGHTS FOR SECOND HALF OF 2020-21 NBA SEASON

The Atlanta Hawks’ unprecedented partnership with the Estate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the culmination of the MLK Nike City Edition Uniforms has been a collaboration years in the making. Every single detail on the uniform is intentional and has a story behind it. From the crown and shield symbol inspired by Dr. King’s home church, to the Freedom Stars representing times Dr. King was jailed fighting for justice and equality. The three iconic initials of Dr. King are stitched across the front of the uniforms. The name of the font that the Hawks chose is coincidentally called Martin and was created by Black designer and VocalType founder Tre Seals. Hawks’ Digital Media Assistant Cassidy Allen Chubb talks with Seals about his journey and how his font is used for a once-in-a-lifetime uniform and campaign.

CAC: Growing up, were you exposed to black entrepreneurs?

TS: Definitely. It’s in my blood. I was born in Washington, D.C. and raised on a farm outside of D.C. that was established by my great, great, great grandparents in 1911. My great, great, great grandmother was a boss. She was on the board of a bank and sold land, but would only sell to people of color to help them get their start. She would loan money to people of color when others wouldn’t, and she ran the farm. My dad got that business mentality from her. I’ve been watching my dad and mom run their own business my entire life.

My journey began at the age of four when I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Drawing and writing became my means of coping with the pain and when the tumor was gone, it also became my means of expressing what I was feeling. So, I’d either draw a lot or practice writing in cursive so I could get my handwriting to look like the sample sheets. I started designing my first font in the twelfth grade with no idea how to design a font. But I released it in 2013 and it got 30,000 downloads so it inspired me to keep getting more and more involved in typographI started working out at a staffing agency in D.C., and one day in 2016 I was working on a brand identity and was scrolling to find the perfect font and I got bored. I started wondering if I chose the wrong career because everything looked the same and there was no culture and no character.

It wasn’t long after that that I found out that eighty-four percent of all designers in America were white and it was all areas of design. It made me realize that when there’s one race and one gender, there’s only one way of learning and one way of thinking about how things should work. And looking back at all my racial experiences, I realized that fonts can be more than just a design tool, but a tool for education and for sharing stories, and VocalType was born.

How did the opportunity to work with the Hawks come about? Did you create Martin font specifically for the City Edition jerseys?

They reached out to me. I’ve been a huge fan of the Hawks for a while now, I have some family in the Atlanta area, but Martin was actually the first font I ever made through VocalType. I released it back in 2016 and last year it was just crazy with George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor and Martin just kind of blew up. It was on so many protest signs around the world, on street murals throughout America, it was just kind of everywhere. And the next thing I know the Hawks reach out and they’re like “Hey, we want to use Martin for the City Edition,” just because of the story behind it is so perfect and with him being from Atlanta.

What’s the process going into creating a font?

The process is pretty much the same. It’s twenty-five percent research, twenty-five percent design, twenty-five percent research, twenty-five percent design, just in case I miss something (laughs). In terms of finding or figuring out what to make a font based on, I try to identify a movement and then find a specific event within that movement. And then try to find a piece of typography that multiple people have a connection to. So, with the Martin font one thing you’ll notice, I never make a font based on one sign that one person carried. It might be one sign that thousands of people carried, like in the case of the Martin “I am a man” sign and the “Union Justice Now” signs.

It kind of reinforces this idea of unity. And then from there I’ll try to find an activist associated with that movement and that event to tie it all together and name the font after. And since the Memphis sanitation strike was Dr. King’s last cause, it just kind of made sense to name it after him.

What’s the toughest part about being a Black designer and business owner. How do you continue to overcome it?

I think the hardest part for me, especially with Vocal--my mission is to diversify design, which means making fonts inspired by all cultures not just Black culture. But I feel like I’m speaking at opportunities especially that are all tied to the fact that I’m a Black type designer not the fact that I’m trying to give a voice to all people. Like how Dr. King was only known for civil rights, even though he fought for all these different causes.

What’s some advice that you’d give to Black designers who are struggling to break into the industry or to feel seen?

The best designers are interested in everything, not just design. So I think that’s a huge part of my success. But at the same time I feel like looking back on my days of being a graphic designer, I worked based on the idea that everything happens for a reason. So every design decision should have a reason. And by the time you have a reason for every single design decision, you end up with this beautiful story that can transform and be remade over time. And I feel like that process has given me the most success in my career.

How do you stay on top? What makes your fonts stand out?

The storytelling aspect of all my fonts. The cultural relevance that really draws people to the work and not just the way the fonts look.

What was it like to finally see the jersey in person and all over social media?

I honestly don’t think its still registered that it actually happened. It was just amazing. Probably one of the greatest projects I’ve seen Martin be used for.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Don’t give up. There were so many times when Vocal first started and I wanted to stop because there was just no momentum at all. Don’t give up and just keep pushing through even if people don’t believe in what you’re doing. As long as you believe it, then you can be successful.