The NBA season is less than a week away, and fans have every reason to be excited about the potential of the Atlanta Hawks.
By nearly every national outlet, the Hawks were dubbed one of the biggest winners of the offseason. They addressed their most pressing needs in free agency, acquiring Kristaps Porzingis via trade and adding Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard in free agency. Trae Young is now surrounded by players who can accentuate his biggest strength — playmaking — and mask his biggest weakness — defense.
This is hands down the best roster Young has had in his entire career, so it’s no surprise the national media is bullish on their chances of finishing near the top of the Eastern Conference, with John Hollinger of The Athletic predicting they’ll finish in a tie for third with the New York Knicks, only behind the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Kristaps Porzingis may not be a superstar, but the former All-Star is easily the best player Trae Young has ever played with, and a significant upgrade over Clint Capela.
“By turning a late first-round pick and the unwanted contracts of Terance Mann and Georges Niang into Porziņģis, the Hawks immediately solved their biggest dilemma: how to fill the center position in the wake of Clint Capela’s decline,” Hollinger wrote. “Porziņģis won’t play 82 games, and might not even come close, but he can give Atlanta 50–60 nights of All-Star-level play and add a floor-spacing big man the likes of which Trae Young has never had next to him.”
Porzingis should be a natural fit alongside Young, and so should Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard — two elite shooters and underrated playmakers who give the Hawks the depth they’ve sorely lacked in recent years.
Perhaps the biggest difference this season, however, will be the return of Jalen Johnson — a true All-Star talent who missed the second half of last season after undergoing shoulder surgery. He, along with Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu, and Zaccharie Risacher, gives the Hawks one of the most intriguing young cores in the league, with Risacher serving as the team’s X-factor.
“If there’s a question mark, it’s right in the middle of the rotation at small forward. Zaccharie Risacher, the top pick in the 2024 draft, will try to build on an uneven rookie year on a team where expectations are high enough that ‘doing some interesting things’ won’t be enough,” Hollinger continued.
Risacher’s rookie campaign may have been uneven, but it trended strongly upward. Over the final three months (34 games), he averaged 14.4 points in just 25.7 minutes per game on over 50% shooting from the field and nearly 41% from three-point range. At just 19 years old, that’s an incredibly encouraging sign for both his development and the Hawks’ ceiling this season.
First-year general manager Onsi Saleh did a tremendous job building a roster that can compete in a weak Eastern Conference today while setting the franchise up for long-term success. The Hawks have plenty of financial flexibility moving forward and multiple first-round picks next year. With a few positive developments, Atlanta could find itself near the top of the Eastern Conference for years to come.
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Photo: Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire
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