Atlanta Hawks: Is Rebuilding the Best Option?

What Could a Rebuild Look Like?

Of course, you have to consider the inherent risk of rebuilding.

There are franchises who have been rebuilding for years. A Hawks rebuild could end up just as poorly as the ongoing Sacramento Kings’ or Orlando Magic’s rebuild, or as well as the Milwaukee Bucks’ or Minnesota Timberwolves.’

Unfortunately, you have to ask yourself if the Hawks fan base could survive a rebuild.

It’s no secret to any NBA fan that Atlanta has one of the smaller, more fair-weather fan bases. Over the past ten seasons, the Hawks have been in the bottom ten in attendance eight times. How small would the fan base dwindle to if they weren’t making the playoffs every year?

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Of course, rebuilding obviously has inherent benefits as well. It’s almost necessary to have a generational talent on your team to win an NBA championship. Very few teams have done it without one. Drafting one is without a doubt the best way to go about obtaining one, and rebuilding is the best way to improve your draft odds.

The Hawks are going to be at a crossroads this offseason. Paul Millsap is undeniably the best player on the Hawks and a top-25 player in the NBA. His free agency decision is going to change the future of the Hawks.

If he walks away or the Hawks elect not to re-sign him, they can enter into a rebuild. All things considered, it becomes a little tougher with the contracts of Kent Bazemore and Dwight Howard, but it has a chance to set the Hawks down the path towards contending.

The foundation for a rebuild is there. Dennis Schroder is locked up for the prime of his career, and The Hawks have the option to do the same with Tim Hardaway Jr. They have two promising rookies in Taurean Prince and DeAndre Bembry. Over the next three drafts, the Hawks have ten picks including five first round picks and the 31st pick of this year’s draft. Rebuilding is a solid option.

If Millsap remains on the Hawks, they have a very, very small window to contend in. Millsap is 32, and he’s not going to be this good for much longer. Consequently, The Hawks would likely need to mortgage their future in order to contend in this window.

However unlikely it is, the Hawks can continue to try to attract a big name free agent.

Players like Chris Paul, Gordon Hayward, Otto Porter, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will be free agents, but you have to wonder if they truly make the Hawks contenders. In order to even sign one of them, the Hawks will have to renounce nearly all of their free agents and move Kent Bazemore’s contract, which would take attaching draft picks.

If the Hawks can’t attract a star, they can always try to trade for one.

At the trade deadline, the Hawks attempted to take this route making offers for Paul George and Jimmy Butler. These proposals would likely have included both rookies, more than three first-round draft picks, and possibly Tim Hardaway Jr.  So the Hawks could potentially revisit these offers again this offseason.

Success in the NBA is defined by winning championships whether we like it or not. It is the ultimate goal of every team in the NBA, and everyone is trying different ways to get there. No one can definitively say which strategy is the best one, and all of them are potentially viable.

Next: Atlanta's Best Three-Man Lineups in March

This coming offseason, the Atlanta Hawks are going to have to decide which one gives them the best chance.