Atlanta Hawks: Envisioning an alternate timeline with RJ Barrett on the team
Atlanta Hawks RJ Barrett implications) The timeline
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There is an element of surprise this season that the Hawks are so competitive. They have languished down the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings for a few seasons now. They are sitting fifth, with a good chance to finish the season with a home playoff seed.
A lot of this is due to the veteran talent they have surrounded their young core with. They have meshed well, particularly under coach Nate McMillan. This has sped up the Hawks timeline exponentially and made the franchise one free agents will want to play for now.
With Barrett on the squad, the Hawks do not commit almost $99 million in contracts for Gallinari and Bogdanovic over the next few years. This means that they have the space to re-sign John Collins at whatever value the market sets for him. This leaves Clint Capela as the lone veteran on the squad.
Unfortunately for the Hawks, this would set their timeline to compete for a playoff berth back a couple of years. Their timeline to compete for a championship would almost be impossible to determine.
Next. Revisiting the Luka Doncic/Trae Young trade. dark
When looking at how the Hawks would not have moved forward this season, it is easy to say that it is a good thing that the trade did not happen. It may have taken longer for the Hawks to rebuild but with the services of Barrett, they would have gotten to the playoffs in two or three years.