The Atlanta Hawks could look a lot different next season. We already heard how disappointed owner Tony Ressler and general manager Travis Schlenk were with the end result of the season; 4-1 first-round playoff series loss to the Miami Heat. We also heard their regrets over not making significant improvements to the roster.
They had the chance to do so not once, but twice – last summer and ahead of the February 10 trade deadline – and stood pat.
Now it appears they are possibly on the verge of a nearly-complete overhaul with Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer writing that the Hawks are considering “serious change”. He points to rumblings from team insiders.
The Athletic’s Chris Kirchner recently wrote (subscription required) along these same lines.
‘Wholesale changes’ could be on the way for the Atlanta Hawks per a new report
Fischer’s report mostly focuses on De’Andre Ayton, the disgruntled Phoenix Suns center whom he says is the “popular target” within the front office. But they are not solely looking that way and have other players and positions in their sights.
That is probably a good idea given how non-competitive they were in these playoffs.
"Multiple league sources with knowledge of the Hawks’ thinking have also pointed to various wing scorers as Atlanta’s prioritized endgame…The Hawks hold all their first-round picks plus a 2023 first-rounder from Charlotte, in addition to a series of contracts that can be stacked to match a maximum salary."
Fischer lists four of five Hawks regular starters in Clint Capela John Collins, Kevin Huerter, and De’Andre Hunter as well as top bench threats Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari.
He also notes the Hawks fielded calls on Collins, Gallinari, and Huerter at the deadline.
"If any trade request did arrive, the Hawks could create as strong an offer as any suitor"
Perhaps the surprise here is that the Hawks are considering “wholesale” change instead of tweaking a roster that did make a run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
At the same time, missing out on the previous two opportunities to do so did put them further back than anticipated. That would certainly be an understandable cause for the 180-turn in philosophy.
The Hawks are also expected to be a “top suitor” for Chicago Bulls’ free-agent guard Zach LaVine.
He is just 27 years old and is a two-time All-Star and Olympic Gold Medalist.
Whatever the Hawks do this offseason, it appears it will be substantial with the potential to shake up the entire conference. At least, that has to be the hope in a positive way. Another slide like this past season could bring about even more drastic change.