How the Atlanta Hawks can get better this offseason

Here we are, the Atlanta Hawks are back in the Play-In Tournament and the focus has seemingly already shifted to what the team needs to do to get better during the offseason. There have been rumors of various players getting traded to bring in new/different talent to match the new head coach’s vision of a championship-contending team.

Without any inside information, let’s toss around some ideas and see if we may be on to something.

First things first, it is not a good idea to sit here and try to talk yourself into the notion of trading Trae Young. While it’s true that Young has some growing and maturing to do, only a fool would cut bait with his talent to watch it flourish in another arena. Also, no trade package would be put together by another team where the Hawks and Hawks fans are going to feel like they got a fair deal.

They should continue to build around Trae, not cut him out of the plans.

While we are talking about it, I think keeping Dejounte Murray should also be a part of that equation. Their games complement each other and when they are clicking, they are hard to contain.

Murray has the active hands needed on defense and the willing attitude to match. That attitude is infectious and it spreads throughout the entire team and could lead to creating some much-needed stops at key moments of big games.

Scoring is not an issue for the Hawks. Their problem is stopping the other team from scoring so the moves that need to be made have to have that focus at hand.

The Atlanta Hawks could look to a player from Quin Snyder’s previous stop

One option is to get bigger on the inside. Atlanta could make a trade to get Minnesota big man Rudy Gobert. Gobert has worked with Quin Snyder while at Utah. I’m not sure of their relationship but if they were on good terms, Gobert could be a good pick-up. He was recently sent home by the Timberwolves for fighting his teammate Kyle Anderson on the sideline and will miss Minnesota’s play-in game. He will probably be thrilled to have a new place to play, add that to a familiar coach and the Hawks may have a new anchor around the basket.

Trading for Gobert would probably cost Clint Capela and John Collins but may open up more time for players like Jalen Johnson and a bigger role for Onyeka Okongwu.

Another player that the Hawks may have an interest in is Toronto Raptors’ swingman OG Anunoby. He can add a defensive presence on the wing and add some efficient scoring. Acquiring Anunoby may require the Hawks to send De’Andre Hunter or Bogdan Bogdanovic to the Raptors.

These are the kind of moves that fans are looking for the Hawks to make this offseason. Atlanta is at a point where they could take that next step into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference if they just make a few adjustments. Taking away the team’s star does not allow for taking a step up, it only breaks a team down and leads to the hope for a high lottery pick or a trade for a high-priced star that doesn’t fit on another team.

The Hawks’ eyes should be focused on trying to win a championship as soon as possible, not starting over with a rebuild.