The Atlanta Hawks made a big move in adding Dejounte Murray during the offseason, but unfortunately it didn’t lead to an improvement in their playoff performance, as they fell in the first round for the second straight year.
From a glass half full perspective, it was impressive that the Hawks made the playoffs at all considering the issues their star player Trae Young had with his head coach, Nate McMillan. The rift led to McMillan’s dismissal, and after two wins under interim coach Joe Prunty, they decided to move on to Quin Snyder, who went 13-15 after getting the gig.
Overcoming a major shakeup like that to earn a spot in the playoffs is an achievement, but they clearly need to make some moves to become serious contenders in a top heavy Eastern Conference. If they do look to hit the trade market, there are four players who did a great job of boosting their trade value during the 2022-23 season.
Onyeka Okongwu, PF
After winning back-to-back California Mr. Basketball awards in high school Onyeka Okongwu spent one year at USC before being drafted sixth overall by the Atlanta Hawks in 2020. He played just 98 NBA games in his first two years, during which he spent a significant amount of time working on his game with the Hawk’s G-League affiliate the College Park Skyhawks.
Okongwu earned an expanded role this season and did very well with it, putting up career highs in nearly every category including games (80), starts (18), points (9.9), rebounds (7.2), and free throw percentage (78 percent). The former Trojan put up 12 double-doubles during a campaign that was highlighted by an impressive 18-point, 20-rebound, 4-block game in January.
https://twitter.com/NBA_Africa/status/1614176601348112384?s=20
Though Okongwu is slightly undersized as a power forward at 6’8″, he more than makes up for it with great energy and effort on both sides of the ball, especially on the offensive glass where he averaged 2.7 rebounds this past season, good for 18th in the NBA despite playing just 23 minutes per game. His club option has been exercised for 2023-24, but the question of whether to extend him remains unanswered.