Atlanta Hawks President of Basketball Operations Onsi Saleh addressed the media on Friday morning, with several positive developments emerging from it.
3. Hawks have built a stable culture and identity
About five minutes into the press conference, Saleh was asked what he was most proud of from last summer, considering the wild free agency that took place. He replied, “Building a culture and identity, because that’s really hard to do.”
To some people, this was the most important thing from the press conference. It took Atlanta five years after their 2021 Eastern Conference Finals run to develop a new identity.
They tried to surround Trae Young with a suitable roster in the years that followed, but it was to no avail. So, to hear Saleh prioritize finding an identity after last year’s emotional rollercoaster brings a lot of clarity to the situation.
This offseason was spent surrounding their new franchise centerpiece, Jalen Johnson, with the necessary tools to make a deep playoff run. Saleh revealed his thought process for selecting names for Johnson’s supporting cast.
“You wanna get the guys that fit the archetypes of the way you want to play stylistically, and I think we figured that out a lot,” Saleh said. “That’s one of the ways we’re gonna be successful this year is through our style of play, and I felt like we did that.”
It’s the perfect mindset to have for this season with so many new faces in the locker room, and the Hawks were grinding all summer because they’re aware of the moment this year.
2. They've maintained roster flexibility
The beauty of finding a new identity are the new players that coincide with the roster changes. For the Hawks, their new additions have provided depth that they didn’t have before.
Some teams rely on noteworthy names to fill their depth charts, but the Hawks have multiple lineups of underrated players that can work together. Every five-man rotation will have these two things in common: three-point shooting and defense.
Even if Dyson Daniels is on the court, the Australian playmaker will have a litany of shooters at his disposal. He has also worked on his jump shot last summer, so he’ll add more versatility to the lineup.
Keep in mind, this is just the offensive side of the ball. The Hawks have made leaps and bounds on defense with the additions of Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, Dorian Finney-Smith, Zuby Ejiofor, and Kingston Flemings. Saleh emphasized the importance of their flexibility and expressed his excitement to test out his new roster.
“We have guys that can slide over [and play the center position] like Zuby. He can guard fives, he can play the five, and he can play the four. Asa [Newell] has played the five before, so I feel like we can move guys around, but ultimately that’s a decision for Quin," Saleh noted.
“I honestly think we got better offensively too; adding guys like Aaron [Wiggins] is going to be significant for us, and having an advantage creator like Kingston is going to be really beneficial to our group.”
1. Their young roster should embrace physicality
The last thing that should fill the hearts of Hawks fans, from Atlanta to Athens, is Saleh’s emphasis on physicality. This was the key component to the New York Knicks' 4-2 series win over the Hawks last postseason.
Everyone who watched the series witnessed OG Anunoby and Josh Hart giving Jalen Johnson a tremendous amount of physicality. It’s obvious that JJ wasn’t used to the defensive gravity of being a No. 1 option in the postseason, so fortifying his body was mandatory, and this applied to the entire roster as well.
“We see a more physical, slow style of play in the playoffs, but physicality is offensive too. You have to be super physical in the playoffs to get to your spots, and we saw that last season,” Saleh said.
“The referees aren’t going to call as much, but having that physicality offensively, which I think the guys that are coming back this season got to experience that for the first time, can go: ‘This is a different game'"
Since the Hawks are among the youngest teams in the league, older teams will try to exploit their youth and inexperience. However, Johnson is operating at an All-NBA level at 24 years old, and Daniels is one of the league’s best defenders at just 23.
So, it’s obvious the Hawks are ahead of schedule in terms of their development. They just needed more veteran support in the locker room, which they have in spades now with Dort and 15-year veteran CJ McCollum.
Looking ahead to the 2026-27 NBA season
All three of the aforementioned takeaways indicate guaranteed progression. These issues plagued the roster for years, but now the Hawks have their best team in years.
It’s divine timing as they prepare for the Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Toronto Raptors. They will likely face one of these ball clubs in the first round of the playoffs, and that’s where their true test will begin.
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