The Atlanta Hawks franchise has made a remarkable turnaround over the past year as the team has gone from wasted potential to a young squad with playoff aspirations.
This quick turnaround has been noticed across the league, with The Athletic naming Onsi Saleh as tied for first place for Executive of the Year in their annual preseason award voting. Coach Quin Snyder finished in a close second place for Coach of the Year in the same poll, trailing Orlando Magic skipper Jamahl Mosley by just one vote.
While this is expected, the sudden change in Atlanta’s fortune cannot be understated. The team was marred by allegations of nepotism in hiring and critical roster decisions just a few years ago. To go from this to potentially two members of Hawks staff winning awards for their brilliance is a miraculous save, and Saleh and Snyder are to thank.
The Hawks are destined for success, with excellent youth and support staff to assist
The Hawks franchise has been on an all-time comeback in recent years. After the Dejounte Murray trade was confirmed to be a catastrophic whiff of a trade, times were dark in Atlanta. Trade rumors swirled around Young, with some even suggesting he should be traded to the San Antonio Spurs to recover the team’s lost picks. While this was rational, it is perhaps the most humiliating justification for a trade proposal in NBA history.
Now the Hawks have the third-youngest team in the league, a relatively clean cap sheet, and some of the brightest young stars to push them toward playoff contention. Even better, all of the ingredients came together at the perfect time. The Eastern Conference is the weakest it's been in ages, with each of the last five Eastern Conference Champions blowing up their rosters this past year.
There is no top dog in the East, and Atlanta has a quietly impressive case as the most dangerous team in the conference this season. While the team will have to gel together, leaving the possibility of a rough start open, the franchise is in great shape moving forward.
A note on the awards prediction: Dyson Daniels technically also finished second place for Defensive Player of the year voting, but trailed the first place Victor Wembanyama by 70% of the votes. With Wembanyama’s projected defensive dominance, however, maybe being second in DPOY voting is the most Hawks fans can hope for so long as the Spurs' big man stays healthy.