Within a year of taking control of the Atlanta Hawks’ front office, Onsi Saleh has already solved the team’s biggest problem: its lack of a cohesive identity.
With Trae Young, Jalen Johnson, and Kristaps Porzingis forming a powerful trio on paper, the team was ostensibly looking to compete in the playoffs this season. While saying Atlanta had serious title hopes would be a stretch, I thought they could be a dark horse contender with a little luck in an injury-riddled Eastern Conference.
But this was a mirage in a desert littered with Play-In appearances.
Barring a miracle regarding Porzingis’s health, this star trio was never meant to stick together. The seven-footer was in the final year of his contract and previously mentioned that he had not entered any extension negotiations with the franchise. Porzingis seemed destined to walk in free agency in favor of a contender on a cheap contract next season.
Young seemed more likely to return next season than Porzingis, but he and Saleh never saw eye to eye on a new contract. Young has a player option for next season, and while he was widely expected to pick up this option, his inability to reach an extension this offseason was quite concerning. Hawks fans knew at that point that either Young would “prove Saleh wrong” by having a career year, or that he would be shipped for pennies on the dollar.
Starting fresh has paid off
Of course, Saleh shipped Young to the Wizards and Porzingis to the Warriors, leaving the Hawks with an objectively worse team. The NBA community at large clowned Atlanta for their moves, turning two All-Stars into a strange assortment of aging veterans and 2021 draft flameouts.
Indeed, these moves were a setback. The Hawks would go 9-10 over the 19 games following Young’s departure, with an offense that could lack inspiration and a frustratingly porous defense.
But lost in the record was a recalibration of the team’s identity; Saleh identified players who would fit well alongside Johnson and pursued them in free agency.
The new cast of characters
CJ McCollum has rediscovered his old form, looking spry off the dribble and knocking down pull-up jumpers at an unreal rate. While he probably won’t be a long-term fixture on this roster, he’s shown Saleh that the perfect offensive co-star to Johnson should play like McCollum (Darryn Peterson?).
Jock Landale has been a critical addition to a center room that’s been short-staffed all season – plus he’s a stretch five. Again, while the Hawks should look to acquire a more stout defensive center in the draft or free agency, Saleh can now confidently say the ideal backup center is a big stretch five.
These moves allowed Zaccharie Risacher to fall to the bench, where he is best suited until he can improve as a scorer. The bench sorely lacked defense; Risacher is quite a solid defender. The starting five sorely lacked offensive creation; Risacher cannot create off the bounce.
Perhaps most importantly, Atlanta acquired Jonathan Kuminga. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but this trade looks better with each passing day. The former Warrior has shaken off all of his character concerns and has been wildly impressive through his limited time in a Hawks uniform.
All of these changes came together in a beautiful crescendo in the form of a six-game win streak. While the Hawks set their team back in the short term by downgrading their talent, they advanced the state of the franchise by simply picking a direction.