After their 123-114 overtime loss to the Miami Heat on Friday night, the Atlanta Hawks will now officially miss the playoffs for the second season in a row. It's no secret that this team is not exactly trending upward when you look at the year over year results, and there are some serious conversations to be had about the players on this roster in the near future.
One of those players being Trae Young. The Hawks' star has now been the best player in Atlanta for seven seasons, and it's entirely possible that this team has already hit their peak with him as their leader. Since Atlanta's Eastern Conference Finals appearance back in 2021, the Hawks have lost in the first round twice and then failed to make the playoffs in the two seasons since then. The questions surrounding his future with the franchise are loud and legitimate.
But another player who will be talked about this offseason is Terance Mann. Acquired at the February trade deadline, his impact on this group has left something to be desired thus far. Mann's offensive limitations are clear, and he was not able to provide a meaningful enough lift to prevent Atlanta from losing two straight play-in contests this past week.
Mann was a negative as Hawks were bounced from postseason
Against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, Terance only saw 10 minutes of action and scored two points, finishing the contest a -13 in plus/minus. Then on Friday against the Miami Heat, he finished with five points and was a -8 in plus/minus. If Mann is not scoring, he can typically still affect the game in different ways. However, his usefulness was totally diminished in these two games as the Hawks were eliminated.
This would not hurt so bad for Hawks fans if this team had not given up so much to acquire him. Back at the deadline, Atlanta sacrificed Bogdan Bogdanovic and three second-round picks in order to receive Mann and Bones Hyland's services. As we know, the Hawks would waive Hyland soon after the trade was completed. As for Mann, this past week has served to amplify how detrimental his acquisition is currently looking.
Number 14 is still under contract for three more seasons in Atlanta. There is still time for Mann to redeem himself and become a player the Hawks can rely on in a postseason setting, but the fact that this roster's overall future looks uncertain at the moment is not going to give Hawks fans a positive outlook on his situation.