The Atlanta Hawks finished the preseason 1-3, but more importantly, they finished healthy.
They even got backup big man Onyeka Okongwu back for the preseason finale, letting him start and go for a productive 16 minutes.
Now that the exhibition slate is behind us, our focus turns to the regular season. So, instead of hot takes about the game – that saw only Dyson Daniels start among the regulars this preseason – this batch will be predictions for the season.
And what better way to kick it off than declaring the Hawks will shock the majority?
Hawks will make playoffs in 2024-25
The Hawks missed the postseason for the first time in four years last season, winning five fewer games than the season before which continued a trend from the previous campaign. This offseason, they traded an All-Star in Dejounte Murray.
In return, the Hawks got a project in Dyson Daniels, a couple of journeymen in Cody Zeller and Larry Nance Jr., and a trade chip in E.J. Liddell that they used to acquire David Roddy.
But this team will be better than the sum of its parts.
The Hawks should be better defensively. This is not to say that they will suddenly become a top-10 unit. But after posting back-to-back seasons with defensive ratings ranking in the 20s under head coach Quin Snyder, somewhere in the 15-to-18 range feels doable.
That would have given them a plus-2.0 net rating with last season’s figures; good enough for a top-10 spot.
There are still a lot of moving parts.
The Hawks are relying on several players that are either aging and/or have lengthy injury histories, on top of their younger developmental pieces like rookie No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher.
But making the playoffs through the Play-In Tournament is still making the playoffs, and this Hawks team is built to stun teams in one-game, winner-take-all scenarios.
Actual playoff series could present a challenge for the Hawks.
They are not the most physical team and are still small on the whole. That could be an issue when they go up against the upper-echelon teams. But they fit right into that lower rung of teams no one wants to face, especially if someone steps up to help Trae Young.
Zaccharie Risacher will win Rookie of the Year
It should not be a hot take to say that the No. 1 pick of any draft will win Rookie of the Year, even in a class that has been so widely derided. And yet, Risacher checks in second behind Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey on FanDuel as of October 17.
The gap between Risacher and Edey is far greater than that between the Hawks rookie and Reed Sheppard of the Houston Rockets who is currently in third place.
Edey was the No. 9 selection while Sheppard was No. 3.
The former has a guard who can rival Young in ball dominance in Ja Morant while Sheppard will be sharing the floor with several other former top-five draft picks in Houston. Among that group, Risacher could be the most heavily relied upon.
Young is No. 1 in the pecking order. And Johnson is an obvious candidate to step in as the de facto second option most nights.
But Risacher’s offensive skill set lends itself to putting up numbers effortlessly.
He also has the length and versatility to impact the game defensively when his shot is not falling. After Young and Johnson, his biggest competition for looks would be Bogdan Bogdanovic, who could either start or come off the bench.
That could have a bigger impact on Risacher taking home the award than anything his draft classmates might do.
He would be the third straight No. 1 pick to win the award and 18th all-time if he did win.
Trae Young will be an All-Star
This is another prediction that should not be bold, especially with Young coming off the third All-Star selection of his six-year career. But the Hawks star has never been selected in back-to-back seasons.
This is despite his numbers remaining remarkably consistent.
He set career-highs with 10.8 assists and 1.3 steals in 2023-24. But his 25.7 PPG in 2023-24 was his fewest of any of his All-Star seasons and his 2022-23 mark when he did not make it.
A lot of whether or not Young earns an All-Star nod this season will depend on his own perimeter shot-making – he has never made a team while shooting worse than 36.1% from downtown – and that of his teammates.
Young has set a goal to average 11.0-plus assists this coming season.
He shot 53.8% from deep in the preseason, though that figure will certainly come down to earth when the games count.
But that is an encouraging sign from the 26-year-old star, as is his buy-in with what the team wants to do. With Young’s playmaking all but a given, the Hawks star could make personal history and garner the respect he deserves in consecutive seasons.
It helps that he will be dishing out dimes to our projected Rookie of the Year.
The Hawks will make a trade during the season
The Hawks did not make a trade at the 2024 trade deadline, alternating years of activity going back to 2021. They will continue the pattern this coming season, though with whom is the multi-million-dollar question.
This may seem like the perfect time to call for a splash move to offload some of their more onerous contracts.
Instead, a deal to consolidate contracts and/or add talent is the call here.
Look for something to help “put them over the hump” of postseason contention, and for the Hawks to compile one or two of their backend contracts with someone at the top to make it happen.
Clint Capela and De’Andre Hunter are the obvious candidates. But Larry Nance Jr.’s $11.2 million cap hit in 2024-25 would make solid salary-matching fodder.
Onyeka Okongwu will be the Hawks’ starting center by season’s end
Calls for Okongwu to assume a starting role have been prevalent for at least two seasons, and his expanded range makes the present time seem as good as any. But the Hawks have shown they still need Capela.
That is until this coming season. Okongwu will continue to expand his range and prove that he can hold up defensively enough to overtake his veteran teammate.
This would be good for the Hawks as it would clarify some roster decisions.
Capela is aging and on an expiring contract. Even if the Hawks want to bring him back next season, doing so while not overpaying will be a fine line. Okongwu is in the middle of a multi-year deal and seemingly primed to be the Hawks’ center of the future.
Okongwu will prove his being undersized is not obstacle enough for him and his multi-faceted skillset.