The Atlanta Hawks are being careful with how they operate, but it's slowly paying off, and those around the league are beginning to truly take notice.
The work of President of Basketball Operations Onsi Saleh should warrant praise. He's transcended eras of Hawks basketball masterfully. After dealing their franchise star in early January, they haven't lost a step. They've gained one.
Not only is the roster better, and built for much more sustainable success, but the cap sheets are clean. Everyone on the squad plays a part, and truthfully, there aren't any negative assets. ESPN's Brian Windhorst agrees.
Hawks have a roster built for long-term domination
“They have no bad contracts, because even their big contracts that they have signed, like Jalen Johnson, he’s at submax. He’s an All-Star playing at submax,” said Windhorst during a recent episode of The Hoop Collective.
That's the thing. The value contracts start at the top. Jalen Johnson - coming off of an All-NBA season in his first as an offensive focal point - is locked up for the next four seasons at $30 million flat, annually.
It's much less than what he could've gotten, especially following a season where he was one of the best 15 players in the world.
Enter Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels - undoubtedly Atlanta's next two most important players - who are also locked up on a bargain. Even Daniels' $25 million a year could be considered that, with the rising cap taken into account.
“So, it’s a competitive team," Windhorst added. "I think they are a top-six team in the East. We’ll see who plays well, who’s healthy and what have you, and they’ve got all these expiring contracts.”
If they indeed finish this upcoming season as a top-six Eastern Conference seed, the league needs to watch out, as they're not going anywhere for the foreseeable future.
Hawks could be the team to go after the next available star, too
It's what they're saving all this room for, really.
While they certainly do expect to find success with the current roster and already-established core, when the next big name becomes available - if it's someone who fits their timeline - they'll bite. They'll have every reason to.
At some point, flexibility wears off. The only thing that will matter is how effectively they utilized it when they could.
Saleh has a solid track record, giving Hawks fans plenty of confidence that they'll keep this cautious mentality until the right player wants a change of scenery.
Maybe, they're waiting until 2028 to do so. It's expected to be quite the summer of movement.
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