Atlanta Hawks offseason moves summed up with telling 1-word

Trae Young is a three-time All-Star and former All-NBA selection with a list of statistical accomplishments. His Atlanta Hawks teammate, Clint Capela, is a former rebound champion. 

Jalen Johnson was a Most Improved Player candidate in 2023-24 and Bogdan Bogdanovic is a Sixth Man of the Year-level talent. The Hawks also added former top-10 pick Dyson Daniels via trade and selected Zaccharie Risacher with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft.

Despite that, there is a general idea that the Hawks will stagnate if not regress.

Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus assigned one-word descriptions for every NBA team’s offseason, giving the Hawks “idling.”

“The Atlanta Hawks sent significant draft currency to the San Antonio Spurs to acquire Dejounte Murray, who they recently traded to the New Orleans Pelicans to recoup some of what was lost,” Pincus wrote on September 19. “The team did luck into the No. 1 overall pick to draft Zaccharie Risacher, but is the 19-year-old wing ready to help the team win around Trae Young?

“Identifying direction is difficult, as the Hawks seem to be running in place.”

There are two key elements to Pincus’ assessment: the trade of Murray and Risacher’s youth, both of which figure to present notable challenges.

Hawks face talent drain with loss of Dejounte Murray

The new-look Hawks could be described as a less-is-more approach. Taking the ball out of Young’s hands proved detrimental to him and the team. His retooled supporting cast has better length and defensive potential. 

There is undoubtedly less offensive punch and even diversity with fewer multi-faceted ball-handlers at head coach Quin Snyder’s disposal.

Murray had a career year in 2023-24.

That can get lost in the overall discourse around the team, and we will never know if a third time around would have been the charm for making the star backcourt pairing work more effectively and consistently.

They flashed their potential but injuries to them and other players on the roster constantly interrupted their ability to develop chemistry.

The Hawks reached the Eastern Conference Finals taking a similar approach.

That was in 2020-21, though. The Eastern Conference is very different now and moving up more than one spot in the standings could prove an insurmountable task. Even an optimistic look on the Hawks’ future brings questions about the past.

Hawks’ growing pains could prove costly

Johnson is the Hawks’ second-best player. He turns 23 years old in December. Daniels is 21 years old and a questionable shooter. 

Add in 19-year-old Risacher and there is a lot of learning left to do for some key contributors on the Hawks’ roster. They still have aging veterans in Bogdanovic and Capela and younger vets in De’Andre Hunter and Onyeka Okongwu.

Those players were not enough for the Hawks in 2023-24, though.

That means those young players will have to fill big roles right away or the Hawks could be faced with accepting a step back for a hopeful leap forward.