Longest-tenured list offers notable reminder about Trae Young tenure with Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks have five players on the 2024-25 roster from their run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2020-21.

They are Bogdan Bogdanovic, Clint Capela, De’Andre Hunter, Onyeka Okongwu, and Trae Young. That much roster turnover is not necessarily unique to the Hawks. But it has left them in a rather telling situation given the way the past few seasons have played out. 

Young is the Hawks’ longest-tenured player, as Hoops Rumors Luke Adams recently listed.

Selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the No. 5 overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft and traded to the Hawks on draft night, the soon-to-be 26-year-old guard is not new to it but is in a unique spot

Eight players were drafted after Young and are currently in that spot. Only one of those players – 2019 No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans is also the face of the franchise like Young is.

Similar to Young, Williamson has notably endured disappointment and injuries.

The Pelicans traded for Murray this summer. The injuries have been a significant cause of the disappointment for Williamson. But the theme is that it is difficult to win with Young stars in the NBA.

Devin Booker is the last player on the list who has a clear-cut case as the No. 1 player among the longest-tenured group to lead his team to an NBA Finals. But Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is at worst a 1B and just won his first title.

They were drafted in 2015 and 2016, respectively, and had plenty of help getting to the Finals.

For Booker especially, the success came after years of toiling away as the Suns struggled to put the proper pieces around him.

Hawks need revamped roster to fit Trae Young

Young’s size had often been used to deride his abilities to lead a team. But his age and the supporting cast around him need more attention. That is why this retooling by the Hawks is key following the two-year experiment with Dejounte Murray.

If the Hawks’ simplified approach leads to better results, it could make the next move clearer.

The Hawks’ biggest mistake in acquiring Murray was projecting his skill set to mesh back into an off-ball role despite seeing his best come out as a lead guard.

With the current roster construction, the Hawks are built to insulate Young defensively, that much is for sure. What is less certain is how well they will be able to overcome the issues that led to their acquiring Murray via trade from the San Antonio Spurs in 2022.

If not, is their new-found potential stopping power enough to overcome that?

How quickly rookie No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher picks up the pro game will be key for the Hawks. He is already looking like he has at least built up his strength if not his mass.

Health is also paramount for these Hawks. Every projected major contributor has missed significant time with injuries in recent seasons. That is quite the needle to thread with plenty on the line despite a potential step back in 2024-25.