Zach Lowe no longer believes the Atlanta Hawks are a team capable of making noise in the playoffs, despite being “a huge Hawks optimist before the season.”
Lowe began his Hawks segment by addressing Kristaps Porzingis’s two-week absence due to illness. He followed with, “They are the one team I could see looking in the mirror and saying ‘Look, if this Porzingis thing is just not going to happen, like we just are not going to be able to count on him’ [...] There's a lot of factors that would sway me to think pretty hard about [a star trade], and this Porzingis thing is one of them.”
Lowe doesn’t think the Hawks are dead in the water. The team has many of the ancillary pieces required for an elite team, but they aren’t quite complete. Instead, he believes they are the type of team that should make a splash this trade deadline.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis are the two stars who make the most sense for the Hawks. The Hawks would instantly become one of the best teams in the East if they traded for Antetokounmpo, although that would cost Young and serious draft capital. Davis would be the much cheaper option, only removing Porzingis and Luke Kennard from the rotation with a smaller draft haul.
Whether the Hawks opt to blow up the Trae Young era with Giannis or reload with AD, their deadline to make a move is less than two months away.
The Hawks need to make a move this trade deadline
Onsi Saleh has been on fire in his brief tenure as general manager in Atlanta, but now he faces the ultimate test. Porzingis is on an expiring contract, and Young has a player option to become a free agent this offseason. If the Hawks are going to make a trade, it has to happen this season.
And the Hawks should make a trade. While I push back on Lowe’s notion that they cannot make noise in the playoffs, they are not real title contenders.
Young can lead a contending team, but he would need an elite supporting cast. A starting lineup including Davis, Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Dyson Daniels is precisely the backdrop he needs to reach playoff glory.
If the Hawks can’t reach an extension with Young, however, Giannis would instantly transform the team into a title contender. He has led aging Bucks teams with little depth and shooting to decent playoff performances routinely. On an improved Hawks roster, he could return to his MVP peak and lead a monstrous team.
Regardless of the route Atlanta chooses, the clock is ticking. If they sit on their hands, they will be left with a team that has no path to real contention anytime soon.