Welcome to the quieter part of the NBA offseason.
With basketball news expected to come exclusively from the U.S. team over the next few weeks, it looks like the roster for the 2024-2025 season is pretty much set. The Hawks still have some pieces they need to replace, but no major moves are expected at this point.
Atlanta made some big moves this offseason, restructuring the team around Trae Young to better fit him. The Hawks won the NBA Draft Lottery and selected French forward Zachary Lisacher after two solid performances in Summer League. Lisacher adds size and length to the lineup, and his shooting should be a strength.
The biggest move the Hawks made this summer was trading Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans. Atlanta received Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance, EJ Liddell (recently traded to Phoenix for David Roddy), Cody Zeller, and two first-round draft picks. I've covered this trade many times before, and while it wasn't a grand slam, it was a solid deal to get Daniels and an unprotected 2025 Lakers pick. I've argued the Hawks showed they had a leg up in the offseason, but not everyone feels that way.
But not everyone feels that way. In a recent article, Greg Schwartz of Bleacher Report named Atlanta as one of five teams regretting the 2024 offseason.
“If the Atlanta Hawks' plan is to settle for mediocrity over the next three years without any draft picks, then this team is doing a great job.
Atlanta made the smart choice by trading Dejounte Murray, but ended up prioritizing draft picks over actual depth.r.
Last season, without players who were traded or signed elsewhere (Murray, Saddiq Bey and AJ Griffin), and with Trae Young on the court, the Hawks had a net rating of minus-4.3 and a defensive rating of 120.0 or higher (18th percentile per Cleaning the Glass) on 698 possessions.
Unless the Hawks do something different this summer, the team is in line to regress from its 36-46 record from a year ago.
According to Bleacher Report draft expert Jonathan Wasserman, No. 1 overall pick Zachary Lisacher's pro comparison is Harrison Barnes, but that probably won't be enough to lead this team to the playoffs right away. Clint Capela is in the final year of his contract, and a contract extension has yet to be signed for promising power forward Jalen Johnson.
The San Antonio Spurs own first-round picks in 2025 and 2027, plus the right to swap in 2026 per the original trade for Murray, so Atlanta doesn't have the option to tank.
Atlanta isn't good enough to make the playoffs with its current roster, much less land a high draft pick, so new moves are sure to be made.
The Hawks should seek to trade for a veteran complement to Young, and to that end, they acquired two additional first-round picks from the New Orleans Pelicans.
So far, it's been a very disappointing offseason for Atlanta with no real direction in sight.”
I don't agree with this analysis. Again, I don't think Atlanta had a great offseason, but they made the most of what they had in front of them. The Hawks return two serviceable players in Daniels and Nance, but Daniels isn't mentioned once here. He flashed his potential as a two-way guard in the Olympics this summer and seems like a perfect fit next to Trae Young, especially on defense.
I don't see Atlanta making another big move this offseason, and I don't think there should be one. Atlanta doesn't have a lot of draft capital, even though they acquired two picks from New Orleans. I don't think another big trade is necessary, as no move is going to make the Hawks a championship contender. Being patient and waiting for this young team (no pun intended) to come together is the best course of action for this front office.
Atlanta was better with Young at the helm alone, but now with Daniels, Lisacher, Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu, Bogdan Bogdanovic, De'Andre Hunter, Nance and Kobe Bufkin, this is a solid team more capable of competing for a playoff spot than most in the NBA think.
