Analyst Picks Top Storyline for Atlanta Hawks This Offseason

Even before the Atlanta Hawks won the NBA Draft Lottery, they were going to be one of the most interesting teams to follow in the NBA this offseason. The Hawks were the most talked about team heading into the NBA trade deadline, but they refused to do anything and stuck with their team as it was.

It doesn’t look like they’re going to do that this offseason.

Atlanta seems likely to split the backcourt duo of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray and other players such as Clint Capela, De’Andre Hunter, and perhaps even Bogdan Bogdanovic or Onyeka Okongwu could be on the move. On top of all that, Atlanta shockingly won the draft lottery, adding an interesting layer to an already crucial offseason.

With all of these questions hanging over the franchise, what should be the main storyline for the Hawks this offseason? Bleacher Report analyst Dan Favale gave his answer and it was pretty obvious:

“Breaking up the backcourt duo of Dejounte Murray and Trae Young has become inevitable for the Atlanta Hawks. They have been outscored by more than six points per 100 possessions this season when the duo shared the court and did not currently have the wings or the wings required defensive versatility to give hope for better results next year.

Tripling the Murray-Young duo with a splashy acquisition or three generally seems out of the question. Landing the No. 1 pick gives the Hawks a top asset, but it’s unclear what can land on its own. People in the know aren’t exactly enamored with this year’s draft class, and Atlanta is limited in how much it can sweeten packages when San Antonio controls its next three first rounds.

So which guard will the Hawks trade?

Conventional wisdom suggests they should and will move Murray. For all his flaws, Young is the more dominant player. But Atlanta might be too worried about assembling a top-notch defense around him. Both sides could also be ready for a change, or the front office could recognize that the 25-year-old with an All-NBA selection under his belt will get a bigger return.

Beyond that, it’s unclear how much winning the first overall selection will impact Atlanta’s thinking. Cleaning out Alex Sarr or Zaccharie Risacher probably isn’t enough to start the total rebuild machine and unseat Murray and Young. Then again, is this really irrelevant?

The proximity of the luxury tax looms over everything. The Hawks will enter the offseason beyond the finish line, without even considering Saddiq Bey’s restricted free agent status. Chances are the C-Suiters won’t allow this to continue. And if salary cutting is their mandate, that will undoubtedly factor into the calculation of who they trade as well as what they prioritize in return. »

If this draft had a can’t-miss prospect, what the Hawks did in the draft would probably take the top spot, but that’s not the case and the potential of either of these traded players will be one of the main scenarios of the draft. all offseason.

I still think that ultimately Young will stay in Atlanta and Murray will be traded. The Hawks have a much higher ceiling with Young as their centerpiece and now that they have the No. 1 pick, they can work on building a better team around him than they have thus far.

There will be no shortage of storylines in Atlanta this season and this team will likely look a lot different when the new season begins in October.