Hawks Offseason Thread -- Summer 2024

[Jamaaliver]

An interesting take.

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[tbhawksfan1]

What I really think is that the FO will get a case of deer in headlights in fear of another bad season and sending SA a top 10 pick

[dms269]

Koonin was 92.9 last week and got super defensive when they asked him about the involvement of Nick Ressler. Kept saying how Nick doesn't have say in any decisions and is "just an advisor". Sure he is.

[Jamaaliver]

Any thoughts on simply doubling down on offense?

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[Jamaaliver]

Magic will be in the market for an offensive engine + shooters this summer.

Any Orlando players (other than Paolo) you'd be willing to move Trae, Dejounte or Bogdan for?

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[dms269]

Magic will be in the market for an offensive engine + shooters this summer.

Any Orlando players (other than Paolo) you'd be willing to move Trae, Dejounte or Bogdan for?

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Unfortunately the Magic are probably not moving Paolo, Suggs, Isaac, or the Wagner brothers. So that leaves us with the leftovers of Anthony, Black, Howard, or WCJ.

[graymule]

Atlanta Hawks need a laxative for their roster.

[Jamaaliver]

Spoiler:

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Hawks face tough choices after early Post Season exit



Much like the Bulls, the Hawks have embarked on an extended run of not really making any moves and hoping a flawed roster would be good enough. The fact they got smoked by those same Bulls in the Play-In tells you how that’s working out.

Atlanta committed multiple unprotected firsts to San Antonio to get Dejounte Murray in 2022, a defensible proposition on its own were it not for his heavy positional overlap with Trae Young. The Hawks are too small when the two play together, not to mention too on-ball dominant with two lead guards who need a lot of dribbles to get where they’re going. As a result of that trade, the Hawks are in the odd position of being unable to tank for the next three seasons, yet not really being in a position to contend either.

I hate to even say this out loud, but running it back with the same team is a real possibility given the front office’s reluctance to complete deals and the potentially tepid market for Atlanta’s players. The Hawks could return all 12 players with contracts for next season, sign two-way Vít Krejčí to a roster deal for 13, use the likely 10th pick in the draft on a player to fill out the team and end up just under the luxury tax line. (There is no chance they go over.) That team would likely give us another 40-win season punctuated by a Play-In Tournament and fork over a pick in the teens to San Antonio. Yay?

Alternatively, there is the obvious potential that they trade either Murray or Young, with league handicappers seeming to think Young is now the favorite. The Hawks did go 12-11 with Murray at the controls during Young’s injury absence, with the team presenting as notably bigger on the perimeter with the 6-foot-5 Murray shifted to point guard. While that is March basketball — not always the best gauge — it at least offers some proof of concept that the team wouldn’t collapse in Young’s absence.

Beyond that, the logic for keeping Murray and trading Young is on the cap sheet. Murray is on a relatively team-friendly deal through 2028; Young can opt out and become a free agent in 2026, and if he extends his deal longer, it will be for roughly double what Murray is making.

Replacing Young’s salary with multiple smaller deals (the likely outcome of any swap) also allows Atlanta to push further back from the tax line; regardless of what happens in 2024-25, the Hawks will need that breathing room to accommodate a hefty contract extension for breakout forward Jalen Johnson that would begin in 2025-26. (I’ll note that the Hawks, in true Hawksian style, could also kick all these cans down the road until the trade deadline before deciding which guard they want to trade. Please … don’t.)

Getting a return on Young will be challenging but not impossible; the Los Angeles Lakers and Spurs seem like potential destinations, and upcoming playoff results inevitably will make a couple other teams desperate enough to take the plunge. Getting back multiple firsts to offset the investment in Murray has to be the minimum ante; getting the picks back from San Antonio is an obvious temptation given that it opens the door to a full-on rebuild if the Hawks want to go that way.

Otherwise, Atlanta is pot-committed to riding this out through 2027. And as far as the rest of the roster goes, everything seems mostly on hold until the guard situation gets worked out.

With so many players already signed for next year, that might have been true anyway. Nobody is clamoring to get their hands on De’Andre Hunter or Clint Capela, the two players Hawks fans put in every fake trade. In particular, trading Capela (whose $22 million expiring deal is their most movable chip besides the guards) could be problematic with Onyeka Okongwu a very iffy proposition as a long-term starter.

Finally, one for the cap nerds — Atlanta does have some motivation to take action by June 26, when a mammoth $23 million trade exception from the John Collins trade expires. Atlanta could likely use this exception to generate one of similar size in a Young trade, depending on which players come back and the size of their contracts. If so, ironically, it would be the first trade by this front office since dumping Collins.

The Athletic

[raleigh]

Atlanta does have some motivation to take action by June 26, when a mammoth $23 million trade exception from the John Collins trade expires.

As Hollinger knows, they're not going to use the TPE to take back extra $ because of fears of the luxury tax. They may find a way to use it in a player-for-player trade in/around the draft in order to create a newer, smaller exception.

[tacosman]

:banghead:

Atlanta Hawks need a laxative for their roster.

Absolutely......but we all know the problem with that. They simply *aren't* getting their firsts they gave to the spurs back.
Which makes a complete purge/teardown difficult to swallow.

This forum seems split on feelings about the gone firsts. The smart half understands it's gone.....and not coming back. The other half is holding onto fantasies about getting these picks back.

The spurs know the value of those picks because they know they have the hawks in a bind. Ever since the brooklyn-boston debacle many years ago(which everyone knew had disaster potential from the start), teams have rightfully been very cautious about sending truly unprotected picks out unless you know *for sure* it's not going to be a good to great pick. Or you have a *very real* chance at an actual nba title. Not a chance at just being in the hunt/competitive, but a very good chance at an actual title.

The hawks took the plunge on that trade, and they weren't in either position. Nobody thought bringing DJ on board would give this team true title aspirations. And given their history, nobody should have assumed these picks would definately not be good to great.

Now sure the Hawks can trade DJ somewhere and pick up some picks those years they lost them. But they won't be *their* picks because the spurs aren't going to give *any* of those picks back for DJ. So the spurs aren't going to take him back, and as I said while they can get picks from someone for DJ they will be wearing more protection than a middle aged accountant has when they pick up an escort in the red light district.

This upcoming year with a potentially very strong draft at the top would be a *great* year to start the tank. The hawks can't. And we all know that.

And they have basically no way to get better. I mean lets be real.....this was a 36-46 team this year. TEN FULL GAMES under .500. It's not inconcievable that the hawks, even in non-tanking mode next year, could have like the 8th or so worst record in all the nba. A couple injuries here and there and a team that still doesn't click? With horrid defense? Yeah......and if they finish with the 7th or 8th worst record in the nba next season, Hawks fans will be watching those lottery balls feeling like a man in a capital murder trial about to hear the verdict read. Hawks fans need to accept the possibility that there is a very real chance one of these lost picks will turn out to be a *very good* draft pick going to the spurs in a loaded draft, and that piece may end up being a perfect complement to Wemby. The chance of that horror playing out is *very real*........

I mean there are nothing but bad choices for the hawks at this point. Either way the future is bleak. Even if the spurs do really want trae, they aren't going to give that first first round pick back to the hawks. So the hawks wouldn't do that deal without all of them back.

I mean yeah they may be able to move trae to some other team for picks sans protections, but that team is only going to do the deal if they have the pieces around trae to make damn sure they aren't in the same position the hawks find themselves in now(ie possibility losing frps of real value)....

It's just a dead end in every way. I feel like the hawks may be in the worst position in the entire nba right now. At least teams like the wizards who have started the tanking process with absolutely no assets(and a bad draft this year) will have their own picks going forward. I guess Brooklyn is also in a pretty crappy situation because houston owns some of their future picks, but at least Brooklyn has some hope they may be able to attract name players in free agency or forced trades at some point due to location. The hawks have a fatal flaw in roster construction and no way to really get better.....and no way to tank either. It's a worst nightmare.....

[jayu70]

:banghead:

Atlanta Hawks need a laxative for their roster.

Absolutely......but we all know the problem with that. They simply *aren't* getting their firsts they gave to the spurs back.
Which makes a complete purge/teardown difficult to swallow.

Time for 'fans' to move on from this notion.
The good thing is there hasn't really been any 'rumors/whispers' regarding this being a thing the Hawks front office is looking to do either. It's hard work building a team. Hawks need to stop being reactionary and the owner needs to be willing to spend.

[jayu70]

:banghead:

Atlanta Hawks need a laxative for their roster.

The hawks took the plunge on that trade, and they weren't in either position. Nobody thought bringing DJ on board would give this team true title aspirations. And given their history, nobody should have assumed these picks would definately not be good to great.

I keep saying it wasn't just the DJ trade in a vacuum that did the Hawks in - it what they didn't do with the rest of the roster. The guys they traded to stay under the Luxury Tax in Huerter and Collins, they did nothing to replace the oncourt production. It left the Hawks thin of real talent and not much depth.

[jayu70]

:banghead:

Atlanta Hawks need a laxative for their roster.

And they have basically no way to get better. I mean lets be real.....this was a 36-46 team this year. TEN FULL GAMES under .500.

Hawks had too many injuries to overcome this season and too little depth and size due to those injuries.
Trae - 54 games (ligament surgery)
Jalen Johnson - 56 games (wrist, then 3 ankles injuries in 33 days)
Onyeka Okongwu - 55 games (sprained big toe)
De' Andre Hunter - 57 games (knee)
Saddiq Bey - 63 games (Torn ACL)
The SF and PF position was in shambles all year.
When you have to trot out Vit, Garrison, Trent for so many games - you aren't winning much.

[jayu70]

:banghead:

Atlanta Hawks need a laxative for their roster.

I guess Brooklyn is also in a pretty crappy situation because houston owns some of their future picks, but at least Brooklyn has some hope they may be able to attract name players in free agency or forced trades at some point due to location. The hawks have a fatal flaw in roster construction and no way to really get better.....and no way to tank either. It's a worst nightmare.....

Nets weren't a destination until Kyrie wanted to go home to play in Brooklyn. He was the driving force for 'stars (KD, Harden)' wanting to go there. They also ended up wanting to leave. We shall see now.

[tacosman]

:banghead:

Atlanta Hawks need a laxative for their roster.

I guess Brooklyn is also in a pretty crappy situation because houston owns some of their future picks, but at least Brooklyn has some hope they may be able to attract name players in free agency or forced trades at some point due to location. The hawks have a fatal flaw in roster construction and no way to really get better.....and no way to tank either. It's a worst nightmare.....

Nets weren't a destination until Kyrie wanted to go home to play in Brooklyn. He was the driving force for 'stars (KD, Harden)' wanting to go there. They also ended up wanting to leave. We shall see now.

Yeah I agree the nets are in a crappy position too....

[tacosman]

:banghead:

Atlanta Hawks need a laxative for their roster.

And they have basically no way to get better. I mean lets be real.....this was a 36-46 team this year. TEN FULL GAMES under .500.

Hawks had too many injuries to overcome this season and too little depth and size due to those injuries.
Trae - 54 games (ligament surgery)
Jalen Johnson - 56 games (wrist, then 3 ankles injuries in 33 days)
Onyeka Okongwu - 55 games (sprained big toe)
De' Andre Hunter - 57 games (knee)
Saddiq Bey - 63 games (Torn ACL)
The SF and PF position was in shambles all year.
When you have to trot out Vit, Garrison, Trent for so many games - you aren't winning much.

meh....this is the *wrong* way to look at it. The writing was on the wall for the games Trae played before he got hurt as well. The winning percentage was what it was(wasn't it even worse than their final winning percentage...or at least pretty damn similar)

The problem is most of the guys you list aren't even winning players either. OO is....he's mid. He's a JAG. I mean a winning player by this point would have long since wrestled that spot away without *any question*. The fact that he didn't is a huge red flag. Hunter? lmao......we all know what he is. Bey? Please......he's the type of guy you get or trade for a poo poo platter of seconds. Which is exactly what they got for him. He's not a winning player. He's the kind of player you happily give 36 high usage
minutes to every night if you are fine tanking lol......

I mean outside of Trae(and my gosh we know that's a big discussion on it's own on the feasability of building a team with him), those are guys that, if they are the core of your team playing tons of minutes......thats a team that is going to win mid 30s games. So the idea that a lot of these guys may play more next year isn't exactly comforting if I'm a hawks fan.

None of these guys outside of *maybe* JJ is going to eventually play winning basketball. And even on him the hawks fans seem to be wildly overestimating what he is and will be relative to the rest of the league.

[jayu70]

And they have basically no way to get better. I mean lets be real.....this was a 36-46 team this year. TEN FULL GAMES under .500.

Hawks had too many injuries to overcome this season and too little depth and size due to those injuries.
Trae - 54 games (ligament surgery)
Jalen Johnson - 56 games (wrist, then 3 ankles injuries in 33 days)
Onyeka Okongwu - 55 games (sprained big toe)
De' Andre Hunter - 57 games (knee)
Saddiq Bey - 63 games (Torn ACL)
The SF and PF position was in shambles all year.
When you have to trot out Vit, Garrison, Trent for so many games - you aren't winning much.

meh....this is the *wrong* way to look at it. The writing was on the wall for the games Trae played before he got hurt as well. The winning percentage was what it was(wasn't it even worse than their final winning percentage...or at least pretty damn similar)

The problem is most of the guys you list aren't even winning players either. OO is....he's mid. He's a JAG. I mean a winning player by this point would have long since wrestled that spot away without *any question*. The fact that he didn't is a huge red flag. Hunter? lmao......we all know what he is. Bey? Please......he's the type of guy you get or trade for a poo poo platter of seconds. Which is exactly what they got for him. He's not a winning player. He's the kind of player you happily give 36 high usage
minutes to every night if you are fine tanking lol......

I mean outside of Trae(and my gosh we know that's a big discussion on it's own on the feasability of building a team with him), those are guys that, if they are the core of your team playing tons of minutes......thats a team that is going to win mid 30s games. So the idea that a lot of these guys may play more next year isn't exactly comforting if I'm a hawks fan.

None of these guys outside of *maybe* JJ is going to eventually play winning basketball. And even on him the hawks fans seem to be wildly overestimating what he is and will be relative to the rest of the league.

Again in the games Trae played we played without JJ and Hunter, in both instances Bey was forced into a started role he was not equipped for. Hawks lost too much size having to play Trae, DJ, Bogi. Hawks were too small for most of the year.
The front court was the major problem all year.
Clint lost a step and OO didn't progress enough in Quin's new scheme to supplant CC in the starting lineup.
And again, it's what we didn't have beyond the starters was problematic. We lacked depth and size in the front court.

[SlimShady83]

Laker fan here, what you guys want for Trae Young? guessing you guys are keeping Murray and possibly Capela

Whats Trae Young worth?
Reaves, DLO, RUI +2 pics maybe 2 nds?

[Geaux_Hawks]

And they have basically no way to get better. I mean lets be real.....this was a 36-46 team this year. TEN FULL GAMES under .500.

Hawks had too many injuries to overcome this season and too little depth and size due to those injuries.
Trae - 54 games (ligament surgery)
Jalen Johnson - 56 games (wrist, then 3 ankles injuries in 33 days)
Onyeka Okongwu - 55 games (sprained big toe)
De' Andre Hunter - 57 games (knee)
Saddiq Bey - 63 games (Torn ACL)
The SF and PF position was in shambles all year.
When you have to trot out Vit, Garrison, Trent for so many games - you aren't winning much.

meh....this is the *wrong* way to look at it. The writing was on the wall for the games Trae played before he got hurt as well. The winning percentage was what it was(wasn't it even worse than their final winning percentage...or at least pretty damn similar)

The problem is most of the guys you list aren't even winning players either. OO is....he's mid. He's a JAG. I mean a winning player by this point would have long since wrestled that spot away without *any question*. The fact that he didn't is a huge red flag. Hunter? lmao......we all know what he is. Bey? Please......he's the type of guy you get or trade for a poo poo platter of seconds. Which is exactly what they got for him. He's not a winning player. He's the kind of player you happily give 36 high usage
minutes to every night if you are fine tanking lol......

I mean outside of Trae(and my gosh we know that's a big discussion on it's own on the feasability of building a team with him), those are guys that, if they are the core of your team playing tons of minutes......thats a team that is going to win mid 30s games. So the idea that a lot of these guys may play more next year isn't exactly comforting if I'm a hawks fan.

None of these guys outside of *maybe* JJ is going to eventually play winning basketball. And even on him the hawks fans seem to be wildly overestimating what he is and will be relative to the rest of the league.

I don't think nobodies suggesting the group of guys mentioned would've had us as a top 4 team in the East. I believe the premise of bringing up the injuries to our SF/PF rotation was to show for a team already lacking size and depth, missing what little size and depth we had, to play essentially names nobody has heard of isn't helping our cause(I actually think Vit is a quality reserve).

I can agree that Hunter/Bey aren't guys I want starting, but OO/JJ are guys that could definitely contribute as starters and make an impact. It seems like you're underestimating those 2. JJ for instance has showcased glimpses of the impact an actual big wing that can defend and create, will do for us. OO didn't take the steps we thought he would, but the talent is still there. and the construction of the roster in general doesn't help.

[jayu70]

Laker fan here, what you guys want for Trae Young? guessing you guys are keeping Murray and possibly Capela

Whats Trae Young worth?
Reaves, DLO, RUI +2 pics maybe 2 nds?

I think the Hawks preference is still to keep Trae despite all the 'rumors'
Me personally, I have no interest in building a team with Murray as the center piece.
As was said at the TDL, Hawks intend to retool the team around Trae and Jalen Johnson. I don't think that has changed.
It's also time for the Hawks to move on from Capela.
Trae is worth more than what LAL have to offer.