The Hawks are in win-now mode. Sure, their championship window isn’t closing anytime soon, given Trae Young‘s supermax contract ties him to Atlanta until 2027. However, teams who are complacent will never win at the highest levels. Atlanta has to press forward if they ever hope to get back to the conference finals.
The Hawks are in an excellent position to remain flexible in their roster building. Travis Schlenk doesn’t have a single bad contract on the books; all of them could easily be moved. John Collins, Kevin Huerter, Clint Capela, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Danilo Gallinari, and De’Andre Hunter are all candidates to be traded for a star to pair with Young.
The Heat completely dismantled the Hawks in the first round of the playoffs, exposing Atlanta’s weaknesses. The team’s inability to create any offense without Trae Young was overwhelmingly apparent. Atlanta’s supporting cast underwhelmed throughout the playoffs, outside of a couple of memorable nights from Bogi and Dre. Furthermore, the Hawks’ lack of defense was also brought to light in the series.
It isn’t an overreaction to say there needs to be significant changes to the roster. Everyone outside of Trae Young should be made available, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Hawks have three new starters next season. One thing is clear: the only goal is to win a championship. And Atlanta’s ownership is willing to pay for it too:
Tony Ressler: "Going into the tax does not scare us."
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) May 5, 2022
Hawks fans should expect quite an eventful offseason.
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