The Atlanta Hawks NEED to get it right this NBA offseason
The Atlanta Hawks NEED to get it right this NBA offseason
Today I’m going to tell you guys why I believe that the Atlanta Hawks have a great opportunity to make some noise in the Eastern Conference heading into next season if they can nail this off season this summer. But before we get started, I want to tell you guys to hit that subscribe button, like, comment, and share and to continue to support my channel. Super Bowl. What happened yesterday, in my opinion, changed the entire landscape of the NBA. I mean, we got the NBA draft lottery, the Dallas Mavericks shocking the world. Um, look, man, I still can’t get over this, but the Dallas Mavericks miraculously went from number 11 with the 11th best odds to getting the number one pick. And for them to, in my opinion, they’re going to take Cooper Flag. And so, you got the Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA draft lottery. You got the San Antonio Spurs finishing second in the NBA draft lottery. And as a result of that, at least in this guy’s opinion, I think the San Antonio Spurs should be the front runner to get Giannis Antinak Koopo because of that result. And look, and if you know, look, if San Antonio doesn’t get Giannis, you know, my bet is he’ll probably go to Houston or maybe Oklahoma City. But Giannis is going to head to the Western Conference and in all likelihood he’s going to head to one of those three teams, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Houston. And so you got that going. You got that going on. And also the fact that the Eastern Conference teams did not get will not get Cooper flag. And so you have that you have that going on. And then even a bigger transaction happened last night. And that’s Jason Tatum. And look, man, it it was a awful injury. You you wish the best for Jason Tatum. hope that he has a speedy recovery, but from the looks of it, it looked like Jason Tatum tore his Achilles. And if that is indeed the case, then he’s going to be out for pretty much the entirety of next season, which is going to hurt the Boston Celtics. And Boston already has a lot of moves and decision makingaking that they’re gonna have to deal with heading into the off seasonason because they’re near the they’re at the second apron. You know, they can’t keep everybody. You know, you got Christos Porzingis and Al Horford and Drew Holiday. Like, they’re not going to keep that team together. on top of the fact that they’re not going to have Jason Tatum in all likelihood for pretty much the entirety of next season. And so they’re going to be a worse team. And you also have Giannis, like I said, I think he’s going to I think he’s going to ask for a trade and he’s going to leave Milwaukee. And so you have two teams in the Eastern Conference that are going to get worse. And so when you look at all of these factors and you look at all the transactions that has happened in a span of a day in my mind I keep coming back to this reality. The Atlanta Hawks have a great opportunity ahead of them. The Hawks have a great opportunity to make some noise heading into next season if, and I mean this when I say if, but if they can nail this off season, if they can make the right moves and and if they can upgrade this roster, the Hawks have a great opportunity. to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference heading in the Net season. I truly believe that. And people might look at me like I’m crazy, but if people haven’t been paying attention, but the people that have been paying attention to what’s happened with these Atlanta Hawks, everybody knows that the only reason that the Hawks missed the playoffs and they ended up finishing in the playin is because arguably their second best player, maybe even their all-around best player, Jaylen Johnson, tore his labroom and he end up missing the entire he only played 37 games and he missed most of the season. If had that not happened, the Atlanta Hawks would have been a top five or six seed and they would have won in the neighborhood of around 45 to 47 games. You know, because when Jaylen Johnson was healthy, the Atlanta Hawks were flowing. The Atlanta Hawks were in fifth place in the Eastern Conference when he was healthy. The Hawks had an identity with long athletic defenders like Jaylen Johnson and Zachary Reese and Dyson Daniels and then Kamu was starting to come along come along as a starter and yet Trey Young and we and DeAndre Hunter before you know the Hawks traded him. But we had something cooking, you know, before Jaylen Johnson got hurt. And so he ends up missing the season. And this is kind of this is kind of where the Hawks their season kind of went off the rails a little bit. And they weren’t the same team, unfortunately. But they have an opportunity to make some moves this off season. And also, let’s keep this in mind when you look at the Eastern Conference. Like I said before, the Eastern Conference moving forward looks very very very weak. It it looks like a very very very flawed conference. The Eastern Conference, which was already flawed before all of this happened, looks like it’s going to be even more flawed with Tatum being injured and Giannis leaving. And so, and if you look at the Eastern Conference, you look at some of the remaining teams in the Eastern Conference, you got the New York Knicks, you got the Indiana Pacers, you got the Cleveland Cavaliers. Let me ask y’all this. Are should I be afraid of these teams moving forward? Or do do the New York Knicks strike fear into my heart? Do do the Indiana Pacers strike fear into my heart? Do the Cleveland Cavaliers? And look, I the Cleveland Cavaliers, look, I get it. They had a great year. They won 60 plus games. But let me tell you, I’mma tell you, I’m going to be real about the Cleveland Cavaliers. I And you can book it. The Cleveland Cavaliers will not be this good and heading in next season. Like, they had a great year, but they overachieved. They they will not This was their best chance for them to get to the finals. In all likelihood, they’re probably going to lose to the Indiana Pacers. And so that’s going to hurt and they’re probably going to lose a guy or two and they’re going to get more expensive. And so the Cleveland Cavaliers won’t be as good heading into next season. And so you got all these teams and look Indiana, look, I respect the Pacers. They’ve they’ve unbelievable year. Tyrese Hallebertton just, you know, doing his thing. Pascal Thiago, that’s a very well- constructed basketball team. And they’re likely going to get to the conference finals for the second year in a row. The New York Knicks, Jaylen Brunson, he is a playoff demon. Jaylen Brunson is one of them ones, man. He he he’s in for a little guard. the way he can score and he’s crafty and he’s tough and he ain’t afraid of making big shots and big moments. I I can’t say enough about Jason Tatum. Carl Anthony Towns, y’all know how I feel about that dude. I I was the first person to say that the New York Knicks made a great trade getting Carl Anthony Towns and and uh Muel Bridges and OG and Josh Hart and Milt Robinson’s back. Like I I got it. But neither one of these teams strike fear as an Atlanta Hawk fan because I know what this Atlanta Hawks team was capable of before Jaylen Johnson got injured. And when I look at all of these factors, the Atlanta Hawks, like I said, they have a great opportunity this summer to make some upgrades to the spots where this team needs to be upgraded. And you got these young players like J like Zachary Reese and Jaylen Johnson and Anaka Conw and Dyson Daniels and Trey Young. And look, I’m I’m I’m going to make myself clear on this because I know there’s going to be a lot of speculation and talk about this. And look, you know, look, the Atlanta Hawks right now currently, they’re looking for a president. You know, they fired Landry Fields. They uh they promoted Auntie Salah to be the general manager and you know there’s going to be all this speculation you know about you know what’s going to happen with Trey Young or the Hawks going to trade Trey Young. I’m here to tell you guys Trey Young ain’t going nowhere. He ain’t going anywhere. Atlanta Hawk’s going to keep Trey Young. He ain’t gonna get traded. As a matter of fact, they’re gonna extend him. They’re going to give him a new contract. Now, I don’t know how much they’re going to give him. They might give him the Mats. Maybe they give him slightly less. I don’t know. But they’re going to they’re going to keep Trey Young and they’re going to give Trey Young and extend him a new contract. And Trey Young is going to be here for at minimum for the next three to four years. Trey Young ain’t going nowhere, ladies and gentlemen. He will be an Atlanta Hawk. And whoever the Hawks hire to be their new president of basketball operations or Yeah. the president of basketball operations. The guy that they’re going to hire is going to be a guy that that whose vision and philosophies fit exactly with where Salah and Cal Corver and Quinn Snider and all of these guys are at. Like the guy that they hire as president is going to be a is going to be a guy that’s going to be on the same page. And all of those guys are in full support of keeping Trey Young. And so Trey Young ain’t going nowhere. And for the people that are just clamoring for him to leave, like it ain’t happening. And Trey Young has already said that he wants to be an Atlanta Hawk and he’s brought in into the division. And so Trey Young ain’t going nowhere. And so with that out of the way, when you look at what the Hawks have going for them, they are going to have two first round picks in, you know, in the 2025 draft coming up. They have the 13th pick and they have the 22nd pick. And so they have two first round picks. They have cap flexibility. I think they’re like projected to be under $40 million under the luxury tax. And so they’re gonna have some money to spend. They have, you know, flexible contracts that they can move. You know, you got uh George Nang, he’s on an aspiring deal. You got Terence Man. He’s making 16 million. That’s a contract that’s movable. You know, they got, you know, some trade exceptions. I think they got a trade exception from the the De Jonte Murray deal that’s around 25 million. And I think they got another trade exception. I think it may have been from like the bogey bog down deal. I think it’s around 13 million. And so they got they got some stuff to use and they got picks. Like I said, they have two first round picks in this year’s draft. They have another pick in 2027. That’s the worst of the Pelicans Bucks pick from the Desante Murray deal. And they also have a they have a couple of first round picks in 2029 and 2031. And so they’re going to have a grand total of five first round picks that they could use in trades. And so when you combine all of those factors, like I said, the Atlanta Hawks have a lot of they have flexibility, they have assets, they have picks, they have a great opportunity to upgrade this roster and this team. And when you look at what the Hawks need to do this off seasonason, I think most Hawk fans will agree with me on this, but they got to get a big man. They got to get some front court depth, particularly a big man, and probably maybe even maybe even a power forward. We got to get we got to we got to get some depth behind Anaka Kamu and Jaylen Johnson. Like that’s just kind of that’s just kind of the the the thing. Like we got to get bigger. We got to add more size and we got to get some guys that in the that can spell on come maybe even play next to him. You know what I’m saying? Like we got to get a guy like we got to get a guy like that. And so in the event that if Jaylen Johnson or Yucka gets injured heading into next season, your team doesn’t fall apart and your season doesn’t go off the rails like it did this past season. And so I think getting front court depth is a major priority for this team, particularly a center or a power forward. Now, there’s a there’s some guys that, you know, I have some preferences as far as what I would want to go after in this NBA draft, but, you know, I’m going to save that for a later episode. You know, I’m not going to spill the tea on guys that I would prefer the Hawks to target in the in this year’s NBA draft. But, you know, make no mistake about it, like front court depth is a massive priority for the for this Atlanta Hawks team. They’re going to have to look at getting it getting a guy like that. You know, you look at the free agent trade market. You know, you have guys like a Stephen Adams, like that’s the guy I would love for Atlanta to get. Now, Stephen Adams, like he he’s might resign back in Houston and so I don’t know if they’ll be able to get him, but just a guy that’s physical, big, tough, that can rebound, that can pass a little bit, you know, and so, you know, I I if they could find a way to get Stephen Adams from Houston, you know, that’ll be nice. you know, you got uh you know, Christos Porzingis, you know, like I said, Boston got some decisions to make, right? You know, they they can’t keep this team together. And so, you know, could they could they figure out a way to trade for a Porzingis, you know, if Boston wants to cut some salary, you know, and so you got a guy like him. Another guy from Boston that I kind of like, Luke Cornett, you know, the Boston Celtics, you know, Al Horford, who knows? You know, Boston can’t go and they ain’t going to keep all all of those big men. And so that that that’s an option in particular. And so, you know, Boston, like I said, like for the Hawks of getting addressing the front court and just getting real bodies and depth and skill and versatility and shooting and defense in your front court. That that’s going to be a massive priority moving forward heading into the offseason. Like, they got they have to address that. This team’s got to get more size and more physicality. in the front court. And so I think that’s the number one priority for this team. And I think the other priority I think that’s going to be kind of key for the Atlanta Hawks. And look, I’ll be I’ll be honest, this one this priority might be a little more difficult for them to address just because of who could be available. But this guy, the Hawks have to get another offensive creator that can take some pressure off Trey Young, particularly a guy with some size, you know, I think that’s also something that’s going to be of importance heading into the off seasonason because as much as I love Trey Young and as much as I think the Hawks should keep Trey Young and I think that they will keep Trey Young, like I said, I don’t I do not anticipate any trade rumor rumors or discussions about the Hawks moving Trey. I don’t I don’t think that’s going to happen. I don’t think it should happen. But if this thing is going to work with Trey Young, I said it I said it a few episodes back, but they got to get another they got to get another guy that can score and that can take some pressure off this dude because this guy just has for a guy who sits sits one. It’s just hard on him. It’s hard. It’s hard for a little guard to to score and with with having all the attention on you, like it’s just it’s just hard. You know what I’m saying? And so they it would be nice for the Atlanta Hawks to get a guy that can take a little pressure off of them. Now, look, I know a lot of a lot of this discussion is going to be about Giannis, you know. Look, man. I’m to Hall fans, I don’t want I don’t want to be a, you know, a Debbie Downer, but we ain’t getting Giannis. It ain’t happening. You know, Giannis Antono ain’t happening. Like we just I don’t I don’t think the Atlanta Hawks can offer the B. Now I actually think the Hawks can offer the Bucks a compelling offer. Like Jaylen Johnson, Zachary Reese, Anaka Kwick, like that’s not a bad offer. But here’s the problem with that offer. You know who who if you if you offer that for Giannis and the Bucks say yes, Giannis is going to be playing with who? Trey Young, Dyson Daniels, and who? Like, you’re not going to have much left. You know, you’re not going to have much to improve your team. And all of a sudden, if you offered all of that for Giannis, now all of a sudden the Atlanta Hawks are now the Milwaukee Bucks. you know, they’re they’re now they’re the team with that much else to improve your team, improve your roster. And so, I don’t I don’t I don’t think the Hawks have enough to where you can offer whatever you need to offer to get Giannis while also having what’s left to where you can contend. Like I just I don’t see a pathway where Atlanta could offer whatever it would take to get Giannis while having enough left where you can actually contend for a championship. Like I don’t think Trey Young, Giannis, Dyson Daniels, and a bunch of nothing is going anywhere. And so I don’t I don’t see I don’t see the Giannis possibility happening. You know, like I said, I think if Giannis goes somewhere, I think it’s either I think it’s Houston, San Antonio, or Oklahoma City. Like, I think it’s gonna be one of those three teams. And so, I don’t I don’t see the Giannis thing happening. Kevin Durant’s kind of interesting because, you know, Kevin Durant’s 37. And so, maybe, you know, you could maybe get Kevin Kevin Durant for cheap. You know, that’s kind of interesting, but uh it just you look at the salary that Kevin Durant’s making. like he’s making 55 million and so you’re gonna have to you got to you know maneuver salary to make the salary matching the salary work while also like if you’re not going to give up some of your young talent and look if I’m in Atlanta I’m not I’m not giving up you know my young talent for a 37 year old Kevin Durant like I’m not doing that you know I love Kevin Durant awesome player awesome career but he’s 37 years old you know like I just I that’s not the direct you now if you can get him for super cheap maybe but I just it just it just feels unlikely to me and so I don’t know about Kevin Durant. Now the other option that’s a little more intriguing to me and look I look I I admit this. I have a rule for players that are consistently hurt. I’m just I’m I’m I’m kind of iffy on them. And so the Zion Williamson part might be interesting. Now look, I don’t know what the Pelicans gonna do with Zion Williamson. You know, I he, you know, that’s the rumor mill is the Pelicans might, you know, the ownership in New Orleans are might be done with Zion and maybe they want to move him and there’s a mandate. Like I don’t know what’s happening with the Pelicans with Zion Williamson. And look, for for for the record, Zion Williamson was actually representing the Pelicans at the draft lottery. And so I if going by that there maybe the Pelicans might don’t move Zion at all, you know? So that’s a pos that might be a possibility. Maybe they’re just committed to Zion for the short term and they bring him in next season and see how things go. And if things aren’t going too well, maybe they move him at the deadline. Like who knows with Zion? But I will say if Zion can be had for cheap and if the Pelicans are so eager to move off of Zion Williamson, even with his health problems, I do think the risk could be worth it for the for this team, for the Atlanta Hawks, because look, as as injuryprone as Zion is, and whatever issues that he might have, the guy is only 24 or 25 years old like he’s still young and look man I as you know risky as the idea of trading for Zion is I can’t deny a team like the Hawks actually needs Zion Williams’ skill set. you know, they they actually kind of do. And so I can’t I can’t dismiss the idea of the Hawks trading for Zion Williams. And if and I mean if that offer the if the Pelicans are willing to move him and they’re willing to if they’re so eager to move off of him and they just want to get rid of the Zion experiment, they just want to move in a different direction. And so we’ll see what happens on that front. But man, uh, like I said, man, the Atlanta Hawks, like they they if there’s another thing that they could use on this roster is they need another they need another score or just a real dude that can take some pressure off Zion Williamson. I mean, off of Trey Young, excuse me. And so, and look, if that don’t if that doesn’t happen, then like look, man, like there’s nothing wrong with them signing resigning Caris Levert. And that’s another thing. That’s another thing I think the the Hawks should do this summer. I I think they should look at resigning Caris Levert. I thought he was good after the deadline when the Hawks traded for him. I thought he did some good things. And like look, even if the Hawks don’t get a star, and look, I’m not I’m not completely advocating for the Hawks to get a star, but there’s nothing wrong with the Hawks just, you know, running the Saint running, you know, this starting five of Jaylen and Dyson and Shay and Trey Young back and you use both of your picks in this year’s draft and you make a you you Prioritize getting a big man or two behind on Yucka and Jaylen Johnson to Hassen Depp and maybe you add maybe another shooter and you bring back Caris Levert. you resign him. And you know what? Maybe you maybe you know you you uh prioritize, you know, developing Jaylen Johnson and Dyson Daniels and Risha Shaden and Yucka and maybe one or two of these guys, you know, become that star, that second star. Like that’s entirely possible. It’s it’s entirely possible, you know, that Jaylen and Reese Shay and Dyson become these guys. And so, look, man, uh the Atlanta Hawks have something that they have never had in a while heading into an offseason. They actually have options. They actually have pathways. they actually can move in any direction that they want to this off seasonason to improve this roster and that’s a good thing. That is a very very very good thing. And when I look at this Eastern Conference moving forward, when you look at the fact that, like I said, the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA draft lottery, which means they’re going to take Cooper Flag number one. And the San Antonio Spurs won the got the number two pick, which means they’re either going to take Dylan Harper or they’re going to trade him for Giannis, you know. And you look at the fact that Boston just got weaker with Jason Tatum being likely out for a while for oh next season with his Achilles issue. And you look at the fact that you know you look at the Eastern the Giannis is likely going to leave the Milwaukee Bucks. And you look at the fact that I mean you got the Knicks and you got the Pacers and you got the Cleveland Cavaliers. like they’re they’re they’re respectable teams. They’re solid teams. They’re not teams that I will fear moving forward, you know, and so when you look at all of those factors and I look at the fact that this team, the Atlanta Hawks team is going to be healthy heading into next season and look, there’s gonna be some teams that’s probably that’s gonna get better, too. Like, I’m not gonna dismiss that. like Philadelphia. I mean, they’re they’re kind of a wild card because we don’t know how Joel beat is going to look coming back. And look, I’m I’m going to be honest like I I just I I’m just I’m I don’t believe in Joel and Beat stay ever staying healthy. And so I’m just I’m just whatever with the Philadelphia 76ers. And you got teams like the the Detroit Pistons and the Orlando Magic, like those teams should be better as well. So I’m not going to completely dismiss them. Miami to a lesser degree, you know, maybe. But if I’m the Atlanta Hawks, man, if I’m a Hawk fan and I’m looking at this Hawk team, I’m just If you’re telling me that this team with Anaka, Jaylen, Dyson, Reese, Trey Young, plus two more picks, plus a couple of real upgrades to this team that can, you know, especially from off the bench, particularly a big man or or ball handler or a creator or a shooter or two. Like if the Atlanta Hawks can nail this off season and make the necessary upgrades that this team needs to supplement what you have with Trey and Dyson and Shay and Jaylen and if the Atlanta Hawks could do all of that this off season while looking at the teams around them in the Eastern Conference that are that’s going to be weaker. Why can’t the Atlanta Hawks make noise heading in into the Eastern Conference next season? Why can’t this team win 50 games? The Atlanta Hawks with s with real upgrades to this roster with with what they already have with their young talent. This team can absolutely win 47 to 50 games heading into next season. This team, the Atlanta Hawks, with the right upgrades could be next year’s version of the Houston Rockets. The team that also won 40 games previously and with some continuity and development and some small upgrades, they end up winning 52 games and they were the number two seed in the Western Conference. The Atlanta Hawks can’t do that next season with what they have, with what they could add this off season. I think it’s entirely possible. I absolutely think that’s entirely possible that this team could be around 50 wins heading into the next season. I really do. I think the Atlanta Hawks have a lot to look forward to heading into next season. And I think the what’s head what’s happening around them in the Eastern Conference even strengthens that argument even more so which is why I believe this summer is super critical for these Atlanta Hawks. Who and whoever ends up being the president of basketball operations for this franchise. Look, man. Like I said, the Hawks are in a great position. They’re in a great position moving forward to make some things happen this off season. They’re in a great position. And I say this as an Atlanta Hawk fan. I really say this. The Atlanta Hawks need to take advantage of what they have in front of them this offseason because if if they can if they can do this, I think next season could be really really really special.
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Want to be a guest or have other inquires? Please contact phuzionmediagroup@gmail.com ————————————————— The Atlanta Hawks are at a critical crossroads this offseason. After falling short of expectations in the 2024-25 season, the front office needs to make smart, aggressive moves to build around their core and return to playoff contention. In this video, Reggie breaks down what the Hawks must prioritize—from improving the defense and finding a reliable big man, to deciding the future of key players like Trae Young and Dyson Daniels
What moves do YOU think the Hawks need to make? Drop your offseason wishlist in the comments!
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The Atlanta Hawks NEED to get it right this NBA offseason
The Atlanta Hawks NEED to get it right this NBA offseason
Today I’m going to tell you guys why I believe that the Atlanta Hawks have a great opportunity to make some noise in the Eastern Conference heading into next season if they can nail this off season this summer. But before we get started, I want to tell you guys to hit that subscribe button, like, comment, and share and to continue to support my channel. Super Bowl. What happened yesterday, in my opinion, changed the entire landscape of the NBA. I mean, we got the NBA draft lottery, the Dallas Mavericks shocking the world. Um, look, man, I still can’t get over this, but the Dallas Mavericks miraculously went from number 11 with the 11th best odds to getting the number one pick. And for them to, in my opinion, they’re going to take Cooper Flag. And so, you got the Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA draft lottery. You got the San Antonio Spurs finishing second in the NBA draft lottery. And as a result of that, at least in this guy’s opinion, I think the San Antonio Spurs should be the front runner to get Giannis Antinak Koopo because of that result. And look, and if you know, look, if San Antonio doesn’t get Giannis, you know, my bet is he’ll probably go to Houston or maybe Oklahoma City. But Giannis is going to head to the Western Conference and in all likelihood he’s going to head to one of those three teams, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Houston. And so you got that going. You got that going on. And also the fact that the Eastern Conference teams did not get will not get Cooper flag. And so you have that you have that going on. And then even a bigger transaction happened last night. And that’s Jason Tatum. And look, man, it it was a awful injury. You you wish the best for Jason Tatum. hope that he has a speedy recovery, but from the looks of it, it looked like Jason Tatum tore his Achilles. And if that is indeed the case, then he’s going to be out for pretty much the entirety of next season, which is going to hurt the Boston Celtics. And Boston already has a lot of moves and decision makingaking that they’re gonna have to deal with heading into the off seasonason because they’re near the they’re at the second apron. You know, they can’t keep everybody. You know, you got Christos Porzingis and Al Horford and Drew Holiday. Like, they’re not going to keep that team together. on top of the fact that they’re not going to have Jason Tatum in all likelihood for pretty much the entirety of next season. And so they’re going to be a worse team. And you also have Giannis, like I said, I think he’s going to I think he’s going to ask for a trade and he’s going to leave Milwaukee. And so you have two teams in the Eastern Conference that are going to get worse. And so when you look at all of these factors and you look at all the transactions that has happened in a span of a day in my mind I keep coming back to this reality. The Atlanta Hawks have a great opportunity ahead of them. The Hawks have a great opportunity to make some noise heading into next season if, and I mean this when I say if, but if they can nail this off season, if they can make the right moves and and if they can upgrade this roster, the Hawks have a great opportunity. to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference heading in the Net season. I truly believe that. And people might look at me like I’m crazy, but if people haven’t been paying attention, but the people that have been paying attention to what’s happened with these Atlanta Hawks, everybody knows that the only reason that the Hawks missed the playoffs and they ended up finishing in the playin is because arguably their second best player, maybe even their all-around best player, Jaylen Johnson, tore his labroom and he end up missing the entire he only played 37 games and he missed most of the season. If had that not happened, the Atlanta Hawks would have been a top five or six seed and they would have won in the neighborhood of around 45 to 47 games. You know, because when Jaylen Johnson was healthy, the Atlanta Hawks were flowing. The Atlanta Hawks were in fifth place in the Eastern Conference when he was healthy. The Hawks had an identity with long athletic defenders like Jaylen Johnson and Zachary Reese and Dyson Daniels and then Kamu was starting to come along come along as a starter and yet Trey Young and we and DeAndre Hunter before you know the Hawks traded him. But we had something cooking, you know, before Jaylen Johnson got hurt. And so he ends up missing the season. And this is kind of this is kind of where the Hawks their season kind of went off the rails a little bit. And they weren’t the same team, unfortunately. But they have an opportunity to make some moves this off season. And also, let’s keep this in mind when you look at the Eastern Conference. Like I said before, the Eastern Conference moving forward looks very very very weak. It it looks like a very very very flawed conference. The Eastern Conference, which was already flawed before all of this happened, looks like it’s going to be even more flawed with Tatum being injured and Giannis leaving. And so, and if you look at the Eastern Conference, you look at some of the remaining teams in the Eastern Conference, you got the New York Knicks, you got the Indiana Pacers, you got the Cleveland Cavaliers. Let me ask y’all this. Are should I be afraid of these teams moving forward? Or do do the New York Knicks strike fear into my heart? Do do the Indiana Pacers strike fear into my heart? Do the Cleveland Cavaliers? And look, I the Cleveland Cavaliers, look, I get it. They had a great year. They won 60 plus games. But let me tell you, I’mma tell you, I’m going to be real about the Cleveland Cavaliers. I And you can book it. The Cleveland Cavaliers will not be this good and heading in next season. Like, they had a great year, but they overachieved. They they will not This was their best chance for them to get to the finals. In all likelihood, they’re probably going to lose to the Indiana Pacers. And so that’s going to hurt and they’re probably going to lose a guy or two and they’re going to get more expensive. And so the Cleveland Cavaliers won’t be as good heading into next season. And so you got all these teams and look Indiana, look, I respect the Pacers. They’ve they’ve unbelievable year. Tyrese Hallebertton just, you know, doing his thing. Pascal Thiago, that’s a very well- constructed basketball team. And they’re likely going to get to the conference finals for the second year in a row. The New York Knicks, Jaylen Brunson, he is a playoff demon. Jaylen Brunson is one of them ones, man. He he he’s in for a little guard. the way he can score and he’s crafty and he’s tough and he ain’t afraid of making big shots and big moments. I I can’t say enough about Jason Tatum. Carl Anthony Towns, y’all know how I feel about that dude. I I was the first person to say that the New York Knicks made a great trade getting Carl Anthony Towns and and uh Muel Bridges and OG and Josh Hart and Milt Robinson’s back. Like I I got it. But neither one of these teams strike fear as an Atlanta Hawk fan because I know what this Atlanta Hawks team was capable of before Jaylen Johnson got injured. And when I look at all of these factors, the Atlanta Hawks, like I said, they have a great opportunity this summer to make some upgrades to the spots where this team needs to be upgraded. And you got these young players like J like Zachary Reese and Jaylen Johnson and Anaka Conw and Dyson Daniels and Trey Young. And look, I’m I’m I’m going to make myself clear on this because I know there’s going to be a lot of speculation and talk about this. And look, you know, look, the Atlanta Hawks right now currently, they’re looking for a president. You know, they fired Landry Fields. They uh they promoted Auntie Salah to be the general manager and you know there’s going to be all this speculation you know about you know what’s going to happen with Trey Young or the Hawks going to trade Trey Young. I’m here to tell you guys Trey Young ain’t going nowhere. He ain’t going anywhere. Atlanta Hawk’s going to keep Trey Young. He ain’t gonna get traded. As a matter of fact, they’re gonna extend him. They’re going to give him a new contract. Now, I don’t know how much they’re going to give him. They might give him the Mats. Maybe they give him slightly less. I don’t know. But they’re going to they’re going to keep Trey Young and they’re going to give Trey Young and extend him a new contract. And Trey Young is going to be here for at minimum for the next three to four years. Trey Young ain’t going nowhere, ladies and gentlemen. He will be an Atlanta Hawk. And whoever the Hawks hire to be their new president of basketball operations or Yeah. the president of basketball operations. The guy that they’re going to hire is going to be a guy that that whose vision and philosophies fit exactly with where Salah and Cal Corver and Quinn Snider and all of these guys are at. Like the guy that they hire as president is going to be a is going to be a guy that’s going to be on the same page. And all of those guys are in full support of keeping Trey Young. And so Trey Young ain’t going nowhere. And for the people that are just clamoring for him to leave, like it ain’t happening. And Trey Young has already said that he wants to be an Atlanta Hawk and he’s brought in into the division. And so Trey Young ain’t going nowhere. And so with that out of the way, when you look at what the Hawks have going for them, they are going to have two first round picks in, you know, in the 2025 draft coming up. They have the 13th pick and they have the 22nd pick. And so they have two first round picks. They have cap flexibility. I think they’re like projected to be under $40 million under the luxury tax. And so they’re gonna have some money to spend. They have, you know, flexible contracts that they can move. You know, you got uh George Nang, he’s on an aspiring deal. You got Terence Man. He’s making 16 million. That’s a contract that’s movable. You know, they got, you know, some trade exceptions. I think they got a trade exception from the the De Jonte Murray deal that’s around 25 million. And I think they got another trade exception. I think it may have been from like the bogey bog down deal. I think it’s around 13 million. And so they got they got some stuff to use and they got picks. Like I said, they have two first round picks in this year’s draft. They have another pick in 2027. That’s the worst of the Pelicans Bucks pick from the Desante Murray deal. And they also have a they have a couple of first round picks in 2029 and 2031. And so they’re going to have a grand total of five first round picks that they could use in trades. And so when you combine all of those factors, like I said, the Atlanta Hawks have a lot of they have flexibility, they have assets, they have picks, they have a great opportunity to upgrade this roster and this team. And when you look at what the Hawks need to do this off seasonason, I think most Hawk fans will agree with me on this, but they got to get a big man. They got to get some front court depth, particularly a big man, and probably maybe even maybe even a power forward. We got to get we got to we got to get some depth behind Anaka Kamu and Jaylen Johnson. Like that’s just kind of that’s just kind of the the the thing. Like we got to get bigger. We got to add more size and we got to get some guys that in the that can spell on come maybe even play next to him. You know what I’m saying? Like we got to get a guy like we got to get a guy like that. And so in the event that if Jaylen Johnson or Yucka gets injured heading into next season, your team doesn’t fall apart and your season doesn’t go off the rails like it did this past season. And so I think getting front court depth is a major priority for this team, particularly a center or a power forward. Now, there’s a there’s some guys that, you know, I have some preferences as far as what I would want to go after in this NBA draft, but, you know, I’m going to save that for a later episode. You know, I’m not going to spill the tea on guys that I would prefer the Hawks to target in the in this year’s NBA draft. But, you know, make no mistake about it, like front court depth is a massive priority for the for this Atlanta Hawks team. They’re going to have to look at getting it getting a guy like that. You know, you look at the free agent trade market. You know, you have guys like a Stephen Adams, like that’s the guy I would love for Atlanta to get. Now, Stephen Adams, like he he’s might resign back in Houston and so I don’t know if they’ll be able to get him, but just a guy that’s physical, big, tough, that can rebound, that can pass a little bit, you know, and so, you know, I I if they could find a way to get Stephen Adams from Houston, you know, that’ll be nice. you know, you got uh you know, Christos Porzingis, you know, like I said, Boston got some decisions to make, right? You know, they they can’t keep this team together. And so, you know, could they could they figure out a way to trade for a Porzingis, you know, if Boston wants to cut some salary, you know, and so you got a guy like him. Another guy from Boston that I kind of like, Luke Cornett, you know, the Boston Celtics, you know, Al Horford, who knows? You know, Boston can’t go and they ain’t going to keep all all of those big men. And so that that that’s an option in particular. And so, you know, Boston, like I said, like for the Hawks of getting addressing the front court and just getting real bodies and depth and skill and versatility and shooting and defense in your front court. That that’s going to be a massive priority moving forward heading into the offseason. Like, they got they have to address that. This team’s got to get more size and more physicality. in the front court. And so I think that’s the number one priority for this team. And I think the other priority I think that’s going to be kind of key for the Atlanta Hawks. And look, I’ll be I’ll be honest, this one this priority might be a little more difficult for them to address just because of who could be available. But this guy, the Hawks have to get another offensive creator that can take some pressure off Trey Young, particularly a guy with some size, you know, I think that’s also something that’s going to be of importance heading into the off seasonason because as much as I love Trey Young and as much as I think the Hawks should keep Trey Young and I think that they will keep Trey Young, like I said, I don’t I do not anticipate any trade rumor rumors or discussions about the Hawks moving Trey. I don’t I don’t think that’s going to happen. I don’t think it should happen. But if this thing is going to work with Trey Young, I said it I said it a few episodes back, but they got to get another they got to get another guy that can score and that can take some pressure off this dude because this guy just has for a guy who sits sits one. It’s just hard on him. It’s hard. It’s hard for a little guard to to score and with with having all the attention on you, like it’s just it’s just hard. You know what I’m saying? And so they it would be nice for the Atlanta Hawks to get a guy that can take a little pressure off of them. Now, look, I know a lot of a lot of this discussion is going to be about Giannis, you know. Look, man. I’m to Hall fans, I don’t want I don’t want to be a, you know, a Debbie Downer, but we ain’t getting Giannis. It ain’t happening. You know, Giannis Antono ain’t happening. Like we just I don’t I don’t think the Atlanta Hawks can offer the B. Now I actually think the Hawks can offer the Bucks a compelling offer. Like Jaylen Johnson, Zachary Reese, Anaka Kwick, like that’s not a bad offer. But here’s the problem with that offer. You know who who if you if you offer that for Giannis and the Bucks say yes, Giannis is going to be playing with who? Trey Young, Dyson Daniels, and who? Like, you’re not going to have much left. You know, you’re not going to have much to improve your team. And all of a sudden, if you offered all of that for Giannis, now all of a sudden the Atlanta Hawks are now the Milwaukee Bucks. you know, they’re they’re now they’re the team with that much else to improve your team, improve your roster. And so, I don’t I don’t I don’t think the Hawks have enough to where you can offer whatever you need to offer to get Giannis while also having what’s left to where you can contend. Like I just I don’t see a pathway where Atlanta could offer whatever it would take to get Giannis while having enough left where you can actually contend for a championship. Like I don’t think Trey Young, Giannis, Dyson Daniels, and a bunch of nothing is going anywhere. And so I don’t I don’t see I don’t see the Giannis possibility happening. You know, like I said, I think if Giannis goes somewhere, I think it’s either I think it’s Houston, San Antonio, or Oklahoma City. Like, I think it’s gonna be one of those three teams. And so, I don’t I don’t see the Giannis thing happening. Kevin Durant’s kind of interesting because, you know, Kevin Durant’s 37. And so, maybe, you know, you could maybe get Kevin Kevin Durant for cheap. You know, that’s kind of interesting, but uh it just you look at the salary that Kevin Durant’s making. like he’s making 55 million and so you’re gonna have to you got to you know maneuver salary to make the salary matching the salary work while also like if you’re not going to give up some of your young talent and look if I’m in Atlanta I’m not I’m not giving up you know my young talent for a 37 year old Kevin Durant like I’m not doing that you know I love Kevin Durant awesome player awesome career but he’s 37 years old you know like I just I that’s not the direct you now if you can get him for super cheap maybe but I just it just it just feels unlikely to me and so I don’t know about Kevin Durant. Now the other option that’s a little more intriguing to me and look I look I I admit this. I have a rule for players that are consistently hurt. I’m just I’m I’m I’m kind of iffy on them. And so the Zion Williamson part might be interesting. Now look, I don’t know what the Pelicans gonna do with Zion Williamson. You know, I he, you know, that’s the rumor mill is the Pelicans might, you know, the ownership in New Orleans are might be done with Zion and maybe they want to move him and there’s a mandate. Like I don’t know what’s happening with the Pelicans with Zion Williamson. And look, for for for the record, Zion Williamson was actually representing the Pelicans at the draft lottery. And so I if going by that there maybe the Pelicans might don’t move Zion at all, you know? So that’s a pos that might be a possibility. Maybe they’re just committed to Zion for the short term and they bring him in next season and see how things go. And if things aren’t going too well, maybe they move him at the deadline. Like who knows with Zion? But I will say if Zion can be had for cheap and if the Pelicans are so eager to move off of Zion Williamson, even with his health problems, I do think the risk could be worth it for the for this team, for the Atlanta Hawks, because look, as as injuryprone as Zion is, and whatever issues that he might have, the guy is only 24 or 25 years old like he’s still young and look man I as you know risky as the idea of trading for Zion is I can’t deny a team like the Hawks actually needs Zion Williams’ skill set. you know, they they actually kind of do. And so I can’t I can’t dismiss the idea of the Hawks trading for Zion Williams. And if and I mean if that offer the if the Pelicans are willing to move him and they’re willing to if they’re so eager to move off of him and they just want to get rid of the Zion experiment, they just want to move in a different direction. And so we’ll see what happens on that front. But man, uh, like I said, man, the Atlanta Hawks, like they they if there’s another thing that they could use on this roster is they need another they need another score or just a real dude that can take some pressure off Zion Williamson. I mean, off of Trey Young, excuse me. And so, and look, if that don’t if that doesn’t happen, then like look, man, like there’s nothing wrong with them signing resigning Caris Levert. And that’s another thing. That’s another thing I think the the Hawks should do this summer. I I think they should look at resigning Caris Levert. I thought he was good after the deadline when the Hawks traded for him. I thought he did some good things. And like look, even if the Hawks don’t get a star, and look, I’m not I’m not completely advocating for the Hawks to get a star, but there’s nothing wrong with the Hawks just, you know, running the Saint running, you know, this starting five of Jaylen and Dyson and Shay and Trey Young back and you use both of your picks in this year’s draft and you make a you you Prioritize getting a big man or two behind on Yucka and Jaylen Johnson to Hassen Depp and maybe you add maybe another shooter and you bring back Caris Levert. you resign him. And you know what? Maybe you maybe you know you you uh prioritize, you know, developing Jaylen Johnson and Dyson Daniels and Risha Shaden and Yucka and maybe one or two of these guys, you know, become that star, that second star. Like that’s entirely possible. It’s it’s entirely possible, you know, that Jaylen and Reese Shay and Dyson become these guys. And so, look, man, uh the Atlanta Hawks have something that they have never had in a while heading into an offseason. They actually have options. They actually have pathways. they actually can move in any direction that they want to this off seasonason to improve this roster and that’s a good thing. That is a very very very good thing. And when I look at this Eastern Conference moving forward, when you look at the fact that, like I said, the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA draft lottery, which means they’re going to take Cooper Flag number one. And the San Antonio Spurs won the got the number two pick, which means they’re either going to take Dylan Harper or they’re going to trade him for Giannis, you know. And you look at the fact that Boston just got weaker with Jason Tatum being likely out for a while for oh next season with his Achilles issue. And you look at the fact that you know you look at the Eastern the Giannis is likely going to leave the Milwaukee Bucks. And you look at the fact that I mean you got the Knicks and you got the Pacers and you got the Cleveland Cavaliers. like they’re they’re they’re respectable teams. They’re solid teams. They’re not teams that I will fear moving forward, you know, and so when you look at all of those factors and I look at the fact that this team, the Atlanta Hawks team is going to be healthy heading into next season and look, there’s gonna be some teams that’s probably that’s gonna get better, too. Like, I’m not gonna dismiss that. like Philadelphia. I mean, they’re they’re kind of a wild card because we don’t know how Joel beat is going to look coming back. And look, I’m I’m going to be honest like I I just I I’m just I’m I don’t believe in Joel and Beat stay ever staying healthy. And so I’m just I’m just whatever with the Philadelphia 76ers. And you got teams like the the Detroit Pistons and the Orlando Magic, like those teams should be better as well. So I’m not going to completely dismiss them. Miami to a lesser degree, you know, maybe. But if I’m the Atlanta Hawks, man, if I’m a Hawk fan and I’m looking at this Hawk team, I’m just If you’re telling me that this team with Anaka, Jaylen, Dyson, Reese, Trey Young, plus two more picks, plus a couple of real upgrades to this team that can, you know, especially from off the bench, particularly a big man or or ball handler or a creator or a shooter or two. Like if the Atlanta Hawks can nail this off season and make the necessary upgrades that this team needs to supplement what you have with Trey and Dyson and Shay and Jaylen and if the Atlanta Hawks could do all of that this off season while looking at the teams around them in the Eastern Conference that are that’s going to be weaker. Why can’t the Atlanta Hawks make noise heading in into the Eastern Conference next season? Why can’t this team win 50 games? The Atlanta Hawks with s with real upgrades to this roster with with what they already have with their young talent. This team can absolutely win 47 to 50 games heading into next season. This team, the Atlanta Hawks, with the right upgrades could be next year’s version of the Houston Rockets. The team that also won 40 games previously and with some continuity and development and some small upgrades, they end up winning 52 games and they were the number two seed in the Western Conference. The Atlanta Hawks can’t do that next season with what they have, with what they could add this off season. I think it’s entirely possible. I absolutely think that’s entirely possible that this team could be around 50 wins heading into the next season. I really do. I think the Atlanta Hawks have a lot to look forward to heading into next season. And I think the what’s head what’s happening around them in the Eastern Conference even strengthens that argument even more so which is why I believe this summer is super critical for these Atlanta Hawks. Who and whoever ends up being the president of basketball operations for this franchise. Look, man. Like I said, the Hawks are in a great position. They’re in a great position moving forward to make some things happen this off season. They’re in a great position. And I say this as an Atlanta Hawk fan. I really say this. The Atlanta Hawks need to take advantage of what they have in front of them this offseason because if if they can if they can do this, I think next season could be really really really special.
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The Atlanta Hawks are at a critical crossroads this offseason. After falling short of expectations in the 2024-25 season, the front office needs to make smart, aggressive moves to build around their core and return to playoff contention. In this video, Reggie breaks down what the Hawks must prioritize—from improving the defense and finding a reliable big man, to deciding the future of key players like Trae Young and Dyson Daniels
What moves do YOU think the Hawks need to make? Drop your offseason wishlist in the comments!
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