Why The Hawks Could Shock Everyone

Why The Hawks Could Shock Everyone

The Hawks have had an incredible off season, making all of the right moves to surround their young core with depth, talent, and versatility. But just how good are they right now? And can this core get them to championship contention? Last season, the Hawks built a version of what an ideal roster around Trey Young looks like? Going back to 2024, that’s when Jaylen Johnson took a huge leap. He was a 22-year-old who could play downhill, create for others, operate without the ball, defend multiple positions, and protect the rim. And with the way he emerged, it became clear that they viewed him as Trey’s long-term number two, which I’d say has panned out in every way except for health. When he’s on the court, he’s one of the better young players in the league. but he struggles with injuries and if he’s ever able to string together a run of healthy seasons, I do think it’s somewhat overlooked just how high of a ceiling he has, especially on the Hawks. Because if you were to create a player in a lab to play off of Trey Young, a 6-9 forward who could handle the ball, pass, play above the rim, and offer defensive versatility would be pretty close to the result. After Johnson’s emergence, Atlanta got blessed with the number one pick in the draft. And instead of drafting a project or a higher risk player with an absurd ceiling, they went for fit and selected Zachary Reese. Reese doesn’t have a ton of juice as a shot creator or playmaker, but he’s another big athletic wing and more importantly, he has the tools to develop into one of the league’s most dynamic offball scorers. He’s an incredible mover without the ball who projects to be a good outside shooter while having enough on ball capability to attack closeouts or play off of screens. Again, if you built a small forward in a lab whose offensive skill set fit with Trey, this is exactly what you’d be looking for. So, with Jaylen turning into a number two and Research stepping in as another offensive weapon, their next order of business was finding a destination for Deontay Murray. They ended up making a deal with the Pelicans. And while Larry Nance Jr. was the initial headline, it was Dyson Daniels who ended up being the centerpiece. I’ve talked about what an ideal offensive fit next to Trey looks like, but what about the other side of the ball? Dyson’s a huge guard with the length, agility, and screen navigation to match up with pretty much any perimeter player. and he’s an active helper who might just have the best hands in the NBA, which led to an average of nearly six deflections a game, while no other player in the last decade has even averaged five. As a result, he made the alldefensive first team and finished second in voting for defensive player of the year. Keep in mind, he’s only 22 years old. Jaylen Johnson is 23, Rhysa is 20, and Trey is 26. And because of the way these guys can all mesh together and cover each other’s weaknesses on both ends of the floor, it really looks like this is the core four. The last piece to the puzzle for filling out the starting five was a center. They were still going with Clint Capella for the first portion of the season. And while he brings that vertical presence as both a lob threat and rim protector, he’s very limited in pretty much every other area. So in late January, they went to their bench and moved on a Kong Wu into the starting lineup. The team didn’t transform or anything, but this was right when Jaylen suffered a season ending injury, and it was clear just how much more offensive flexibility the team had with Anyaka in the middle because not only can he still operate in the pick and roll and get above the rim like Capella, he has much better touch from anywhere in the paint, and he’s a decent passer, so you can put the ball in his hands and create more offball action. He even steps out for the occasional three-point shot, which is actually really interesting because with the way Quinn Snyder sets up the Hawks offense, he likes to put a big either in the slot or deep in the corner. This isn’t just so they can catch and shoot, but because it puts them in a position to dive to the rim, which is something a Kong Wu did a whole lot of. On defense, I wouldn’t say he’s quite the rim protector Capella is, but he’s still a decent vertical presence who can hold down the paint and control the glass while being much more versatile in the primary action as he’s got the mobility to execute a ton of different coverages and switch when needed. In many ways, he’s just another big forward which really leans into this vision of defensive versatility alongside Rese and Jaylen in the front court. He’s only 24 years old and still has quite a bit of room for growth on offense. So that core four just became a core five, which takes us right into the current off season. For the first time in 5 years, it feels like Trey Young’s playing on a team that’s specifically built to maximize his game. He’s got a lob threat and versatile offensive five. He’s got an athletic secondary creator and above the rim threat who can push the pace at the four. He’s got a big dynamic offball scorer at the three and he’s got a nice complimentary passer who got first place defensive player of the year votes at the two. Clearly the vision was to play trey ball on offense, allow him to create easy shots for all of these guys, then really lean into their size, length, and versatility to cover for him on defense. But a few things were still missing. Notably, the three-point shooting lacked a good bit behind what you’d expect from a serious playoff team. Of those five, Reese was the only player shooting above 34% from three. And even he was below 36%. And it feels like in order to compete at the highest level in today’s NBA, you need guys who are going to pressure the defense from outside. So that was mission number one of the off season. On June 24th, they traded for Chris Daps Porzingis without giving up a single valuable asset, which is immediately a huge boost to the roster. He’s coming off a weird season as he was constantly battling an illness and things sort of fell apart for the Celtics near the end. So, they’re taking a gamble on him getting back to his peak level. And if he’s able to get back to that form, he instantly becomes the best player Trey Young has ever played with. He just shot 41% from three on six attempts a game as a 7’2 center. Not only would the pick and pop be nearly impossible to cover, I talked about how Snyder likes to use his bigs in creative ways to space the floor, and now you’re giving him the ultimate chess piece with the outside shooting. He’s somebody who can attack mismatches or switches in the mid post, which is something they’ve never had in the Trey era. And he’s one of the best shot blockers in the league, giving them a completely different look to go to on defense. So, not only do you have 48 minutes of good center play between him and a Congu, you can actually run those two together. So, we can go ahead and throw the Hawks into the list of teams that are leaning into double big units. Going back to the three-point shooting though, less than a week after trading for Chrisaps, they signed Nquille Alexander Walker. Over the past three seasons, he’s very consistently been a 38 to 39% three-point shooter on volume. So, he can bring some value as a spot-up shooter, but that’s not his entire game. He’s also a decent ball handler who can make decisions with a live dribble while being a capable finisher at the rim, and he’s another ferocious point of attack defender who can pick up opposing guards or wings and stay glued through screens. So, not only is he somebody who can play extended minutes or even start next to Trey, they could actually go to some defensively slanted lineups with him and Dyson on the floor together. And if that’s the case, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some fullcourt pressure like we saw from the Pacers with Nemhard and Nesmith during their finals run. If adding Naw and Chrisaps to the core five wasn’t enough to sell you on that very same day, they also signed Luke Canard. He’s not going to give you the defensive prowess that either of those guys give you. But what he will do is make lots and lots of threes. Canard is a career. Yes, career. 44% three-point shooter, which ranks third in NBA history. And his value as a player is really that simple. If you want an extra floor spacer next to Trey or Jaylen, or you want to go to an offensively slanted lineup, you now have the most reliable spot-up shooter the game has to offer. So, there goes your top eight. Trey’s the engine that makes everything run. Dyson and Alexander Walker are your backcourt partners and primary point of attack defenders. Reese and Johnson are your athletic forwards and versatile chess pieces on both ends of the floor. A Kongmoo is your mobile above the rim big and Chrisaps is your floor spacing shot blocking big while Canard can step off the bench and immediately boost your offense with 45% three-point shooting. This is a team with a ton of flexibility on both ends of the floor. They can go big, they can go small, they can go to a defensive death lineup, they can go to crazy offensive looks, and it’s all catered to Trey Young’s skill set as an all-time onball playmaker. With that said, though, I do still have a few problems with the current roster construction. The obvious one is that they’re relying on quite a few injuryp-prone players to stay healthy. I already talked about Jaylen Johnson who they need healthy for this to work. But Dyson’s another guy who’s dealt with quite a few injuries in his young career. Canard’s missed some time here and there. Ona’s had a history of minor injuries that really add up. And of course there’s Chrisaps. So we could see some stretches of Atlanta having to play without either one of their bigs. To adjust, they picked up Asa Newell in the draft. And while he may be raw, they’re clearly betting on him to give them some playable minutes as he develops into a legit NBA. Another problem I have with the current roster is that they really lack capable shot creators. Because Trey is so good at creating open shots for his teammates, he’ll be able to mask this issue about as well as one player possibly could. But against a highlevel playoff defense, it’s something that could really be their downfall. between Dyson, Alexander Walker, Canard, and Reset. They can all make decisions off the catch, but none can really break down a defender without an advantage. The only guy outside of Trey who can really do that on the entire roster is Jaylen Johnson. And even then, most of his self-creation comes downhill in early offense. So, one of three things has to happen in my opinion. Firstly, one of those first four names I mentioned takes a serious offensive leap, giving them a third option. Secondly, Jaylen takes another big jump as an offensive player, which would probably get him to an all-star or even AllNBA level. Or thirdly, they make another move using some of these young pieces they have to go out and get a legitimate creator to play off of Trey, like a Jaylen Brown or a Devin Booker. That takes me to my third and final problem with the current roster, and that’s the fact that they don’t really have anyone to run the offense when Trey sits. Last year, their offensive rating dipped nearly nine points when he went to the bench. And the arrival of Caris Levert mid-season actually seemed to fix the issue, but they just lost him to the Pistons, so they’re back to square one again. One of those guys could take a serious offensive leap, or they’ve still got Ve Crazy, Kobe Buffkin, and Katon Wallace on the roster. So, one of them might have to step in and be that reliable backup point guard for 10 to 15 minutes a game. I will say I do still like quite a few of the available options on the market though, like Monte Morris, Chris Paul, or my personal favorite fit, Russell Westbrook. So, while I don’t think they’re contenders just yet, it’s not like they’re in a bad spot. As things currently stand, barring health, I think this is pretty clearly a 50 win caliber team. The lineup flexibility would be my main selling point, but also you’re giving Trey a ton of offball weapons while building what looks like could be a top 12 defense. If any one of their young players takes a serious step forward on offense and they find some legitimate backup point guard minutes, now we’re talking about a really tough out for every single Eastern Conference team. They’ll need some luck with the injury bug. But I think it’s also really important to note that this isn’t a one-year project. Trees the oldest player in that core five I talked about. While the three veterans they picked up are all in the 27 to30 age range. So two three years down the line. This could have marked the starting point in building the ideal roster around Trey Young that got the Hawks back to a competitive playoff team. If you enjoyed this breakdown, make sure to drop a like, subscribe, and turn my post notifications on to be first on more content. If you’re interested in my more in-depth research, make sure to check out the Hoop Venue podcast and my social media profiles. You can find those links in the description. Feel free to let me know down in the comments what you think of the Hawks. As always, I hope you all have a great day and I’ll catch you guys in the next one. [Music]

The Atlanta Hawks have had an incredible offseason, but just how good is the roster right now? And how can they continue improving?

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