The Hawks have a decision coming, and it could shape everything about their 2028 title chase.
On paper, Atlanta looks loaded. In practice, though, the picture in the East is tougher than that.
Bleacher Report recently pegged the Hawks for a 45-37 record, and that kind of forecast says plenty: this is a good team, but not the class of the conference. The Knicks, Cavaliers and Sixers still sit a tier above.
That’s where the real question starts. Should Onsi push chips in before the trade deadline and try to chase a title right now, or keep the powder dry and hold onto the assets?
The case for patience starts with the rest of the East. The teams sitting at the top all have problems coming for them, and they’re not small ones. Age and injuries are hanging over the conference’s heavyweights, along with the second apron and the luxury-tax squeeze that comes with it.
New York is the clearest example. The Knicks aren’t the oldest group around, but the league buzz says Karl-Anthony Towns could be headed out because the team won’t pay him what he believes he deserves. After a strong title run, Towns has shown he can justify that kind of money, but the Knicks may not have the room to make it happen.
Cleveland is staring at a different version of the same issue. With James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and now Peyton Watson in the mix after a surprising sign-and-trade with the Nuggets last week, the Cavaliers look talented enough to matter. Even so, their window feels like it could close before it ever really opens.
Philadelphia brings the most obvious concern. Joel Embiid and LeBron James are still the kind of opponents nobody wants to see, but the question is how long that stays true. It’s possible neither is fully healthy, or even still playing, beyond the 2026-2027 season.
That’s why Atlanta’s patience could pay off. Once this season passes, the conference may look a lot less intimidating, and the Hawks are sitting on something most teams can’t match: cap space.
All those one-year deals matter here. CJ McCollum, Jock Landale, Lu Dort’s expiring deal and maybe even a lingering Jonathan Kuminga team option all come off the books after the 2026-2027 season ends.
That gives Atlanta a real opening next summer. Very few teams will be able to offer the kind of financial flexibility the Hawks will have, which means any superstar who reaches free agency has to at least consider Atlanta. The Hawks can match outside offers, and they already have enough supporting pieces to build around almost any star who becomes available.
So the safer play may be to wait. Instead of forcing the issue in a crowded, punishing conference this year, the Hawks seem positioned to stay patient and see what the next offseason brings for a young team on the rise.
In Other News...
Hawks Could Be Pulled Into A Kuminga Trade Twist
Peyton Watsons move to Cleveland on a four-year, $88 million sign-and-trade with Denver was the latest reminder that the NBAs summer market can shift quickly once a restricted free agent situation finally gets resolved. It also kept the focus on the kind of multi-team maneuvering that tends to ripple well beyond the club making the first move, especially when draft picks are part of the price.
Jonathan Kuminga is still out there as an unrestricted free agent, and that alone has kept sign-and-trade chatter alive around Atlanta, Indiana and Washington. The Hawks have been mentioned in a hypothetical framework that would reshuffle several rotation pieces and future assets, but for now it remains exactly that, with the real intrigue resting in whether the teams involved can even get close enough to turn the speculation into something concrete. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Face An Early Reality Check Despite Their New Defensive Edge
Atlantas offseason makeover gave the roster a different shape, one built more around depth and defensive resistance than the high-variance feel of recent years. The Hawks added three rookies and brought in Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Jock Landale via trades, then kept CJ McCollum and Landale in the mix after both played a role in the teams late-season surge. It is the kind of summer that suggests a more balanced team, with more options to throw at opponents and a little less pressure on any one lineup to carry the load.
Still, the early read on the season is more cautionary than celebratory. The Hawks may be better equipped to defend and to survive different game states, but there are still real questions about whether the shot-making is reliable enough and whether the front line protects the rim well enough to turn that upgraded depth into wins. The overall forecast is for only a modest step forward, which makes the margin between encouraging progress and another uneven season feel pretty thin. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Face A Costly Jonathan Kuminga Trade Complication
Jonathan Kumingas free-agent market has started to take on more of a trade-deadline feel, with the forward still on the board while sign-and-trade chatter builds around the Lakers and Hawks. For Atlanta, the appeal is obvious enough: Kuminga brings upside, youth and a profile that could fit a team trying to keep climbing in the East, while Los Angeles has been floated as a more natural landing spot than some of the other teams mentioned around the league.
The complication is in the mechanics, and that is where these talks get tricky for the Hawks. A workable deal may require more moving parts than a simple swap, with one avenue involving additional salary coming back from the Lakers and another requiring a third team to help structure the money in a way Atlanta can live with. Until those pieces fall into place, Kuminga remains one of the more intriguing names on the market, and one whose next stop still feels very much up in the air. [Read more 🡒]