The Atlanta Hawks came out of the offseason with more questions than fireworks, and in a summer when the Eastern Conference loaded up fast, that quiet approach stands out even more.
Around the league, some of the best players in basketball - maybe as many as 10 to 15 of them - landed in the East. Atlanta, meanwhile, chose not to chase one of those swings. For plenty of Hawks fans, that’s a tough pill to swallow after a season that ended with real promise and a young core that looked ready to turn a corner.
But this doesn’t have to be framed as simple regression. If Atlanta winds up in Play-In Tournament territory, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Hawks slid backward.
It could just mean the conference moved up around them. That’s the awkward spot they’re in now: the Hawks say they want to stay competitive, but they didn’t make a splash in a conference that got stronger overnight.
That leaves the focus on what comes next, and what this group has to become during the season ahead.
The big picture for Atlanta is pretty clear. The Hawks need to carry over the momentum from last year while also fixing the areas that still hold them back.
Interior defense remains a major issue. So does the search for a long-term answer after former franchise point guard Trae Young.
At the same time, the front office also made a point of keeping veteran voices in the room. CJ McCollum is there to mentor lottery pick Kingston Flemings, and the Hawks also brought in Aaron Wiggins and Lu Dort, two players who have championship experience from Oklahoma City.
That part matters, even if both Wiggins and Dort struggled this postseason, which helped lead to the Thunder moving on from them. Atlanta is clearly betting that experience and steadiness can matter for a young team trying to keep climbing.
The best measuring stick for the Hawks this season might be how they handle the top teams in the conference. That will tell the real story about where they stand.
A leap from Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Onyeka Okongwu, and Dyson Daniels would go a long way. The two most interesting names in that group are Alexander-Walker and Daniels, because both already bring value on defense but still have work to do on the offensive end, especially when the games get tight in the playoffs.
That showed up clearly in the postseason, when both players saw their scoring and efficiency dip hard. For Alexander-Walker, the next step would be turning himself from a 20-point guy into someone who can give you 23 to 25 a night, which could even put him in the All-Star conversation for the first time.
There’s also been some buzz around him since last season because of the comparisons to his cousin Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is an unquestionable Hall of Famer. With a similar style and fewer offensive weapons around him to lean on, Alexander-Walker now has a chance to show what that next level actually looks like.
Daniels has a different challenge, but an equally important one. His shooting has to improve. Too often, defenses are willing to sag off him because they don’t trust him to knock down shots consistently, and that can stall the offense in a hurry.
If both players make that jump, Atlanta’s ceiling changes fast. And even after an offseason that didn’t bring the splash many expected, there’s still plenty of reason to think this group has more room to grow.
In Other News...
Asa Newell Suddenly Has A Real Shot To Change Atlanta's Rotation
Asa Newell arrived as the Hawks 2025 first-round pick with the usual draft-night buzz, but the path to minutes in Atlanta has opened faster than expected. Between injuries and a few changes around the frontcourt, the rookie forward suddenly looks like more than a developmental name on the end of the bench. For a team that has been trying to sort out its rotation depth, Newells shooting ability gives him a chance to matter early if he can translate it quickly to NBA pace.
The larger question now is where he fits once the season gets rolling, because the Hawks frontcourt picture has created room for someone to seize. Analysts have already started circling Newell as a breakout candidate, and it is easy to see why: the profile is there, the opportunity is there, and Atlanta does not have a lot of obvious answers waiting in reserve. The only real mystery is how big that role becomes once the rotation tightens. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Quietly Turned A Risky Gabe Vincent Deal Into Real Value
When Atlanta sent Luke Kennard to the Lakers at the February trade deadline for Gabe Vincent and a second-round pick, it looked like the kind of deal that carried some obvious risk. Vincent never became a long-term fit for the Hawks, and he did not return on a new contract, but Atlanta still came out of the move with a draft asset and a useful transaction route that added flexibility around the roster.
Vincent is now sitting on the open market with training camp drawing closer, a reminder that the Hawks did not need to force a commitment to make the trade matter. Kennard has since moved on to Phoenix after his stint in Los Angeles, while Atlanta quietly turned a midseason swing into something more practical than it first appeared. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Hype Is Growing But One Top-Six Debate Won't Go Away
The buzz around Atlantas upcoming season is easy to understand. The Hawks have leaned into defense, added depth over the offseason and kept pointing to player development as a reason for optimism, all while trying to climb into the conversation with the Easts better teams. Even with the conference looking crowded and unforgiving, theres a case that Atlanta can be more than just interesting if the pieces fit the way the front office believes they can.
Still, one conversation keeps hanging over the roster: whether the Hawks have addressed the kind of issue that can decide a season in April and May. The defense looks sturdier on paper, but there are lingering questions about whether the interior can hold up against bigger frontcourts and whether the offense can be trusted once games slow down. Until those answers come into focus, the case for Atlanta remains promising, but not quite settled. [Read more 🡒]