The Atlanta Hawks appear to be shifting the direction of this franchise. As they build their roster more around Trae Young. It’s a subtle shift that they didn’t have to do much with. Rather than going into a full rebuild, it’ll be more like a re-tool. The Atlanta Hawks head into the 2023-24 season as somewhat a very underrated team.
Young may be one of the most underrated guards in the NBA heading into the new year, mostly in part due to the fact that he had a down year last year. A play-in or less finish would be devastating for the Hawks. They should be able to do better than that.
Key Additions
HC Quinn Snyder
A full season of Snyder in Atlanta is going to tell the story as to how far the Hawks can go during the 2023-24 season beyond. Snyder spent eight years as the head coach of the Utah Jazz, leading them to 372-264 (.585) regular season record. The Hawks hope to get that same style of coaching. In 21 games last season, Snyder led the team to a 10-11 record.
The 35-year-old veteran is a proven winner at the guard position. The second unit will benefit from having a guy like that as their leader.
At 20 years old, the rookie may still have a lot to learn but he’s a crafty left-handed guard with great length and athleticism. He has a high basketball IQ and balance in his game.
Key Losses
It appears that the Hawks may have misused Collins last year, due to a dip in his efficiency. That led to some disagreement between the two sides and the Hawks eventually trading him.
Starting Lineup: Murray, Dejounte Murray, De’Andre Hunter, Saddiq Bey, Clint Capela
The starting lineup is almost identical to that of last year, the biggest difference is Collins is not on the team. With Snyder at the helm for a full season, this looks like a roster that can compete.
Bench: Bufkin, Mills, Bogdan Bogdanovic, AJ Griffin, Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okungwu, Wesley Matthews, Bruno Fernando, Mouhamed Gueye
Season Outlook
A season ago, the Hawks finished with a .500 record a 41-41. They finished 8th in the Eastern Conference but went through 3 different coaches. In a full season, Snyder will look to improve this team. They’ll look to get out of the first round and potentially make a deep run. In the offseason, the Atlanta Hawks added some veterans who could bring valuable leadership during the 2023-24 season. I’d expect the Hawks to make the playoffs. It should be easy to improve upon that record from a year ago.
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