Pre-Draft Outlook
The Hawks bring a nice nucleus and generally have all the necessary positions covered. It’s just that this team isn’t superior anywhere except with its pair of ball-handling guards: Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. However everywhere else, an upgrade is needed for the Hawks to compete with the bullies in the East. Can that happen through the Draft? Probably not, at least not right away, with Atlanta holding the 15th overall selection. The Hawks spent the last few seasons rebuilding and revving up their player development program and are anxious to cash in. It has been a tough time for a team that reached the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals and, in that sense, the Hawks have regressed.
The Way To Go
Atlanta should seek to package its first-round pick with a current player — hello, John Collins — in a proposed trade and either move up in the Draft or grab a productive front-line veteran player. What the Hawks won’t do is trade Young or Murray. The franchise has too much faith in them, and want to see them together for more than one season. It’s a big test for the new front-office regime, Landry Fields and Kyle Korver, who get their first attempt at reshaping the roster this summer. Should the Hawks keep the pick, there are options: Iowa’s Kris Murray, brother of Kings forward Keegan, brings shooting. But most if not all of the premier big players in this draft should be gone by then.
— Shaun Powell
Here’s a quick look at who the Atlanta Hawks have under contract, who is a free agent this summer and who they added in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Under Contract
G: Bogdan Bogdanovic
G: Dejounte Murray
G: Trae Young
G: Tyrese Martin
G: Garrison Mathews
G: Vit Krejci
F/G: De’Andre Hunter
F: Saddiq Bey
F: AJ Griffin
F: Jalen Johnson
F/C: John Collins
F/C: Bruno Fernando
F/C: Onyeka Okongwu
C: Clint Capela
Free Agents
G: Aaron Holiday (unrestricted)
G: Trent Forrest (two-way)
> 2023 Free Agent Tracker
Last Year’s Draft
2022: A.J. Griffin (16); Ryan Rollins (44)**, Tyrese Martin (51)*
* = acquired via trade
** = traded in draft-night deal
*** = traded in offseason deal