Following another busy offseason, the Atlanta Hawks are a team in transition. For the second year in a row, the Hawks made some major changes to their roster and not necessarily because they wanted to. They are one of the teams that are clearly working with a budget, which has made it hard for them to navigate the salary cap while trying to remain a contender in the Eastern Conference. The result will be a talented roster with plenty of unknowns and an uphill climb as they look to remain among the top four teams in the East this coming season.
Offseason Changes
Atlanta was forced to make a decision on which of its top players would remain in the fold. With Dennis Schroeder ready to take on a full-time role at the point guard position the decision to trade veteran Jeff Teague became a little easier. In an ideal world, the Hawks would probably keep both but considering they are short on cash, they can’t have two quality assets at one position while being short on talent somewhere else on the roster. That forced the trade of Teague.
Even so, the Atlanta Hawks couldn’t convince Al Horford to come back after the Boston Celtics decided to pay him some big money, so they were forced to look elsewhere for his replacement. In the end, Atlanta locked up the hometown star in Dwight Howard, who should still have something to prove following a couple of down years in Houston. Howard is a clear downgrade from Horford, though. Horford was an All-Star while Howard has been a shadow of his former self. He’s still a presence on defense, though, and should benefit from the switch to the Eastern Conference.
To round out the roster, the Hawks brought in veteran Jarrett Jack and had a strong NBA Draft in which they landed DeAndre Bembry, Taurean Prince, Malcolm Delaney and Matt Costello. Jack is a decent backup point guard but it’s unclear whether anyone else will be able to contribute to the team in the near future.
Strengths
Howard should be able to hold his own at the center position in the Eastern Conference, where he could end up having an easier time than he did with the Rockets last season. Atlanta will do what it can to put Howard in position to succeed and he should be a strong compliment to Paul Millsap as one of the better frontcourt tandems in the East. Meanwhile, Schroder is clearly ready for a more prominent role in the starting five and Jack should be a capable backup. The Hawks invested in Prince and Bembry to improve its depth on the wing behind underrated starter Kent Bazemore.
Weaknesses
It might be pretty noticeable early on that Atlanta is missing the type of go-to scorer to turn to in clutch situations. The Hawks will have to figure things out throughout the regular season so it isn’t an issue once the playoffs roll around. They still have Paul Millsap and Schroeder is a player who is growing in the NBA ranks, but losing Horford will hurt. They’ve gone from a team that had tons of quality and talent up front with Horford, Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll, to a team that’s just trying to get by.
Meanwhile, Atlanta is banking on a bounce back season from Kyle Korver, who they desperately need to find his three-point shooting touch. Korver really declined last year and the Atlanta Hawks are lacking the necessary shooters to fill the void if he doesn’t bounce back. Atlanta doesn’t have a ton of depth on the perimeter but they should have enough to remain one of the top teams in the East.
Outlook
Mike Budenholzer will continue to get this team to play unselfish basketball and he truly does get the most out of the talent at his disposal. The Atlanta Hawks lost a talented playmaker in Teague and a quality big man in Horford, but Howard and Schroder are more than capable if they can stay healthy and while the depth behind them isn’t great it is good enough. Atlanta is still one of the most talented teams in the East and with the Miami Heat primed to take a step back it won’t be a surprise when the Atlanta Hawks finish at the top of the Southeast division.
Prediction: 1st in Southeast Division; 3rd in the Eastern Conference
