Atlanta Hawks: Grading The Offseason

The problem with overachieving, in any facet of life, is that it becomes expectation. Once a new standard has been established, people want to see even greater achievement from then on, or at the very least, the same level of success. Coming off a 60-win season, the Atlanta Hawks had little chance of having the kind of offseason that would allow them to build on their stellar 2014-15 campaign.

Unfortunately for the team whose season came to a screeching halt in the conference finals, this summer didn’t quite position them for another run at the East.

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With two important members of the East’s most cohesive starting five hitting free agency, the Hawks’ success was guaranteed to come back to haunt them: their team’s players were suddenly much more attractive to the rest of the league as free agents.

For a team that boasted four All-Stars last season, losing the only member of the starting five who didn’t make the All-Star team was probably the most preferable outcome, but with a valuable 3-and-D wing in DeMarre Carroll gone, Atlanta won’t be the same team in 2015-16.

After a surprisingly successful year, here’s a look at how Atlanta’s summer went with comprehensive offseason grades.

Next: The Draft