Atlanta Hawks enter 2019-20 looking to build on young core
By Phil Watson
For the Atlanta Hawks, 2019-20 is another season to advance the young core they have assembled and build for what could be a very bright future.
The Atlanta Hawks finished 2018-19 a much more formidable team than they were to start last season, going a respectable 10-14 after the All-Star break after a 19-39 record through the annual February break, a result that pushed the Hawks out of the conversation as one of the four teams with the best odds in the draft lottery.
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That lottery wasn’t entirely kind to the Hawks, who fell from having the fifth-best chance at the top pick to picking No. 8 overall, but after some wheeling and dealing by young general manager Travis Schlenk, Atlanta came out of the draft with the rights to a top-four pick to add to an already intriguing young core.
No player personified the growth of the Hawks as last season progressed more than rookie guard Trae Young, who lit up like a holiday display after the All-Star break.
It was Young’s development as the season progressed that has many observers bullish about the future of the Hawks, who have a treasure trove of young assets to build from.
John Collins is entering his third season as a pogo stick of a power forward who gets after it on the glass and is improving his shooting range. Kevin Huerter showed flashes of being an evolutionary version of the constantly in motion 2 guard.
Now Atlanta adds a pair of top-10 picks in No. 4 overall selection De’Andre Hunter — acquired from the New Orleans Pelicans for the rights to No. 8 pick Jaxson Hayes and 17th overall choice Nickeil Alexander-Walker — and 10th overall pick Cam Reddish.
Hunter figures to slot right into the 3 spot vacated with the trade of Taurean Prince to the Brooklyn Nets, while Reddish might be a longer-term project after a very up-and-down freshman year at Duke, where he was in the gigantic shadows of top prospects Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett and struggled.
Lloyd Pierce returns for his second season in the first chair on the bench after a summer with USA Basketball and the Hawks appear poised to move forward with the rebuild in the right direction.
Here is a look at the Atlanta Hawks entering the 2019-20 season.