Atlanta Hawks – Hold
The Atlanta Hawks made all their moves in the offseason. Adding Danilo Gallinari, Solomon Hill, Rajon Rondo, Tony Snell, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kris Dunn is more than enough change for one season and the Hawks have taken time to integrate all of this change into a successful roster.
The oddity of this season has been the strides the team has taken this year have come from players who were on the roster at the end of last season. Clint Capela has been a revelation. Trae Young is going to be an All-Star again. De’Andre Hunter was making the leap before an injury forced him out of the lineup.
There is just no trade out there for the Hawks to make. It is better for them to continue working to make this roster work and fostering a culture that can lead to continued success. Letting the first-year Hawks get healthier is far more important. John Collins has played so well that taking the chance on him in restricted free agency also makes sense.
This is a break from the headline-grabbing plan the team enacted in the short offseason but it is for the best. The nucleus was really starting to gel. If the Hawks can tread water until Hunter is back in the lineup then they will be fine. I think they will be and even if he misses the rest of the season (should the more long-term friendly surgery be the option) the Hawks will be good enough to get into the postseason.