Losing Al Horford will almost certainly hurt. There’s no doubt about that. Question is, can Dwight Howard make the transition away from Howard seamless? If he can, then perhaps this team won’t miss much of a beat this season.
Though, that’s a lot to ask from Dwight, who is coming off one of his most frustrating seasons in recent history.
Trading Jeff Teague also hurts this team, their depth if not much more. Is Dennis Schroder ready to be a starting point guard in the NBA? That’s something that we simply can’t answer right now. It’s also something that the Hawks are rolling the dice on.