It’s a matter of “when” and not “if” the Atlanta Hawks make another move, but they should be patient until then.
The Atlanta Hawks were one of the busiest teams in the initial wave of offseason moves. The franchise traded away starting power forward John Collins in what was effectively a salary dump. They then made a flurry of small signings and trades that saw them acquire and then trade away TyTy Washington, Usman Garuba, and Rudy Gay. Through all of that they acquired small draft compensation and veteran guard Patty Mills. Atlanta also signed veteran Wes Matthews as a free agent, plus signed Dejounte Murray to a large extension.
The moves were not expected to stop there, however. The Hawks were heavily linked to Raptors star forward Pascal Siakam, and the futures of incumbent starters De’Andre Hunter and Clint Capela were in question. For a while, it felt that another major Hawks move was right around the corner, and Atlanta seemed like the most active team in the league on the trade fronts.
But right now, things have gotten eerily quiet surrounding the Hawks. While we’re in a bit of the post-Free Agency/Draft, pre-Training Camp off-season lull across the league, the Hawks have seemingly gone from super active to fairly quiet. Outside of a recent report about 2023 No. 15 overall pick Kobe Bufkin’s involvement in a Siakam trade, there has not been much noise in the last few weeks surrounding the Hawks.
While many Hawks fans might view this as concerning following two disappointing seasons in a row (that saw the Hawks in the play-in) after the deep playoff run of 2021, I’m here to say that it’s okay that the Hawks have been quiet of late. Here’s why:
- You don’t want to rush into a bad deal
- The Hawks still have time
- The Hawks still have a good team
While the Hawks moved pretty quickly to try and get the Collins contract off the books, the Hawks have been surveying the landscape on his value for several years now (which I’ve discussed at length before as problematic). Atlanta likely knew what the offers for Collins looked like around the league, and they viewed the trade with Utah as the best option. That might not be the case with other trades involving acquiring Siakam or sending away Hunter or Capela (which could all be one trade, or separate ones). The last thing the Hawks want to do is to rush and make a trade just for the sake of making a trade and end up not getting ideal value.
I think the Hawks fell victim to that last year when they quickly traded away Kevin Huerter after acquiring Dejounte Murray. Huerter went on to have a career year while the Hawks bench struggled at times. I’m not saying trading Huerter was the wrong move, but the Hawks might not have gotten the best value and the timing/optics of it weren’t great (with it being viewed by some as the franchise making the move purely to duck the luxury tax).
That’s what the Hawks want to avoid right now. Plus, with Quin Snyder still relatively young in his Hawks coaching tenure, allowing him as much time as possible to gauge the young players is important. The Hawks have a strong young core of Onyeka Okongwu, Jalen Johnson, AJ Griffin, and Bufkin. Atlanta has to be careful to not erroneously trade away one or multiple of those players in the wrong deal if they can help it.
The previous point sort of merges in with the second one, but the Hawks still have time to make a deal(s) happen. Training Camp does not start until October 3rd. Opening Day is not until October 24th. The Hawks still have over five weeks to make a deal before the season even starts. Even once the season starts, the trade deadline is not until February 8th.
The Atlanta Hawks should be patient in pulling the trigger on their next move
The Hawks still have plenty of time to play the slow game. Make Dallas feel the pressure of needing Center reinforcements and upping their offer for Capela. Make Toronto feel the pressure of what happened with Fred VanVleet potentially happening with Siakam if they cannot reach a deal on an extension. While it might not seem like it because the initial flurry of the offseason is behind us, the Hawks still have time to massage their leverage and try to get a deal done (while deciding what course of action is the best).
Also, the Hawks still have a good team. Atlanta showed what they are capable of at times in the Boston playoff series as they impressed down the stretch against the 2-seeded Celtics. Atlanta still has a star-studded backcourt of Trae Young and Murray, plus a strong supporting cast of veterans in Hunter, Capela, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Saddiq Bey to go along with the promising youngsters in Okongwu, Johnson, Griffin, and Bufkin.
The team did not live up to expectations a year ago, but there could be some hope that year No. 2 of Young-Murray playing together will reap more fruits and that the development of the youngsters can help the Hawks take a step forward. You also can’t ignore what a full season of Snyder at the helm could do.
While I do believe that there is probably a deal out there that would help make the Hawks better, they need to make sure it is the right one. And because of that, I believe that it is okay that the Hawks have been quiet recently.