NBA Power Rankings: A new NBA hierarchy arises after the draft and free agency

24. Atlanta Hawks

Key offseason moves: Traded Dejounte Murray; drafted Zaccharie Risacher

Heading into the NBA offseason, there was a growing belief that the Atlanta Hawks were going to pivot toward a rebuild. We've seen signs of that but Atlanta has not completely jumped into that philosophy just yet. The Hawks traded Dejounte Murray but there's now a growing belief that they're not going to pull the trigger on a Trae Young trade. If that is indeed the case, it could make for an interesting season for the Hawks. How it ends up playing out remains to be seen. However, even if they do keep Young, I'm still not all that optimistic about this team's chances to make noise in the East.

Whether you believe Murray and Young were a great fit or not, they're going to take a step back simply due to the loss of talent. But that's where Zaccharie Risacher could come into play. Drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, the Hawks believe he could be a great player for them.

If he meshes well with Young, perhaps the Hawks could have a new 1-2 punch. However, it's unlikely to expect Risacher to make much of a difference during his rookie season.