While the Atlanta Hawks have certainly done things to shake up the roster this summer, one notable NBA analyst recently took the franchise to task for another slew of moves in a long list of “incompetent” decisions over the last few years.
Three years ago, the Hawks seemed like a franchise on a major upswing. They had a good veteran coach in Nate McMillan, a budding young star in Trae Young, and an evolving roster that shocked the league and reached the Eastern Conference Finals. However, it has been a downward spiral ever since.
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They were bounced in the opening round of the playoffs the next two years, and they couldn’t even make it out of the NBA Play-In Tournament in the spring. They were linked to trade speculation surrounding their two best players, Dejounte Murray and Trae Young, and have a front office that has been messy during a recent regime change.
However, change has come this summer via a blockbuster trade that sent Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans, and they made talented French prospect Zaccharie Risacher the top overall pick in June’s draft. However, longtime The Ringer NBA Kevin O’Conner was not impressed with the team’s offseason moves and roasted the franchise in a new column on major observations from the summer so far.
Atlanta Hawks being held hostage by San Antonio Spurs in trade talks?
“What Atlanta got back for point guard Dejounte Murray is fair. Firsts in 2025 and 2027, plus Larry Nance Jr., Dyson Daniels, and E.J. Liddell. But it doesn’t come close to the three valuable firsts and one swap the Hawks originally gave up to get Murray from San Antonio,” he wrote. “The Hawks’ current roster will barely compete for the playoffs in the East, and they don’t own the rights to any of their firsts until 2028.
“If the Spurs called today offering those picks back for Trae Young, the Hawks would happily say yes. But San Antonio is holding them hostage, opting to sign CP3 as a placeholder rather than make a trade for a point guard like Trae. As good as Young is, San Antonio would benefit a lot more from being patient.
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“The Hawks have looked nothing but incompetent in recent years. They’d better hope that Zaccharie Risacher works out, or it’ll get ugly fast.”
The Atlanta Hawks are coming off a 36-win season in 2023-24. It is their lowest win total since 2019-20. Which was the year prior to their surprise trip to the East Finals. ATL fans will be hoping for similar surprises next season.
