What is going on with the Atlanta Hawks this NBA season?
Just about 7 months ago, this team was soaring high after knocking off the 1-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, reaching their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2015, but now the Hawks are just 17-22 on the season and are 12th in the East.
At times, it looks like Atlanta is starting to put things together, but then they begin to break down and falter again, so what is next for this team? Trae Young will once again be an All-Star, but his injury-riddled supporting cast has been the problem.
John Collins’ future seems up-in-the-air, even though he just signed a five-year, $125M deal in the offseason, but even more so are the futures of Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari, who are making a combined $38.4M this season.
Neither veteran has really lived up to the value the Hawks are paying them and with really no room to manage financially, the Hawks could realistically look to move either one or both of Bogdanovic and Gallinari.
Offense has not been the problem for Atlanta this season, as they rank second in the league in offensive rating, but the Hawks are just 28th in the league defensively. Finding ways to get better on defense is a priority this season, but they also cannot afford to lose production on offense.
Many teams across the NBA are going to be targeting Detroit Pistons’ forward Jerami Grant at the trade deadline and the Atlanta Hawks are the latest team to have rumored interest.