After a magical 2021 season for the Atlanta Hawks where they found themselves just two wins away from the Eastern Conference Finals, the 2022 season was definitely a let down in the eyes of the fans, the players, and the front office. Hawks General Manager Travis Schlenk joined The Morning Show with John and Hugh on Tuesday and confirmed changes were coming saying “"We made the decision last year to run the same group back and we probably should have tried to upgrade as opposed to stay status quo. The way the season ended we're going to try to upgrade the roster moving forward into next season." If for some reason you still don’t believe some major changes are coming for the Atlanta Hawks, their owner Tony Ressler doubled down and said “I think that if you asked our front office they would say that we thought based on last season’s visit to the Eastern Conference Finals that we could bring back predominantly the same team and get better, and expected to be better I don’t think that worked out the way we thought.” When the general manager and owner of any team say changes are coming that means changes are coming, and most likely major changes are coming. Now that we have that established, the next question is in what area are the Atlanta Hawks going to upgrade? Well, Ressler answered that question too saying “I think it’s getting more folks that can maybe handle the ball and create and more defensive oriented players or both. Let’s just say that’s an obvious answer…” Now interpret that how you would like, but to me reading between the lines a little bit I think Tony Ressler is subtly saying that this team is going to add another star next to Trae that can create his own shot along with some players that can play defense and hit threes. Now, there are a solid amount of players in the NBA who can play defense and hit threes and the list would be way too long for this article, but there are only a handful of stars in this league, and I believe these three stars have a good chance of being in an Atlanta Hawks uniform next season.
1.) Bradley Beal
It seems like this is the third year in a row now that the Atlanta Hawks have been linked to Bradley Beal as a potential landing spot, but that’s because a Bradley Beal and Trae Young backcourt is a match made in heaven. Trae Young, a ball dominant guard, playing with Bradley Beal, an elite scorer and shooter who can play off-ball could be the next splash brothers. On top of that Hawks Head Coach Nate McMillan, General Manager Travis Schlenk, Owner Tony Ressler, and Trae Young himself have all talked about Trae Young playing more off ball next season, and while Beal is an elite off ball player, he’s shown he can handle the rock and get buckets as well. The idea of Trae Young running through screens and getting wide open catch and shoot threes isn’t a bad idea either. Bradley Beal has shown he isn’t afraid to play with another star as well, playing with Russell Westbrook in the 2020-2021 season, and the ten-year NBA veteran being 28 years old and averaging 23.2 points per game last season is a veteran a young Hawks roster could use on the team to be not only that second star next to Trae Young but a veteran leader as well. On top of all those positives Beal is an unrestricted free agent this year with a player option, so if Wizards star opts out, which he has pretty much said he is going to do, the Atlanta Hawks could acquire Beal without having to trade away pieces of their young nucleus. The only push back their might be with this move is that the Florida Gator is recovering from wrist surgery after tearing a ligament in his left wrist in early February, but the right handed shooting Bradley Beal should be just fine, and I highly doubt that injury scares the Hawks away from the three-time all-star that has averaged 30 plus points in two of the last three seasons.
Speaking of veteran leadership Hawks Owner Tony Ressler also talked about adding veterans to this young Atlanta Hawks team when he spoke to the media on Thursday saying “This is really important, particularly for a young team that hasn’t really seen that veteran leadership up close for an extended period of time, and I think some of the great franchises out there that are performing beautifully have mixed quality young players with quality older players.” I think a quality young player in Trae Young and a quality older player in Bradley Beal would be a beautiful combo on the court, but on to option two.
2.) Donovan Mitchell
Unlike Bradley Beal, Donovan Mitchell has just started becoming a name being paired with the Hawks this season. The rift, beef, drama, or whatever you wish to call it between Mitchell and teammate Rudy Gobert is very real. Sean O’ Connell of SirusXM tweeted out on Monday that a source close to him informed him that Gobert is at the “him or me” stage with Donovan Mitchell and will demand that one of them be traded in the next few days, and doesn’t feel like he and Mitchell can win a championship together.
Now, if this is true and the Utah Jazz are smart they will keep Donovan Mitchell and trade Rudy Gobert, which at this point seems like the most likely outcome, but what if the Jazz want shot blocking big-man and not the dynamic two-way guard? If the Utah Jazz choose Rudy Gobert over Donovan Mitchell then Travis Schlenk and the Atlanta Hawks should be the first team on the phone with Utah Jazz General Manager Justin Zanik to see what kind of trade package it would take to get Donovan Mitchell in Atlanta. Much like Bradley Beal, Donovan Mitchell would be the perfect backcourt partner for Trae Young. Mitchell is shooting guard that can create his own shot off the dribble, post up smaller guards down low, shoot the deep ball, defend, and oh yeah if the Hawks were able to land Mitchell they would be getting a 25 year old stud that has been an all-star the past three seasons averaging 24.0, 26.4 and 25.9 points per game. Trae Young and Donovan Mitchell could dominate the Eastern Conference for the next decade plus. Again this is assuming either the Jazz want to keep Rudy Gobert instead of him, or maybe even Donovan Micthell just wanting out of Utah because of the situation with him and Gobert. Another thing to consider is that Mitchell is just in year two of a five-year $163 million dollar deal he signed with the Jazz, so the Hawks would have to trade some valuable players to get Donovan, but if the Hawks have a chance at him they shouldn’t hesitate to be big players in the Donovan Mitchell sweepstakes.
3.) Zach LaVine
This option is definitely the most far fetched of the three considering the Chicago Bulls have just put a very solid team together this season that was missing a key contributor in the playoffs in Lonzo Ball, but Zach LaVine is an unrestricted free agent this season, and a Zach LaVine Troung Young backcourt would be nasty. Just like Beal and Mitchell, LaVine is a shooting guard that can play off the ball or bring the ball up, create his own shot, shoot from deep, or take it to the rim and dunk on you. Zach would also be the second star the Atlanta Hawks need to put next to Trae Young to take the next step and possibly get over the hump, and at 27 years old LaVine is at the peak prime of his career, being named an all-star the last two seasons, but also the veteran leader the Hawks need in their locker room. Again, there is no indication that Zach LaVine isn’t happy in his current situation with the Bulls, but if he’s looking for a nice pay day in free agency the Atlanta Hawks certainly could make Zach think long and hard about going back to Chi-Town as Tony Ressler also said during his media availability on Thursday that he isn’t afraid to go into the luxury tax saying “Going into the tax does not scare us, we do not fear the tax, we do not fear spending money, we fully expect Atlanta to be a truly attractive marketplace for whomever considers playing here, money is not going to be our obstacle.” In other words, if it means getting Zach LaVine in a Hawks uniform next season, Tony Ressler just might hand Zach a blank check or back up the brinks truck.
Even if the Atlanta Hawks don’t land Bradley Beal, Donovan Mitchell, or Zach LaVine that doesn’t negate the fact that big roster moves are coming, and with Nate McMillan, Travis Schlenk, Tony Ressler, and the entire Atlanta Hawks front office all on the same page with Tony ready to spend money I think the Atlanta Hawks will make big splashes this offseason, and this Atlanta Hawks roster will look very different come October 19th when the 2022-2023 NBA season starts.