The Atlanta Hawks had one shot to change their trajectory: the NBA Draft Lottery on May 12th.
Hawks brass knew this would be the last time in a while that it could have control over its future, largely because of a June 2022 trade that sent San Antonio’s Dejounte Murray to the Hawks for a slew of picks, including Atlanta’s 2025 first. -round selection.
So when the ping pong balls landed in the Hawks’ favor earlier this spring and landed them the top overall pick in 2024, it represented both a start and a temporary goodbye to choosing their own destiny.
Zaccharie Risacher was the pick, and only time will tell if that was the right call. Granted, the 2024 draft class has never been rated that high, but if Risacher pans out as a 10-year rotation player, that could actually be a good thing.
But the finality of the draft meant something else. Something potentially liberating and exciting.
With Atlanta knowing it had no control over its 2025 pick, the Hawks entered the 2024-25 season with no incentive to lose, regardless of how good Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey’s draft is. The Hawks were free to focus entirely on winning. Now the front office isn’t going to make panic deadline deals to make the team worse in a hunt for better offseason lottery odds.
Instead, the Hawks can go to work and attempt a legitimate push to the playoffs and a possible return to the Eastern Conference finals, which they did in 2021.
The streamlined thinking between front office, coaching staff and players could also be what the doctor ordered for the relationship between the organization and All-Star Trae Young. Although there was never any real animosity between the two parties, Young found his name in trade rumors for about three seasons. However you slice it, that’s no way to strengthen the bond between player and franchise.
Having a full season to put aside the noise and focus on the actual games should give both sides a better idea of whether they want the partnership to continue. So far there is no indication that this will not be the case.
Helping that relationship is the development of Jalen Johnson.
Questions persist about whether Young can be the best player on a contending team. Atlanta’s decision to play a heliocentric style of ball, with Young as the beneficiary, did not prove particularly effective.
With Johnson now making the actual jump from starter to star — at least for now — the general questions about Young could fade as Johnson could become the co-star the organization has always needed.
Johnson, a 6-foot-9 ball-handling, do-it-all forward, is currently averaging 18.9 points, 10.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. His percentages are all down from last year, so expect his scoring production to increase as the season progresses.
Johnson’s ability to both handle the ball and set screens is what separates him from Young’s last big man co-star, John Collins. While Collins was always an outstanding play-finisher who exhibited elite scoring efficiency, he couldn’t do much on his own, and the offense would often die if the ball landed in his hands away from the rim.
With Johnson, Young and his teammates can now count on constant creation. The play doesn’t stop nor does the offensive flow diminish when the Duke product finds himself with the ball in his hands and a shot clock that’s about to run out.
With the addition of the 6-10 Risacher, the Hawks installed another long forward into the starting lineup that helped make up for some of the size Young gives up defensively. But more importantly, it gives Young another big goal.
On Wednesday, Risacher exploded for a career-high 33 points and seven rebounds in a close win against the New York Knicks. Johnson added 23 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists.
That kind of win, which included Young and Dyson Daniels combining to shoot 10-of-37 from the field and Bogdan Bogdanović sidelined, simply wouldn’t have been feasible last season, especially against a quality opponent.
If the Hawks can suddenly win games in which Young doesn’t need to be the center of attention, that changes their future, and dramatically so.
This doesn’t mean the Hawks are certain to return to Eastern Conference prominence. It also doesn’t mean their season this year will even have a strong finish. There are a lot of moving parts still not in place, and their constantly updated injury report isn’t doing them any favors.
But despite everything, they do something else. They change their recipe.
Yes, a lot needs to be done before the Hawks are legitimate contenders. And maybe they make the call that pivoting Young is ultimately the right way to go.
But that won’t happen until they give this team a real chance. And for that opportunity to be taken seriously, players have to buy in. So far, they have. Young seems almost relieved that his offensive load has lessened, just as Johnson seems almost eager to take on greater responsibility.
If that dynamic continues, the Falcons could lay the foundation for a very interesting future.
