In 2024, the Atlanta Hawks will have a significant offseason.
Although the Hawks are currently in the midst of a dismal and injury-plagued season, the majority of Hawks supporters and league observers are more interested in what might await Atlanta in the offseason. Before the NBA trade deadline, the Hawks were the team that people were talking about the most, but they made the decision to remain in place and make no trades.
What then could the Hawks do in the offseason?According to Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report, the Hawks must ensure that guard Trae Young will be the team’s main player going forward:
“With Trae Young sidelined for the longest period of his career, the Atlanta Hawks have an opportunity to assess their roster and perhaps pose some difficult questions.
Young has played in three All-Star Games, captained an unlikely conference championship run, and twice led the league in assists overall. His skills as a pick-and-roll ball handler are unquestionable, and this season he has even become a more potent off-ball threat after accomplishing almost nothing for the majority of his career after giving up the rock.
Overall, Young’s six years in office produced unsatisfactory outcomes. Atlanta has experimented with different co-stars beside him, changed coaches a few times, and even reorganized the front office. In spite of everything, the Hawks appear to be farther away than ever from breaking into the East’s elite teams.
As Young recovers from surgery on his left pinky, Atlanta should consider the possibility of living without him throughout the coming weeks.
With one exception, the Hawks used every card in their deck to try and establish themselves as a contender. Atlanta might be open to parting ways with Young, adding flexibility, and focusing on Dejounte Murray and Jalen Johnson if things pan out in the final stretch.”
This summer, there has been a lot of discussion on Young’s situation, but the majority of it has come from rival executives and others who are not from Atlanta. Young has not requested a trade, and it doesn’t appear that the Hawks should or would want to deal Young.
Taylor Rooks recently conducted an interview with Young during which he was questioned about the rumors surrounding his trade status:
“Hopefully? As I imagined when I was drafted here. I had the option to travel to Kentucky or Kansas, but I decided to take a different route and head to Oklahoma in an attempt to win a title. My goal was to visit there and triumph in my hometown. Make a difference.
In Atlanta, they had never taken home a championship.
It felt like a match made in heaven when I was recruited there. Like, this is what I’d like to accomplish. Here, I can overcome the odds as well.
My entire vision was to be here forever; it was as if winning here was my ultimate objective. Win titles, invite people to join me here, and construct this, this dynasty, this championship. Who knows, though? It’s the sixth year, so who knows? Like, that’s what I want.”
Then, Rooks questioned Young to make it clear that he wants to be in Atlanta and that these trade rumors are not originating from him:
Yes, you have heard directly from the source that I want to win, but you have also heard that. As if all I want is to win. That’s in Atlanta, then. That’s my ideal situation and where I see myself in the future. However, that’s all there is to it.”