5 roster moves the Atlanta Hawks need to make the offseason

New York</a> Knicks for Kevin Knox. It was a case of addition by subtraction and the Hawks played better basketball without Reddish in the lineup.</p> <p>They ended up making the playoffs by way of the Play-In Tournament, but the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/06/12/moves-atlanta-hawks-offseason/2/"https://hoopshabit.com/eastern-conference/miami-heat/">Miami Heat made short work of them.</p> <h2>5 roster moves the Atlanta Hawks need to make this offseason: 1. Pick up De’Andre Hunter’s team option and extend him</h2> <p>After three injury-interrupted seasons, De’Andre Hunter bought it all together at the end of last season. Hunter became a bona fide option to take some of the scoring pressure off Young. This is evidenced by his 35-point explosion in the fifth game of their first-round loss to the Miami Heat. It is safe to say the big stage does not scare Hunter.</p> <p>Hunter is due $9.8 million next season, and if he continues to improve the way he has so far over his career, he will be worth every bit of that. His extension should be worth a little more than Kevin Huerter’s from last season, as Hunter’s ceiling is higher. He is a piece that the Hawks can continue building around.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/06/12/moves-atlanta-hawks-offseason/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Move #2 </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_445805" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/06/12/moves-atlanta-hawks-offseason/2/"http://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/imagn-images/2018/08/18157965.jpeg">Boston Celtics for Tristan Thompson. They then flipped Thompson to the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/06/12/moves-atlanta-hawks-offseason/2/"https://hoopshabit.com/western-conference/sacramento-kings/">Sacramento Kings for Delon Wright in a three-team trade which was a clear win for them.</p> <p>Unfortunately, it took a little while for this to be the case, as Wright struggled to get playing time at the start of the season. When Lou Williams was in the rotation, Wright sat. When Wright finally cracked the rotations, thanks to all the injuries the Hawks suffered last season at the wing position, he used his defense to cement his place in the rotation.</p> <p>Wright sacrificed his own game for the good of the rest of the team. He let others score and simply put pressure on the opposition, either on the ball or in passing lanes. When he truly came into his own for this team was after Cam Reddish was traded, the second unit was his to run, and he knew exactly what his role was.</p> <p>Despite expressing a desire to stay with the franchise, Wright is aware that the NBA is a business and will entertain offers from other teams. The Hawks will need to make some cap space via trade if they are going to keep Wright, and this would be a sensible offseason move.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/06/12/moves-atlanta-hawks-offseason/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Move #4 </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_445807" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/06/12/moves-atlanta-hawks-offseason/2/"http://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/imagn-images/2018/08/18057743.jpeg">Philadelphia 76ers, before an ankle injury against the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/06/12/moves-atlanta-hawks-offseason/2/"https://hoopshabit.com/eastern-conference/milwaukee-bucks/">Milwaukee Bucks cruelly ended the Hawks&#8217; playoff run.</p> <p>Still, an Eastern Conference Finals exit in your first-ever playoffs, all while losing to the eventual champion, is a pretty impressive effort. Especially since Young injured himself in a freak occurrence by stepping on an official&#8217;s foot. Had he remained on the floor, fully healthy, there is no telling how far the Hawks could have gone last year.</p> <p>This result led the franchise to focus on talent retention last offseason, and they slipped down the standings as a result. It became increasingly evident in their first-round playoff matchup against the Miami Heat this season that they needed a second star, as the Heat defense is perfectly set up to stop Young. It would certainly ease the pressure on the talented point guard if they had a second star.</p> <p>There have been rumors that the Hawks are looking at players like Donovan Mitchell, Jerami Grant, Ben Simmons, and even Rudy Gobert. One thing is for sure &#8211; the Hawks need a second scorer that the opposition defense respects to ensure Young has more opportunity to initiate the offense for himself and his teammates with less pressure on him.</p> <div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="5 roster moves the Bulls need to make this offseason" data-url="https://hoopshabit.com/2022/06/11/moves-chicago-bulls-offseason/" data-call-to-action="Next" > <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/06/12/moves-atlanta-hawks-offseason/2/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/06/11/moves-chicago-bulls-offseason/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span>&nbsp;5 roster moves the Bulls need to make this offseason </a> </div> </div><!—pageview_candidate—>">