The Atlanta Hawks failed to follow up their Eastern Conference Finals berth from the previous season with anything resembling consistency. They will argue that an ill-placed referee’s foot cost them a Finals berth and they may not be wrong.
Trae Young followed his playoff brilliance with an All-NBA season which certainly helped his pay packet. However, the problem for the Hawks was that they did not have any length of time where they had their players on the court together. They had injury and illness issues that derailed their momentum time and again.
The Hawks made a solitary trade where they sent Cam Reddish and the injured Solomon Hill to the New York Knicks for Kevin Knox. It was a case of addition by subtraction and the Hawks played better basketball without Reddish in the lineup.
They ended up making the playoffs by way of the Play-In Tournament, but the Miami Heat made short work of them.
5 roster moves the Atlanta Hawks need to make this offseason: 1. Pick up De’Andre Hunter’s team option and extend him
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.
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.