ESPN Analyst Suggests Atlanta Hawks Should Take This Bold Approach This Offseason

With the Boston Celtics winning their 18th NBA championship, the NBA offseason has officially begun for every team in the league, but for most teams, it has been going on for quite a while. One such team is the Atlanta Hawks, who were eliminated in the NBA Play-In tournament by the Chicago Bulls. The Hawks then shockingly won the Draft Lottery, giving them the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, but they still have a lot of questions to answer. What’s going on with the Trae Young/Dejounte Murray backcourt? Do the Hawks trade other veteran players such as Bogdan Bogdanovic, Clint Capela and De’Andre Hunter? General manager Landry Fields has a lot of work to do this offseason, starting next Wednesday.

So what should the Atlanta Hawks do this offseason? In a new article for ESPN, NBA analyst Chris Herring says the Hawks should look to move Young (potentially to the Lakers) and have a youth movement centered around Dejounte Murray and the new No. 1 pick:

“The average Hawks need to make a significant move in one direction. The one they should go: embrace a youth movement and build around whoever they choose with the No. 1 pick in the draft, while moving away of Trae Young, 25, who has served as the face of the franchise since 2018. Atlanta could once again look to sign the Lakers, who are expected to part ways with picks, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and one of Gabe Vincent or Jarred Vanderbilt to make the deal work.

The No. 1 pick in this draft is nothing like Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick in last year’s class. But moving Young away and handing the reins to Dejounte Murray and whoever the Hawks take with the top pick would allow them to adopt a more defensive identity and avoid the challenges of building a defense around Young’s shortcomings. that side.

So I would not agree with this approach for several reasons. Young is not only a better player than Murray, he is also younger. Saying the Hawks should embrace a youth movement by trading Young doesn’t make a lot of sense. Trae Young isn’t a perfect player and has defensive deficiencies, but Atlanta’s ceiling is higher with him running the show. Additionally, while there will be impact players in this draft, this one is also perceived as a weak draft, so saying Atlanta should build around the No. 1 pick and Murray doesn’t have much of meaning. Although Murray is a very good player, the Hawks’ ceiling is limited with him as their best player. Atlanta’s hope in this scenario would be to hope that Jalen Johnson or the No. 1 pick takes a big step forward and becomes a star player. With Murray at the helm, it feels like the Hawks’ ceiling could be a playmaking team, which is no different than what they already are. Atlanta also can’t embark on a complete rebuild because the Spurs own their draft picks for the next three years. Unless the Spurs can return their picks to the Hawks, it makes no sense to embark on a complete rebuild.

The other thing is the Lakers deal.

I still think Young will stay in Atlanta when all is said and done this summer. It appears Atlanta is headed toward breaking up its backcourt consisting of Young and Dejounte Murray, but that could mean Murray is the one who gets traded. Atlanta was shopping Murray this season, including against the Lakers. There have been numerous reports from “Rival Executives” about the possibility of the Hawks trading Trae Young, but nothing from Young or the Hawks themselves.

If Atlanta makes Young available, there will be more teams than the Lakers attempting to trade for Young. I think other teams can also do a lot more for Young than the Lakers.

When considering a potential trade, it’s hard to get excited if you’re the Hawks about what the Lakers could offer outside of some draft picks. Austin Reaves is an intriguing player, but shouldn’t be the centerpiece of a deal for a player of Trae Young’s caliber. I don’t think this is the kind of trade the Hawks should make. The picks are too far in the future and with Young on the Lakers, it at least gives them a high floor where they won’t be among the worst teams in the league, making those picks less valuable. Reaves and Hachimura would just be role players alongside Murray and whoever the Hawks select at No. 1.

On ESPN’s Get Up the night after the Lakers’ playoff loss, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst discussed Young as a trade target for the Lakers this offseason.

“There are opportunities for them, not necessarily in free agency, but via trade. They will have up to three first-round picks that they can trade, starting on draft night, including the first-round pick of this year if they want and they have some pieces on their roster that they can use in trade Now which player would it be Well we will have to see what happens with the players. stars at the end of the season in the league This is Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks The Hawks could look to split their backcourt of Young and Dejounte Murray. During this season Trae is the type of player that will be of interest to several teams. If the Hawks decide to make a move, I’m not sure he solves a lot of the Lakers’ problems, perimeter defense was a problem for the. Lakers this season and in this series, that’s something Trae is not going to do. “

What the Hawks will do is still up in the air, but I don’t agree with this kind of approach to their offseason. The Hawks need to surround Young with better talent and build a better team, something they have failed at thus far.