The Hawks aimed to get bigger and better on defense this offseason and they’re achieving that so far

The Hawks decided to part ways with Dejounte Murray and Trae Young from their backline today by trading Murray to New Orleans for Larry Nance, Dyson Daniels, and two first-round picks. There was a lot of speculation about who the Hawks were going to move, but they made that decision today. Murray is going to New Orleans and it looks like the Hawks are going to continue to build the team around Trae Young.

I’ve said it before, but the Hawks have done a poor job of building a competent roster around Young. Young’s biggest weakness is obviously his defense and size, which can make it difficult to build a winning team around him, but it’s not impossible.

In the summer of 2022, Atlanta traded for Spurs All-Star guard Dejounte Murray, sending a ton of future draft capital. Murray was supposed to work alongside Young and improve the Hawks’ perimeter defense, as well as give Atlanta another playmaking player.

It’s safe to say that hasn’t been the case since Murray arrived in Atlanta. Murray hasn’t been a bad player for the Hawks, but he hasn’t been the defensive stalwart they hoped he would be when they traded him. He’s been a good player in the locker room and a good leader for the franchise, but the Hawks are headed in a different direction, as this trade shows.

It was becoming more and more obvious that the Hawks roster was not built to win around Trae Young and that they were going to have to make adjustments. Atlanta had a goal this offseason to improve on defense, get more size and have better defenders on offense and so far they are succeeding.

While this move doesn’t bring back a big name from Atlético, I think there are some useful pieces that will help them get closer to their goal. The best piece of New Orleans’ return, in my opinion, was Daniles, who is a young player but has the kind of size and athleticism Atlanta was looking for to help their defense.

Our own Rohan Raman explained Daniel’s potential fit with the Hawks:

“I’m very excited about what Dyson Daniels can bring to this roster. He’s a 6’7 sophomore guard with a 6’10 wingspan, which he uses exceptionally well as a defender. He was 13th among all NBA defenders in steals, recording 1.4 per game, and can guard on the perimeter. I’m especially pleased with his form next to Young, as Young’s improvements in his defensive efforts often go unnoticed. due to his physical limitations Now Young has a backcourt partner who can cover him for some of these defensive breakdowns. He also processes the game quickly and makes nice passes. Daniels needs to improve his shooting. at 31% from beyond the arc on limited volume), but he’s young and can easily become a better one. I’d bet he’ll have an easier time growing in Atlanta since Young will demand so much defensive attention, forcing. the shooters to move away from Daniels.

Daniels isn’t the only player the Hawks have added so far this offseason that helps them achieve those goals. The Hawks awarded Zacharie Risacher the No. 1 pick in this week’s NBA draft and on draft night, Hawks general manager Landry Fields talked about his defense and shooting as the main reasons why the Hawks chose him:

“Well, you start with what you see is he’s 6’2” and he’s got the ability to play both sides of the ball, he’s got the ability to defend, he’s a versatile defender, a very good shooter and a high IQ player. You know, the level of development he’s had so far is fantastic, he’s only 19, he’s going to be 19 all next year and I’ve always said all the qualities that are important to us in the past, about those types of players and the ones that we want in the building ultimately and he’s got a lot of them.”

Risacher is a 6’8, 204 LBS winger who fills a big need for Atlanta. He has two-way versatility and has performed well in his league playoffs since the lottery. He is a plug-and-play type forward who would suit the Hawks as a starting 2 or 3.

Does this mean the Hawks are done signing players? No, they’re not. No one would be surprised if they got rid of Clint Capela and De’Andre Hunter. If they got rid of Capela, it would open the door for Onyeka Okongwu to start at center and Nance could back him up. Daniels could either start next to Young or come off the bench. We’ll have to wait and see if Risacher makes the starting lineup right away.

Atlanta needs to reshape their roster around Young and do a better job of putting the right talent around him to maximize the team. I think they’re headed in the right direction so far, but there’s still work to be done.