The Atlanta Hawks have ushered in quite the youth movement in recent years. It appears former Hawks star Joe Johnson is pleased with what he is seeing from his former team.

Atlanta has certainly undergone their fair share of struggles as of late. According to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Johnson feels they are finally headed in the right direction:

“I think they have a great young team that I think is going to take another year or two before they are really contending. But I look forward to seeing their growth.”

There is certainly plenty of truth to Johnson's comments. The team is a far cry from the Eastern Conference contender he had been a part of for so many years in Atlanta. Rather than competing for a championship, the Hawks are still focusing on developing their young core for years to come.

They have done a solid job of shoring up talent through the NBA Draft in recent years. It began last offseason when the Hawks acquired point guard Trae Young and a first-round pick. Atlanta undoubtedly used this year's draft to build around Young and came away with the additions of forwards De'Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish along with big man Bruno Fernando.

It is safe to assume that the Hawks will continue to follow the blueprint of developing the supporting cast around Young moving forward. Johnson's comments indicate that he is happy to see a worthy successor take up the mantle as the cornerstone of the franchise.