The Atlanta Hawks have an important offseason ahead of them.
Falling to the Boston Celtics in the First Round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs, just a year after an extremely disappointing showing in the 2022 NBA Playoffs that saw them lose to the Miami Heat in the First Round, many are wondering if the Hawks have the right cast. Especially with Quin Snyder replacing Nate McMillan to become the third head coach of the Trae Young Era and Young's exciting tenure with the Hawks having an uncertain future.
Nonetheless, the first and easiest order of business should be deciding who to re-sign — or who to offer a contract extension to — during the 2023 free agency period.
4 best players Hawks must re-sign in 2023 NBA free agency
Dejounte Murray
Although Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray isn't going to reach free agency until the 2024 offseason, the Hawks would be wise to re-sign Murray to a contract extension prior to that point.
Despite questions about his fit with the Hawks, when you dig in, those questions are more about his fit beside Trae Young in the backcourt. However, the questions about whether or not Murray and Young can function together as a high-level backcourt isn't about what they can accomplish in terms of productivity but if their skillsets truly mesh when Young is such a ball-dominant player and Murray is at his best with the ball in his hands rather than in an off-ball role.
A seemingly simple solution would be to have Murray operate as the primary lead guard and move Young off-ball to improve the flow of the offense and keep the entire team involved. When the bench unit starts to come in, the Hawks stagger Murray and Young, letting the latter have the free reign that he has grown accustomed to in Atlanta.
There are ways to make the tandem work. It just has to require maturity on the part of the players and accountability on the part of the coaching staff.
That said, Murray averaged 20.5 points, 6.1 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in his first season with the Hawks. He averaged 23.0 points, 6.8 assists, and 2.0 steals per game in his first postseason run with them.
In terms of two-way impact, Murray is arguably the best player on the team. So, re-sign him and worry about the rest later.
Saddiq Bey
While there have been plenty of rumblings about Trae Young's future in Atlanta as of late, the bigger question really is whether or not John Collins will return after the offseason.
Though Collins has an affable personality and exudes positive energy on a constant basis, his frustrations were apparent this season as he continues to slide down the rungs of their pecking order. Since the 2018-29 season, Collins has seen his field goal attempts per game go down every year, culminating in him averaging just 10.0 attempts per game in 2022-23 (both in the regular season and postseason).
True, Collins and Young have developed great on-court chemistry over the years.
However, Collins hasn't been able to escape questions about his defense and has devolved as a 3-point threat while fielding questions about trade rumors headlined by his name year-after-year.
Not to say that the proverbial writing is on the wall but its close.
With that said, the Hawks would be wise to re-sign forward Saddiq Bey, who has a team option on his contract for the 2023-24 season because he's able to sign a rookie scale contract extension.
Bey has the potential to hang up plenty of points on the scoreboard. The former 19th overall pick averaged 11.6 points and 0.8 steals in 25.2 minutes per game for the Hawks last season, shooting 47.0 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from 3. Though it's still fair to wonder whether he should start or be a spark plug off the bench, there is no question that he can help the Hawks.
Onyeka Okongwu
Onyeka Okongwu also has a team option on his contract for the 2023-24 season and should receive a rookie scale contract extension this offseason.
Okongwu could be considered a change-of-pace center of sorts for the Atlanta Hawks, as he doesn't have the traditional size of a big man like Clint Capela but he has plus-mobility, allowing the Hawks to be more comfortable switching defensively.
Okongwu is also quite productive when he does play, averaging 9.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 23.1 minutes per game in the 2022-23 regular season. In the postseason, Okongwu arguably had the best defensive impact among frontcourt players, finishing the series with 6.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 21.8 minutes per game.
Physical and capable of making shots outside of the paint, there's too much to like about the 22-year-old to not want to keep him in Atlanta long-term. The only question is — similar to the case with Trae Young and Dejounte Murray — is if he and Clint Capela can continue to accept smaller roles than they may have with another team.
Aaron Holiday
The only player set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason that's on this list, veteran guard Aaron Holiday played a bit role for the Atlanta Hawks this season but moving forward, he could have a legitimate role.
A point guard probably more suited to the triangle offense that dominated in the 1990s and 2000s, Holiday is a defensive-minded backcourt player that's highly efficient beyond the arc. Selected with the 23rd overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft out of UCLA, Holiday is on his fourth team after spending his first three seasons with the Indiana Pacers.
For the Hawks moving forward, and especially if they add a wing or frontcourt player that's a strong facilitator, Holiday could be an interesting off-ball weapon. A player that can also give Trae Young at least 10 minutes of rest per night, important for a high-usage playmaker putting plenty of miles on his body.
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