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The Atlanta Hawks were one of the teams this offseason that made a flurry of moves to improve their team for next season and beyond. It all started with the promotion of Onsi Saleh as the general manager, and from there, he went to work.
He traded for Kristaps Porzingis, drafted Asa Newell and traded for a 2026 first-round pick, then went on to free agency and signed Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard.
They had one of the better offseasons in the league, and they already had a young group that showed a lot of potential last season from Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher. The one person who holds the keys is Trae Young, and he'll be once again tasked to try and lead the team to the playoffs.
With the schedule just released, here are some predictions for the upcoming season.
The Hawks will be fairly healthy
For the past few seasons, the Hawks have not had much luck in the injury department. They started off with a few injuries last season, then got healthy at the right time and started winning games.
It wasn't until January when Jalen Johnson went down with a season-ending injury, and that changed the course of the Hawks' year. Coming into this season, everyone seems to be healthy, including Johnson, and he will be a big part of the team's success, similar to how he was last year.
Porzingis is another player who hasn't had luck on the health side the past few seasons, and just a few months ago, he was battling an illness during the playoffs that didn't allow him to play much. He's now participating in the FIBA Eurobasket and looks healthy, and if the Hawks can keep his minutes in the 20 to 25 minutes range, they could get 60 games or more from him.
Hawks will finish Top 5 in 3-point percentage
One thing the Hawks did a lot last season was shoot 3-pointers, and that's a product of head coach Quin Snyder's system. By the end of the season, everybody in the starting lineup could shoot 3s, including the second unit. That's how it's going to look again this season, but they've added players who can be a real threat from the perimeter.
Porzingis may be one of the best shooting bigs in the league next to Karl-Anthony Towns, and when he gets hot, he can be hard to stop. The Hawks then went out and signed Kennard, who shot 43% from the perimeter last season and has the highest 3-point percentage among all active players in the league, which is 43.8%.
Onyeka Okongwu has steadily improved his shooting, and other players on the team have as well. There is a good chance that at the end of the season, they're at the top of the league in attempts and percentage.
Jalen Johnson will be an All-Star
Since Young has been on the Hawks, he's been the only player to represent the team in the All-Star Game. There's a good chance that streak ends this season as Johnson could finish what he started before getting injured last year.
Johnson was averaging 18.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game before injuring his shoulder, and it wasn't many players with those numbers at his position.
Johnson should only get better come this upcoming season, and if he can stay healthy, he can be one of the top forwards in the Eastern Conference.
Trae Young's assist average will rise again
This is the most talented group that Young has been surrounded by in his time with the Hawks, and all that means is that there shouldn't be a lot of pressure on him to score. Young has always been a playmaker first, and it shows in his numbers, as he's increased his assist average every year he's been in the league.
There shouldn't be a reason that stops this season, so after averaging a league-high 11.6 assists last season, he could easily reach 12 this season. With that, it wouldn't be a surprise if he went home with the assists leader trophy for the second straight year.
The Hawks will be a Top 4 seed
Not only did the Hawks add the talent they needed to improve for the upcoming season, but if you look at the landscape of the Eastern Conference, there are a lot of question marks.
With Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton out for the season, the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers can take a dip in the standings. The Milwaukee Bucks are in question. Teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks will still be good. Then you have teams like the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic, who are young teams but still on the rise.
The Hawks can fit into that circle, and when they're at their best, they could be one of the top teams in the conference. Barring no major injuries, this is my record prediction for the Hawks this season:
