The times when the <a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/01/omer-faruk-yurtseven-made-a-double-double-in-the-nba-miami-heat-won/" title="Ömer Faruk Yurtseven made a 'double-double' in the NBA, Miami Heat won”>Atlanta Hawks could be considered to have dark horse status in the NBA or at least the Eastern Conference are over for the time being. Or maybe not?
NBA Season Preview #1 – Atlanta Hawks – Ice Cold or Ice Trae? Questions about questions.
There was a time when you really had to have some respect for the Hawks’ depth. Whether offensively or defensively, questions were asked that, as opponents of this team, had to be answered first. The question of whether the backcourt duo Trae Young and Dejounte Murray can work together has now been answered by the Atlanta front office in the offseason… and negative. Whether this attempt was worth the picks that were ultimately lost in both trades involving Murray is a question for the future.
The current question of whether Trae Young can return to his best playoff performances as “Ice Trae” is a much more interesting question. The play-in appearance against the Bulls certainly leaves room for doubt. Yes, Young’s perimeter shooting got a little better last season, but the court control, at least in this crucial game, was far away from what Young could be credited with or, as critics, had to do in the past.
The option of going the other way and retooling around Murray by throwing the abundant potential trade pieces plus Young onto the market was rejected. Or maybe not even considered. Maybe there are simply no high offers for an undersized point guard without defense and a “star self-image”.
Dejounte Murray in Atlanta was certainly a far cry from the sometimes interstellar performances in San Antonio, but one can still justifiably question whether the defensively stronger, far more serious point guard wouldn’t also have a route for the Georgia franchise can be.
One step forward. Two steps back. Three steps forward.
In its relatively small market, Atlanta quickly suffers from dwindling indoor visitor numbers and finds itself in a difficult environment against other sports and franchises in the city. Now this is nothing unusual and is also commonplace in other cities. But alone and also in this decision you can recognize a common thread that is typical of Atlanta.
The right conclusions are drawn in the analysis. People are thinking and going in the right direction. But then from a point onwards the determination to consistently follow this path to the end is simply missing. Trading John Collins was the right idea. But implemented too late. Breaking up the Young and Murray duo was the right idea. But maybe with the wrong choice in the junction.
Of course, you can’t apply that to everything and we don’t play NBA 2K with forced trades in the NBA. The market in the real NBA is fluid, dominated by short-term needs and always in an area of tension between sporting and economic goals.
If you want to give up John Collins, it’s easy to look back and question whether the price in a previous deal could have been much higher and better served the rest of the core around Young. Certainly hopes in the existing core of the roster always played a role in why, in retrospect, they acted too hesitantly here and there.
Hesitation or, better put, deliberation, which was missing in the now quite expensive Murray adventure that was undertaken with full speed. Perhaps the resources that were ultimately burned would have been better spent somewhere else? Perhaps the franchise’s decision to rely on the “local” star Young, who has developed a certain fan base in Atlanta, may be economically understandable. Especially in the Atlanta market. But here too, as with so many things about the Hawks, you can read into it more questions than answers.
The Wings, perhaps the most important roster position in the modern NBA at the moment, have had a very clever personnel policy in Atlanta for some time now. Bogdanovich, Hunter, Bey, Jalen Johnson and even Collins in parts of his game. Everything was pretty much in place and there was a clear direction. So why does it never really fit? Apart from stagnating developments such as Hunter or Bey?
Would you rather have a sparrow in your hand than an eagle on the roof?
A team’s point guard must be much more than a threat from the perimeter. A good pick and roll handler. Optionally a good defender. The question of all questions is not whether Trae Young can be as ice-cold a killer in the halfcourt game as he has often proven to be to the astonishment of many critics. Then where it matters. In the playoffs.
But whether he can bring out the team’s other strengths, which he basically finds throughout. Whether he not only “wants” to be a “star” but, above all, CAN be a leader. In the past, his court control had at least made it credible that he could transfer this to the rest of the team and enable them to play their part. Even if that means not being option 1. Because being Option 1 of a real contender simply seems a bit too big of a role for Young.
It’s almost ironic that a franchise that bears the name HAWKS follows the motto “it’s better to have a sparrow in your hand than…” an eagle on the roof. Especially when the going gets tough.
More questions than answers? No options?
Does this mean that Atlanta is completely out of anything for the immediate future? Of course not. In sport, it also has to be of value (for fans. For the media.) if you don’t achieve the big hit but are a good, serious and determined successful team on a smaller level. But first you have to find your way back to that part of the successful team. And that raises a lot of new questions.
How will the young talent develop in the team around Jalen Johnson, Okongwu and Risacher? How do vets like Bogdanovich, Hunter and Capela fit into this issue? Will everyone stay healthy over a long period of time and especially during the crucial phases of the season? Are Vets getting impatient and wanting a chance at a title elsewhere? What do Contenders offer for the abundance of interesting players and contracts? Does the Atlanta front office have any ideas about what to do with these resources? Isn’t it perhaps an idea to let everyone mature a bit?
We are talking here about some extremely young people and athletes. Logically, they are not finished athletes or people. Is the baton being broken too quickly about proven players like Capela, who is limited in some areas but is almost always available, mostly reliable and has always routinely filled his role in the playoffs and sometimes even exceeded it? Even if you see Okongwu as a legitimate successor and you can certainly find arguments in the Caphold management logic to trade Capela.
All of these questions hit a common thread in Atlanta’s front office, which is always good enough to develop such a wealth of options in the first place. But it’s always a good thing to not be quite brave enough, or simply due to bad luck, to get into situations where you make “too little” of everything. Or is even mundanely aware that although it may not be enough for the big hit, it won’t be enough with Young as the point guard. But at the end of the day you still want to offer a good end product. In full halls.
Trae Young’s biggest question will be:
Whether he not only “wants” to be a “star” but, above all, CAN be a leader. In a team that is actually not that poorly structured.
So there are a lot of questions to be answered in Atlanta and in a season where they certainly won’t be completely behind, they are one of the more exciting teams for us from the outside. But also just to see what the answers to numerous questions will look like.
forecast
Good End:
Play In. Maximum round 1, but then the end in the strong east.
Bad End:
Lottery. Strange trades. An angry, overestimating Trae Young becomes impatient. Risacher’s development is made more difficult in this complex environment.
