Ahead of the 2023-24 NBA season, DK Network is taking an in-depth look at all 30 teams. We’re going over all the big moves from the offseason, predicting the starting lineup, providing a fantasy basketball perspective, looking at relevant odds and assessing season expectations for each franchise. Here’s a look at the Atlanta Hawks.
Atlanta Hawks 2023-24 Outlook
Key additions: Patty Mills, Kobe Bufkin
Mills is a good veteran presence who can stretch the floor, while Bufkin is a promising rookie guard. The issue will be the rotation, as Atlanta is loaded in the backcourt. It’s tough to see either player taking on a big role in the rotation barring an injury.
Key departures: John Collins
The Hawks were finally able to get rid of Collins and open up their interior rotation. Collins was apparently the odd man out as the team looked to get more positionally diverse, and the Hawks likely wouldn’t have found a trade for Clint Capela. We’ll see how his production gets made up but Atlanta has been planning for this for some time.
Projected starting lineup
Trae Young and Dejounte Murray are locks. Capela probably gets the nod over Onyeka Okongwu to begin the season. De’Andre Hunter will be in. The final spot will be between Saddiq Bey and Bogdan Bogdanovic, with the former having the edge at this moment.
Fantasy basketball player to watch: Trae Young
The star point guard was wildly inefficient from the floor last year. As his assist numbers remained steady, his scoring inefficiency often took the team out of games. The Hawks feel the pressure with Young, who has blown up at times and could potentially want out. The trade for Dejounte Murray was supposed to appease Young, but the duo have not been able to figure things out yet. The first part of that is Young getting back to his 2021-22 self. If he does that, he’ll be a top-10 fantasy player.
Notable odds (via DraftKings Sportsbook)
Win total: 42.5
To make playoffs: Yes -200, No +160
To win East: +2500
To win NBA title: +7500
Season expectations
The Hawks were able to hire Quin Snyder late last season, and there’s a belief he can be the coach to unlock this group. Atlanta has enough in the cupboard internally to believe there can be growth from this squad even if the free agent acquisitions don’t happen. Snyder went to the playoffs six straight times with the Jazz, winning three playoff series and capturing the No. 1 seed in the 2020-21 season.
The goal is to make the playoffs and win a playoff series, although the second part of that equation might not be realistic depending on the opposition. The underlying secondary expectation is for Snyder to make the Young-Murray pairing work. If that duo can click, the Hawks should be good enough to make the postseason.