30 Teams in 30 Days: Hawks Transition to New Era with Top Pick Zaccharie Risacher

Offseason period

Re-signing: Vit KrejciAdditions: Dominick Barlow (free agent), Dyson Daniels (trade), Larry Nance Jr. (trade), David Roddy (trade), Cody Zeller (trade)Draft: Zaccharie Risacher (No. 1 pick), Nikola Djurisic (No. 43)Departures: Saddiq Bey (to Wizards), Bruno Fernando (waived), AJ Griffin (to Rockets), EJ Liddell (to Suns), Dejounte Murray (to Pelicans)Unsigned Free Agents: Trent Forrest, Seth Lundy, Wesley Matthews, Dylan Windler

Last season

With Trae Young out for 28 games, the Hawks lacked a clear offensive focal point and ultimately fell short of the playoffs. It represented yet another slip for the franchise, triggering the need for a shakeup.

Dejounte Murray was solid at times without Young, impacting both ends of the floor and generating conversation about whether the Hawks needed both. (Atlanta decided it didn’t, trading Murray to New Orleans.) Jalen Johnson took a step forward in his young career and emerged as a franchise keeper. But 36-46 didn’t cut it for a team that envisioned much more.

Summer summary

The good news is the Hawks beat the Draft lottery odds and landed the first overall pick for the second time in franchise history. The less-than-good news is this was 2024, not 2023. Missing out on a transformational player such as Victor Wembanyama was just a case of bad timing. They settled on Zaccharie Risacher, a young Frenchman with shooting, court awareness and defensive instincts.

Once that was settled, the Hawks made a bolder move, sending Murray on his way and breaking up a backcourt high on promise and short on delivery.

Spotlight on

De’Andre Hunter fits the definition of an enigma. He has obvious physical tools but only twice played 60 or more games in his five seasons. In 2022, the Hawks gave him an extension on his rookie deal. However,  the former No. 4 pick has for the most part been only their fourth-best player since. Is the next step coming? If not, he might have value at the trade deadline as a capable defender.

How far can the Hawks go?

Because the Hawks are on the hook for those 2025, ’26 and ’27 first-round picks they surrendered to the Spurs for Murray, they couldn’t afford to push the reset button this offseason. So they’re “stuck” — if that’s the right word — with Young.

He remains a good, if sometimes inefficient, offensive player. But he’s missing a co-star (unless Johnson flirts with All-Star consideration) and even then, that probably just makes the Hawks a Play-In Tournament threat. Unless the Hawks find a magic formula and Risacher is a quick study, the only beneficiary in the next few years will be the Spurs.

Up next: Charlotte Hornets | Previously: Miami Heat

30 Teams in 30 Days: Complete schedule

* * *

Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.