Celtics Competition Ranking in the East: #9 – Hawks

The Hawks had the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and selected French forward Zaccharie Risacher. The 19-year-old has plenty of scoring potential, but isn’t ready to help Atlanta climb the Eastern Conference hierarchy.

The roster was expanded somewhat this summer by trading Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans for Dyson Daniels and Larry Nance Jr. The Hawks also received EJ Liddell, Cody Zeller and two first-round picks in the deal.

As a result, Atlanta enters the season with a more balanced roster and some opportunities to improve, but they likely still lack the type of top-tier talent needed to make a deep postseason run.

Trae Young remains one of the NBA’s most prolific scoring weapons, and the former All-Star should be more productive than ever. The Murray pairing never really made sense, and Young seemed most comfortable as the obvious No. 1 option last season.

Bogdan Bogdanovic is another reliable weapon for the Hawks, and if Young is an effective playmaker, Atlanta could have a pretty solid offensive package next season. It won’t be one of the best, but it will command the respect of opposing defenses.

A wildcard for the Hawks here is 22-year-old Jalen Johnson. He was a defensive star last year and showed some big scoring ability. He could become a major scoring threat for his team if he can take another step forward in his development.

Assessing Atlanta’s defense is a tough one. If Atlanta can hide some of its inherent vulnerabilities on this side of the ball, they can make up for them elsewhere.

Clint Capela remains a reliable anchor in the painted area. Johnson and Nance are both excellent, interchangeable defenders. In a sense, the Hawks are as well-positioned as any team in the East to try to slow down the Celtics tandem of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

That said, the Hawks have glaring weaknesses. Young and Bogdanovic are undersized and pose a huge liability on the defensive end. Risacher is also unlikely to be counted on here.

The Hawks have their own first-round pick this year from the San Antonio Spurs, so they have no incentive to try to fail. (They do have a protected top-12 pick from the Sacramento Kings, so Atlanta could theoretically still end up in the draft lottery.)

The relationship between Young and the Hawks is reportedly fragile, but a cold trade market and Murray’s departure should ease the unrest for now. Winning is the best medicine in a situation like this.

It’s hard to imagine Atlanta really getting into the top of the conference next year, but it’s true that play-in teams have made a splash in the postseason. The Hawks also have the talent to be cheerful and the potential to improve if they want to. This is a team to watch.