2025 Atlanta Hawks Preseason Preview
Last season the Atlanta Hawks finished with a record of 36 wins and 46 losses. During the offseason Atlanta traded Dejounte Murray to New Orleans, signaling a retooling around start point guard Trae Young. Young, who recently turned 26 years old, enters his 7th season with Atlanta averaging 25.5 points and 9.5 assists in his career.
(Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)
The Hawks made the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021, and since have failed to make it out of the first round. The trade of Murray, who they acquired before the 2021-2022 season, leaves Atlanta without a clear number two scorer and a aging cast familiar role players. Bogdan Bogdanović turned 32 this off season, and Clint Capela will turn 31 during this years playoffs. Along with De’Andre Hunter, none of these three key players have made statistically significant improvement to their output since that conference finals run now 4 seasons ago.
There should be optimism in Atlanta however. Jalen Johnson, the 20th pick in the 2021 draft saw a significant increase in minutes last year and showed potential to be a key utility player for the Hawks. Johnson shot .355 from 3pt range last season on 3.6 attempts, an increase from .288 (1.5 3PA) the year before. If Johnson can refine his shot a bit further, Atlanta should be able to find him 6 or 7 attempts per game, and Johnson could break 20 points per game this season.
This is all without mentioning Zaccharie Risacher, the 6’9” small forward that the Hawks selected with the first overall pick during the 2024 NBA draft. The development of the 19 year old during the upcoming season could greatly dictate the direction of this team. Assuming Risacher proves ready to contribute to winning basketball in Atlanta (the small sample of preseason games says he is), the Hawks could look to make some significant roster moves. First they may need to evaluate burden of luxury that is their small forward depth. De’Andre Hunter, Jalen Johnson, and Risacher could all be starting caliber. Coach Quin Snyder started both Hunter and Johnson in their preseason matchup against the 76ers, but the team who plays through a 6’1” point guard is lacking size and could have issues matching up with some of the larger power forwards in the Eastern Conference.
Clint Capela, Larry Nance Jr., and Garrison Matthews are all unrestricted free agents after this season. Look for the Hawks to use this season to evaluate and develop the young talent they have while continuing to compete on a nightly basis. The Hawks first round pick belongs to San Antonio this year so they have nothing to lose for, and instead should be focused on using the next two seasons to convince Trae Young that they can build a roster around him that can return to the Eastern Conference finals.
