Hawks Training Camp (and Season Previews)

[Jamaaliver]

It's almost time...

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Update per Steve Koonin via radio interview:

Entire team is in town and practicing. Trae and Dejounte are picking teams and going at each other on opposite teams. (No coaches, just players).

Love to hear it!

[HMFFL]

I look forward to seeing how our bench does. I like it for the most part.

Sent from my SM-N975U using RealGM mobile app

[Jamaaliver]

NBA.com Hawks Season Preview

Murray Trade gives Hawks bright outlook

Atlanta is hoping the new backcourt combo of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray can help it get back on track.



Last season: The growth chart hit a snag as the young Hawks, one year removed from an appearance in the Eastern Conference finals, suffered from far too many defensive lapses and underperforming rotational players. Only Trae Young, who led the league in total points and assists, kept moving in the right direction and was an All-NBA third team member. John Collins, De’Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic dealt with injuries. Ultimately, the Hawks emerged victorious in the Play-In Tournament, but were first-round fodder and lost in five to the Miami Heat.

Summer summary: The search for the ideal co-star for Young led to a logical candidate when Atlanta pulled off perhaps the most convenient transaction of the NBA offseason by getting Murray from the San Antonio Spurs. Essentially, he checks all the boxes: A defensive demon who can handle the ball and who is just touching his prime.

Pairing Young with Murray just seems like peanut butter and jelly and you couldn’t sketch a more perfectly balanced backcourt on paper. They cover each other’s weaknesses. They bring shareable skills. They can play off the ball when necessary. And they seem to like each other personally.

Almost instantly, Young-Murray becomes one of the league’s most watchable backcourts — if not one of the better ones. Travis Schlenk, the Hawks’ VP, couldn’t have targeted a more convenient (and surprisingly available) player to get Atlanta back on track.

Murray just turned 26 and is coming off a season where he became a balanced guard. An ace defender by trade, Murray’s shot selection and court vision sharpened all while averaging 21.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 9.2 assists per game. He’s a career 33% shooter on 3-pointers, but that’s OK because of what Young can do from deep. Just the same, Young is a weak on-ball defender, so Murray will get all the tough assignments.

It just seems so right, these two. Of course, that needs to be demonstrated on the court and throughout a season to justify all the rosy projections of chemistry, ball-sharing and putting egos aside.

The Spurs traded Murray because he dropped hints that he didn’t want an extension, but the Hawks don’t need to worry about that yet (although he will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2024). The Hawks had to send future Draft picks to the Spurs, a reasonable demand for a young star. Besides, the Hawks’ player-development program is already filled and the team doesn’t need to get younger, just better.

To lessen the impact of trading those picks for Murray, the Hawks sent Huerter, a solid shooter, to the Kings for a future first-round pick. Huerter was popular with fans and teammates, and the Hawks thought enough of him to extend his deal the previous summer. He was a good fit as a starter or a reserve but was also expendable because of Bogdanovic.

Speaking of trades, the Hawks didn’t pull the trigger on any deals involving Collins, a minor surprise. His name has been in the trade pipeline since last spring, mainly because he’s on a long-term deal (always valued in trades) and didn’t show much growth when he was healthy last season.

The Hawks had the No. 16 Draft selection and took Griffin, a 6-foot-6 swingman from Duke. He’s the son of Adrian Griffin, a former NBA journeyman and current Toronto Raptors assistant coach. A.J. Griffin was a 44.7% 3-point shooter in college and, in a best-case scenario, he can get some of Huerter’s minutes. He was projected as a possible lottery pick and some draftniks believe the Hawks landed a steal. Or he could spend much of his rookie season in the NBA G League, much like Atlanta’s 2021 first-round pick, Jalen Johnson (also a former Duke standout) did last season.

The Hawks grabbed a pair of rotational veterans in the Huerter deal with Harkless and Holiday. Harkless is a solid swingman who could fill the void of Wright (though he’s not as good a ball-handler). Holiday, if nothing else, gives the Hawks a bit of brotherly love, as he joins Aaron Holiday. Justin is a dependable player who had some good seasons with the Indiana Pacers before his time in Sacramento. However, this is his ninth team and second tour of duty with the Hawks.

In all, this was the summer of Dejounte. The Hawks were bothered by their sudden decline last season and alarmed by the lack of defensive stops. Team ownership, along with Schlenk, vowed to make the necessary changes to reverse the direction. A healthier team will no doubt help, but the biggest plus is Murray, who brings much of what the Hawks want and need.

NBA.com

[jayu70]

Top 100:

14. Trae YoungATLANTA HAWKS PG


After bursting onto the national stage with a brilliant 2021 playoff run, Young carried the momentum into last season, when he joined Tiny Archibald as the only players in NBA history to lead the league in total points and assists in the same season. The playmaking maestro was second only to Chris Paul in points per possession out of the pick-and-roll including assists, according to Synergy, and an underused aspect of his game may be unlocked this season with an All-Star guard next to him in Dejounte Murray. In limited attempts, Young was in the 98th percentile last season in catch-and-shoot situations, per Synergy, and he should get plenty more of those looks with Murray at his side. -- Colin Ward-Henninger


41. Dejounte MurrayATLANTA HAWKS PG

The Spurs asked a lot of Murray last season, his first as an All-Star, and he delivered. His counting stats -- 21.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists -- jump off the page, but it's more significant that his career-high usage rate (26.8 percent) was accompanied by elite defense and career-best efficiency (53.3 percent true shooting). Murray was already a confident midrange shooter, and he's getting more comfortable behind the 3-point line, making 34.5 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s. Not great, but encouraging. Of the many different things that will be asked of him in Atlanta, continued improvement on that front is most important. -- James Herbert


68. John CollinsATLANTA HAWKS PF

Neither Collins nor the Hawks seem all that thrilled about him still being in Atlanta; he was frustrated with his role last season and was the subject of near-constant trade rumors this summer. How that situation, and the arrival of Dejounte Murray, which figures to limit his touches even further, affects Collins will be a major storyline for the Hawks this season. He'll never win awards for his defense, but at his best Collins is a high-level offensive threat who can finish lobs in the pick-and-roll and space the floor. Last season he was one of nine players to average at least 15 points and seven rebounds, while shooting 35 percent from 3-point land. -- Jack Maloney


78. De'Andre HunterATLANTA HAWKS SF

The Hawks haven't committed to a Hunter extension because he hasn't proven he's a foundational player. He's been good. Year two, albeit in just 29 games, was his most promising as he grew as a self-creator and became a real weapon getting to his spot in the midrange, where he connected at a lights-out 54-percent clip, per Cleaning the Glass. That number fell off dramatically last season, but Hunter's 3-point mark did climb to 38 percent. With Trae Young and Dejounte Murray creating, Hunter's catch-and-shoot numbers this season will be pivotal to Atlanta's fortunes. -- Brad Botkin


91. Clint CapelaATLANTA HAWKS C

The consummate shot-blocking, rim-running center, Capela has been vital to the Hawks' success on both ends of the floor. He's averaged a double-double in five straight seasons, and was fifth in the league in offensive rebounding last year to go along with his 1.3 blocks per game. His presence as a lob threat is crucial in pick-and-rolls with Trae Young, evidenced by the team's 117.5 offensive rating last season with both players on the court. -- Colin Ward-Henninger


94. Bogdan BogdanovicATLANTA HAWKS SG

When Bogdanovic heats up, he can take over a game for stretches. He's proven to be a bit of overkill on what has been a wing-heavy Atlanta roster, but Kevin Huerter, a better player, had more trade value and thus was shipped out. Atlanta went hard after Bogdanovic and looked like it had a big-time guy, albeit in a small sample, two years ago. Last season Bogdanovic fell off across the board, but you'll certainly take 15 points a night on 37-percent 3-point shooting from a supplemental scorer. -- Brad Botkin

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[Jamaaliver]

NBA's Top Sleeper Teams for 2022-23

Atlanta Hawks



Normally, if a team traded three first-round picks (and a pick swap) for an in-prime All-Star, it would generate far too much chatter to even approach the sleeper conversation. However, the Hawks' acquisition of Dejounte Murray might be the exception to that rule, since it came during the same summer as the Utah Jazz's fire sale and the Brooklyn Nets' near-destruction.

There are some expectations for Atlanta, but nothing huge: Vegas set the over/under at just 45.5 wins. That would be a fine season, but the Hawks could engineer something far greater.

Remember, this group is all of one season removed from a trek to the Eastern Conference Finals. The key contributors from that run are mostly still in place—including Trae Young, Clint Capela, John Collins, De'Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanović—plus the Hawks have added Murray, Justin Holiday, Frank Kaminsky, Maurice Harkless and rookie first-rounder A.J. Griffin. Don't discount how big of a role Onyeka Okongwu could command, too.

The theme for Atlanta's offseason was defense, as that's where most of the newcomers do their best work. It's also where the Hawks needed the biggest lift. Despite having last season's second-most efficient offense, they couldn't rise above mediocrity as they were dragged down by their 26th-ranked defense.

That's why trading for Murray made sense. Well, that and his ability to ease some of the offensive burden shouldered by Young, potentially resulting in more efficient versions of both players. If they find their chemistry early and the defense can enter even the midsection of efficiency rankings, then Atlanta just might strike the two-way balance needed to navigate another conference finals run.

Bleacher Report

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Let's Go Hawks!

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[DirtybirdGA]

At least we didn't have to wait fo the Hawks to have their turn.

[Jamaaliver]

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What's the plan at backup SF/SG with Huerter gone and Bogdan still recovering?

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Okongwu!!!

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Jalen!!!

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An adjustment to our offensive approach?

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[jayu70]

What's the plan at backup SF/SG with Huerter gone and Bogdan still recovering?

If Nate elects to go with the vets and size: JHol (SG) and Harkless (SF) or he throws the rookies in AJ and Martin or some combination thereof.

[Jamaaliver]

What's the plan at backup SF/SG with Huerter gone and Bogdan still recovering?

If Nate elects to go with the vets and size: JHol (SG) and Harkless (SF) or he throws the rookies in AJ and Martin or some combination thereof.

Those are not great plan Bs.

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