Analyst Shares Where He Would Place the Hawks In The Eastern Conference After The Blockbuster Mikal Bridges Deal

Will the Atlanta Hawks be a playoff team this season?

Apr 14, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) dribbles the ball while Indiana Pacers guard Ben Sheppard (26) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA offseason is flying by and most of the big moves that were expected have happened. The Atlanta Hawks broke up their backcourt of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray by sending Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance, and two first-round picks. It was a good trade for both sides that should make both teams better, a rarity in the NBA now. The Knicks made a huge move by acquiring Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets, the Philadelphia 76ers signed Paul George and the Boston Celtics made sure to bring back the core pieces of their group that made a historic run and won the Finals. The 2024-2025 Eastern Conference race is beginning to take shape barring another shakeup.

So where do the Hawks fit in all of this? Atlanta seems to have constructed a better roster around Young, but should they be considered among that top tier in the East? ESPN's Chris Herring put every Eastern Conference team into tiers and had the Hawks in a "stuck in the middle" tier along with the Chicago Bulls:

"Atlanta, a play-in team for each of the past three seasons, has been in much the same boat as the Bulls in recent years: directionless.

There's little to no incentive for the franchise to bottom out completely, as the Hawks owe their 2025 and 2027 first-round selections to the Spurs in exchange for the Dejounte Murray deal back in 2022. (San Antonio also has swap rights for Atlanta's pick in 2026.)

Perhaps because of that inability, the club finally decided last week to move Murray to New Orleans for Larry Nance Jr., Dyson Daniels, E.J. Liddell and a pair of future first-round picks. And there is upside on the roster. Jalen Johnson, 22, likely would have placed in Most Improved Player award voting if he hadn't narrowly missed the games-played threshold. Backup big Onyeka Okongwu is still just 23. Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 overall pick in last week's NBA Draft, will make his Hawks debut in summer league in the coming days.

Still, as it's been since 2018, Atlanta is trying to figure how to build around franchise player Trae Young, whose elite offensive skills are complicated by his defensive shortcomings. The Hawks reached the 2021 conference finals, but have gotten nowhere near that stage since."

I would probably put the Hawks in the 8-10 range right now in the East, behind Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Orlando., Indiana, and Cleveland. If the Hawks are better than expected and one or two of those two teams takes a step back, Atlanta could be waiting.

The bottom of the Eastern Conference makes it to where Atlanta should be a play-in team with their current roster and it could even be a top six seed if things break the right way. This is a better roster around Young and all of the pieces fit better, much like the conference finals team in 2021. I am not saying that this team will do that, but the team structure makes more sense than the past two seasons. There are still moves for the Hawks to make this offseason, including potential deals for Clint Capela, Larry Nance, and possibly De'Andre Hunter. the Hawks should continue to add the right pieces to their team, but making a blockbuster offer for Lauri Markkanen should not be one of those moves. Atlanta should stay patient and continue to build their roster, which they have done this offseason. It seems like Atlanta finally has a plan to build a roster around Young and they should not hit the accelerator on it too early again.