Three Biggest Position Battles to Watch For The Atlanta Hawks In Training Camp

What will the starting lineup be for the Hawks this season?

Mar 18, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) shoots the ball in the first half against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

You might not realize it if you are a football fan, but NBA media days and training camp are right around the corner and the season begins in a month. The season is rapidly approaching and there are several intriguing teams and storylines leading up to the season.

One of the more under-the-radar teams to keep an eye on leading up to the season is the Atlanta Hawks. After the Dejounte Murray trade and some postseason failures, most have written the Hawks off and they rarely get discussed. However, I think they are a better team after the Murray trade and with Trae Young leading the way, they have enough intriguing young talent to where they could be a playoff contender.

With so many new pieces, what could the Hawks starting lineup look like and what position battles are going to be watched closely? I will argue that going into the year, Trae Young and Jalen Johnson are the only guys I will pencil into the starting lineup.

Shooting Guard

Who will start next to Young? That has been a question from the moment the news broke that the Hawks were trading Dejounte Murray. The contenders for that spot are Dyson Daniels, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Zaccharie Risacher.

Daniels is cleary the best and most proven defender in the group and I would like to see him take the job, but can he shoot the ball consistently when playing next to Young? He should get open looks due to Trae's playmaking ability, but can he take advantage of those looks? Daniels has the defense the Hawks have been looking for, but can he shore up everything else?

Bogdanovic is one of the best bench players (he should have won 6th man of the year last season) and one of the best pure scorers in the league. One of the biggest questions about the Hawks going into the year is if they have enough shooting and Bogdanovic is clearly their best shooter. The problem would be his defense next to Young. He is not a good defender and the Hawks defense was bad enough last year. I would bring him off the bench, but the offense for either Daniels or Risacher could mean Bogi has to start, if only for a short amount of time.

The wild card here could be Risacher. If the Hawks want to surround Young with big, versatile players who can shoot, would they start Risacher alongside him and also start De'Andre Hunter? I don't know that this is what happens, but it is an interesting thought. Risacher touted as a good shooter coming into the draft and if he can combine that with solid defense, he might make sense to start at shooting guard.

Small Forward

This discussion leads back to Risacher and Hunter. If Risacher does not start at the two, will he be the starting small forward? He is a rookie and should be expected to struggle, but he will probably start at some point this season, the question is when? I think the most exciting lineup the Hawks could trot out on day one is Young, Daniels, Risacher, Johnson and Okongwu.

The other possibility is De'Andre Hunter. Hunter has battled injuries and inconsistency in Atlanta, but he did have the best shooting season of his career last year and is a solid defender. Hunter played really well in late January and into February when he came off the bench and I am intrigued to see if Quin Snyder elects to bring him off the bench. He has more experience than Risacher of course and Snyder could want to rely on that early in the season, but if Hunter starts the year, will he want to move to the bench later on? All of these are things to consider going into the year.

Center

This has been a debating point for Hawks fans for a while. Is this the year that Onyeka Okongwu is finally made the starter or do the Hawks roll with the veteran in Clint Capela? Capela is still an effective defender and rebounder, but his play dropped off last year. Okongwu had a chance to start when Capela went down last year, but then he himself got hurt so we could not see a large enough sample of what it would look like. Okongwu was drafted 6th overall in 2020 and received an extension last October, but we still don't know if he is a high-caliber starter. Okongwu has shown plenty of flashes and has plenty of upside and it will be interesting to see what Snyder does with this position.