What Could the Atlanta Hawks Starting Lineup Be To Start the 2024-2025 Season?

Atalnta has lots of new faces on their roster ahead of the 2024-2025 season

Apr 1, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) reacts after scoring against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The 2024-2025 NBA Season is still two months away from starting, it seems like a good time to see reflect on the offseason that they have had and how they are going to look when the season opens up. For the Atlanta Hawks, they have a lot of new pieces and a lot of questions about them heading into the season. They traded away Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance, E.J. Liddell, Cody Zeller, and two first round picks and they drafted French forward Zaccharie Risacher with the No. 1 overall pick. It is going to be a diferent looking team and one of the many questions the Hawks have to find an answer too is what their starting lineup will be.

Let's take a look at what it might be.

When looking at the Hawks roster, there are only two players who are locked into starting spots heading into the season. Trae Young and Jalen Johnson are the top two players on the Hawks and are easy locks to start. Young will have the offense running through him and Johnson will hope to keep improving and take another leap as a player. But the rest of the lineup is not so certain.

The other starting guard beside Young will either be Bogdan Bogdaonovic or the recently acquired Dyson Daniels. Bogdanovic is one of the top players on Atlanta, but he has been a great player to bring off the bench. Bogdanovic is one of the best shooters and scorers in the NBA, but he and Young make for a defensively challenged backcourt. Daniels is one of the top defenders in the league, but his three-point shot is the question mark. If Daniels can be a reliable three-point shooters and secondary ball handler on the court with Young, he makes the most sense and it lets the Hawks be able to bring Bogdanovic off the bench. The Hawks defense has to improve this season and Daniels helps them the most in that category.

The starting small forward will either be De'Andre Hunter or Risacher. Hunter has dealt with injuries during his time in Atlanta, but he did show some offensive improvement last year and is a solid defender still. After coming back from injury last year, Hunter played well off the bench and finished the year shooting a career best from three.

Dre in Year 5:

15.6 PPG (Career High)
38.5% 3PT (Career High)
45.9% FG pic.twitter.com/9RzAs0BxBx

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) May 15, 2024

To start the year off, I would bet on Hunter starting while Risacher comes along and that way there is not too much pressure on him right out of the gate. It is intriguing to have a bench of Bogdanvoic, Hunter, and either Clint Capela or Onyeka Okongwu is intriguing and gives the Hawks strong options with the second unit. Having Hunter is a plus on this team.

Risacher is going to be a core part of the Hawks future, but he might come off the bench until he shows he can be a starter. He is noted as a good shooter and a strong defender and it would be good to give him plenty of minutes next to Trae Young.

The Hawks still have Capela and Okongwu on the roster and it will be interesting to see how Quin Snyder wants to deploy them. Capela has been the starter for the Hawks for the past four seasons, but it might be time to find out if Okongwu is ready to be a starter and an integral part of the future. I think Okongwu and Johnson are a strong duo on defense and would like to see him get the opportunity to start. Since being drafted 6th overall in 2020, the Hawks still don't know if he is the center of the future. Capela is still a strong defender and rebounder, but he has been regressing as he has gotten older. That is going to be one of the key questions for the Hawks this season.

It is going to be interesting to see Quin Snyder sort through these things and put the best lineup out there each night. There are options for the Hawks and they could be a better team than most think.