What Does Jalen Johnson's Season-Ending Injury Mean For The Atlanta Hawks Going Forward For The Rest Of the Season?
![Jan 3, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) shoots against Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Jan 3, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) shoots against Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4385,h_2466,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/all_hawks/01jjsfwekxykcwe9phhj.jpg)
Last week, Atlanta Hawks star forward Jalen Johnson was injured early in the second quarter of a loss to the Toronto Raptors and it was reported today by NBA insider Chris Haynes that Johnson is going to miss the rest of the season due to a torn labrum.
After the injury last week, the Hawks released this statement regarding Johnson's injury:
"Forward Jalen Johnson left Thursday night’s game vs. Toronto after sustaining a left shoulder injury during the second quarter. He will be listed as out as he undergoes further medical testing and evaluation. His injury and status will be updated as appropriate."
This is devestating news for the Hawks, there is no other way to say. Johnson was having an All-Star caliber season, averaging 18.1 PPG, 10.0 RPG, and 5.0 APG on 50% shooting from the field and 31.2% from three. He is one of the best young players in the NBA and the Hawks have not performed well without him. This season, the Hawks have a 4-7 record without Johnson and when you watch the Hawks play without him, it is very clear that they don't have a real replacement for him.
So what now for the Hawks?
This is the question that the Atlanta Hawks now have to answer. There are a lot of layers to what they could do. How does this affect their trade deadline plans? How does it affect their rotation going forward?
Because of where this injury falls on the calendar, the first thing the Hawks may need to consider now is how this affects their plans at the trade deadline. While there have not been reports of the Hawks being close to any deals, players like Larry Nance, Clint Capela, and Bogdan Bogdanovic have been mentioned in the past and you could argue that none of these players fit on the Hawks timeline. This season for the Hawks has been one that is about the future, even when they got as high as 5th place in the Eastern Conference. This season has been about the young players on the roster and how the Hawks are going to continue to build around them. Will the Hawks try to move these three players and open up minutes for others?
A couple of things first. Just because the Hawks lost one of their best players does not mean that they can tank for the rest of the season. The Hawks do not own their own draft pick for the next three seasons due to the original trade for Dejounte Murray in the summer of 2022. The next time Atlanta is set to control their own draft pick is 2028. The one thing that Atlanta can't do after this injury is to try and improve their draft position in hopes of landing a premium pick in the draft. Not only that, but the Hawks are still in a decent position to make the play-in tournament. They are three games ahead of the 76ers for the No. 11 spot in the Eastern Conference and 7.5 games ahead of the Toronto Raptors for the No. 12 spot. The Hawks are not going to fall below the Nets, Hornets, and Wizards. Despite Johnson's injury, Atlanta still has a chance to make the play-in tournament.
Atlanta is also not going to make a trade just to make a trade. If a trade does not help the Hawks going forward into future seasons, they are not going to do it, even if Nance and Capela are on expiring deals. No realistic move the Hawks could make, even before the reports of Johnson's injury, was going to make the Hawks a championship contender. The only deals the Hawks need to be in the business of making are deals to help them in the future.
On the court, how will this affect the Hawks rotation? One thing to watch will be if Mouhamed Gueye becomes a part of the regular rotation. Gueye has played in the last two games, including getting his first career NBA start last night. Gueye is in his second season as a pro and I think it is possible that the Hawks look to him to see what he can bring to the table.
While De'Andre Hunter has been one of the best bench players in the NBA this year, would the Hawks move him into the starting lineup? I don't think they will due to him already playing the majority of the minutes at the position anyway. While Gueye started the game, he played 22 minutes and Hunter played 28 minutes. No matter who starts, Hunter is going to play the majority of minutes.
If they don't trade Nance, he could be an option at the power forward spot, but he has been better as a backup center. David Roddy has gotten minutes at power forward (not productive ones) and Dominick Barlow is an option.
There is no doubt that Johnson's injury is devastating news for the Hawks. He is one of the best young stars in the league and Atlanta has not been good without him. They have to navigate a lot of things on the court and off the court without him and that is going to be the No. 1 thing to watch up to the trade deadline and beyond.
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