Hawks president of basketball operations Onsi Saleh has stuck to his themes as the team improved from the play-in to the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Hawks won’t trade away valuable draft picks or saddle the payroll with max-contract players because that would limit “optionality” (Saleh joked that he’s looking for a new word after wearing that one out). They’ll mostly count on internal improvement to become a team that makes consistent playoff runs.
Keep those factors in mind when you don’t see the Hawks involved with top-tier free agents or in trade talks for star players. Saleh might make a move like that once he feels like adding one player would make the team a championship contender.
That time isn’t now.
The Hawks need to add more good players this summer, not one star. Those players should be experienced. The young Hawks got younger when they drafted two players who should play significant roles as rookies, Kingston Flemings (19) and Zuby Ejiofor (22).
The Hawks have a guard-heavy roster. They could use another experienced wing with size. Dyson Daniels is the only player like that among the incumbents. Jonathan Kuminga isn’t a guy they should want making decisions with the ball on the perimeter.
The Hawks also would benefit from adding a veteran center with size. The starter is undersized Onyeka Okongwu. Right now, the top backups are undersized and inexperienced Mo Gueye and undersized rookie Ejiofor.
Saleh will look to sign free agents who won’t limit the “optionality” that he covets. That means no older veterans with long-term contracts.
Unrestricted free-agent wings who could fit the bill (in order of my preference): Kelly Oubre Jr., Matisse Thybulle and Khris Middleton. For centers, some good candidates are Mitchell Robinson, Robert Williams III, Nikola Vucevic and Jusuf Nurkić.
There are some good restricted free agents on the market, but their current teams can match any offers while the pursuing team can wait up to two days for the decision. Some players with team options will become unrestricted free agents as teams decline those options before the new league year begins on Wednesday.
Pending contract decisions on Kuminga and Buddy Hield will determine how much payroll the Hawks can add under the tax threshold. At worst, they’ll be able to offer free agents a contract that starts at a maximum salary of about $15 million. At best, the Hawks will be able to add that salary plus another $15 million via trades.
There was a time when the Hawks weren’t very attractive to free agents. The situation should be better now that they’ve finally escaped play-in purgatory. The Hawks are a playoff team. The core group has developed a good team spirit.
The Hawks also can be players on the trade market. Core Hawks players Daniels, Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker are likely off limits. It probably would take a great offer to coax Saleh to depart with first-round draft picks.
Don’t expect the Hawks to make any major deals. That would violate Saleh’s “don’t skip steps” mantra. It’s why the Hawks bowed out of the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes before it really began.
The Hawks decided that the cost was too high and the player came with too much baggage. It turns out they were right.
The Heat have a shell of a team left after agreeing to trade for Antetokounmpo on Monday. Miami also surrendered three first-round draft picks — No. 13 this year and two future unprotected picks — plus one swap. Extensive reporting by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel portrayed Antetokounmpo as an insecure superstar who undermined coaches and wore out his welcome.
The Celtics tried to include All-NBA wing Jaylen Brown in a trade for Antetokounmpo. Boston reportedly is still offering Brown for trade. It wouldn’t make sense for Saleh to go all-in for Brown. Better to keep building on what the Hawks have.
The Hawks just got steamrolled by New York, the eventual champ, in the first round of the playoffs. They employ two or three players who would play major roles for a contending team. Those players are relatively young, so it’s reasonable to expect them to improve with experience.
It’s up to those players to get better. It’s on Saleh to make the right moves this summer.
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