3 things Hawks need to stay relevant in Eastern Conference

The Atlanta Hawks offseason began by winning the NBA draft lottery, taking Zaccharie Risacher with the No. 1 overall pick, trading Dejounte Murray, and remaining silent in free agency (as of the posting of this article). With most of the impactful free agents off the board now, and a significant trade seeming less likely to happen, the Hawks still have a trio of possibilities, that if they work in coordination, could see them remain relevant,

The first part of the Hawks' three-step plan for success revolves around their star point guard Trae Young. He has to stay patient with the team and its development over the next year or two.

Part 2 would require an up-and-coming centerpiece of the team, Jalen Johnson, to take that big step forward to becoming the running mate for Young, the impact player that can take games over when he needs to.

The final step for the Hawks is about what took place last Wednesday, and that's the selection of drafting Risacher. He needs to fulfill the potential the Hawks felt he has enough to have made him the No. 1 pick. He needs to be one of the top two or three players from this draft class, if not the absolute top guy, and he has to show glimpses of that pretty quickly.