Editor’s note: The Hawks’ 2024-25 season begins next month. Each week leading to training camp, the AJC will examine important questions that face the team headed into the season.
ATHENS — The Hawks prioritized improving their defense this offseason. But in their pursuit of a stronger defense, they’ll have to make sure their efficiency and productivity on offense don’t suffer.
Ahead of free agency, the Hawks traded their second most-productive scorer in Dejounte Murray. The former Hawks guard averaged 22.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game last season, while shooting 45.9% overall and 36.3% from deep.
So, the Hawks will look to take advantage of the speed on their roster and consistent and decisive ball movement to get the best option.
Much like last season, Hawks coach Quin Snyder will look to put his players in a position where they will have success. Multiple players on the team this year have shown a natural feel for the game, and the Hawks want to build a system that has constant motion off the ball on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.
“Our Hawks team this year to me, there’s fundamental things that we can do, both offensively and defensively, which that’s the path to winning,” Snyder said at the team’s Media Day on Monday. “That’s the path of being more efficient offensively. So, how those players fit together and how we collectively continue to improve in those areas, I think is more important than any one individual player and what they bring.
“And then at the same time, you want to try to maximize what each individual can do and that also plays into your system. As I said, play with the pass is something that I think is really important for this group, in part because we have a number of guys that are capable of doing that. Trae (Young) may be at the forefront with his ability to pass the ball. But there’s different types of passes, and I think this team can really be connected around that more so than maybe we’ve seen teams here in the past.”
The Hawks acquired Dyson Daniels as a part of the trade that sent Murray to the Pelicans at the end of June. Right away, Daniels may not give the Hawks the same scoring productivity they received from Murray. The third-year guard averaging 4.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 22 minutes last season.
But Daniels, 21, has a lot of the raw tools that can help him thrive in the system the Hawks want to develop. A Bendigo, Australia native, Daniels is an unselfish player who uses his eyes and body to play off defenders before finding teammates when the defensive help bites.
He processes the game quickly and can find his spots for his teammates to hit him with a quick pass.
“I think Dyson is someone particularly for his size, a player that can guard multiple positions, his ability to make plays, whether it be off the table or make even making a simple pass, his ability to cut, which is, I think, an art form that’s a little bit lost in today’s NBA,” Snyder said Wednesday. “Cutting is something that can go with shooting. They’re both equally effective, and you can shoot the ball and cut, but not just cutting to score. I think those are situations where he has the ability to catch the ball and move and make a play for someone else because he really does have a good feel for the game.”
The Hawks also will see the return of De’Andre Hunter, who put up one of his more efficient seasons last season. Per Cleaning the Glass, Hunter ranked in the 74th percentile in accuracy for all midrange shots, making 45% of his attempts. He also ranked in the 72nd percentile in accuracy on non-corner and the 66th percentile for corner 3′s, knocking down 38% and 39% of them, respectively.
Of course, the Hawks will look to take advantage of a healthy Jalen Johnson after injuries hampered a breakout season. Johnson averaged 16.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists in the 33 games after his return from a wrist fracture that sidelined him for 14 games.
The Hawks forward was among the favorites for Most Improved Player before his wrist injury sidelined him.
But the fourth-year forward looks poised for another breakout season, with the even more solid passers in the team’s rotation.
The Hawks still have their star guard in Young, who has averaged 25-plus points in his past three seasons. It has relied on him for an average of 10 or more assists per game in the past two seasons.
Young didn’t start last season shooting the ball from deep efficiently, but he ended the season having made 37.3% of his 3-point shots as he continued to adjust to everything Snyder asked of him.
The Hawks will have to find the right combinations to ensure that scoring does not drop off when Young goes to the bench for a rest. Last season, the Hawks were a plus-2.1 in points with Young on the floor versus off it.
The addition of 6-foot-9 rookie forward Zaccharie Risacher could unlock some versatile lineup combinations for the Hawks because of his length and size. He has a natural instinct for moving without the ball within the flow of the team’s offense.
Though the Hawks lost a big chunk of their scoring with the Murray trade, they already have an outline of how they want to adapt to find that scoring power.
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