Atlanta Hawks Don’t Need Zion, Just Smart Draft

The Atlanta Hawks have a chance to win 30 games this season. That win total may not sound impressive, but if you were to throw that number at a Hawks fan in the preseason, many fans would be in disbelief.

But here we are, the Atlanta Hawks have had an incredibly successful, considering all the circumstances, and that is due to the young core of Trae Young and John Collins that the Hawks have drafted and developed. This means the Hawks don’t have to draft Zion to be competitive. The Hawks already have their answers in Atlanta.

I’ll be the first to admit that I was extremely skeptical when the Hawks traded Luka Doncic for Trae Young. I was not a believer in the trade, but I have been proven wrong over and over again this season by the play of Trae Young. The guy is the real deal.

Sure, Doncic is going to be a great player too, but Trae Young can be just as good. The Hawks have a player who is going to keep improving the more he plays in the NBA. Watching the year one growth has been incredible, and if this trajectory continues the Hawks have a real star on their hands. And Trae is capable of that, at least from what we have seen so far. The Hawks got that draft pick right.

That means they won’t have to make up for a bust or wait around for their guy to grow and improve. Trae Young is already playing at a high-level. He’s an 18 point and 8 assist guy a night already. Just think what Trae can become with a few years under his belt The Hawks now just have to build around Young so he can continue to put this team in a successful position.

No matter how good Trae Young is, he can’t do it by himself. Luckily, he has John Collins to help carry the load. John Collins has turned into a consistent 20-10 guy. The Hawks have taken off since the return of John Collins, who missed the start of the season with an injury. Collins and Young are great complimenting players who have been able to form a nice 1-2 duo for the Hawks this season.

If John Collins can maintain this level of play, he will always be very valuable to this Hawks team. Collins may not ever be the number one guy for a team, but he is a heck of a 2 guy. Collins can carry this team when he’s hot. This is another pick the Hawks hit on in the first round. John Collins is just more proof of the Hawks front office’s ability to find good players in the draft.

The Hawks are so far away from the Knicks, the team with the worst record in the NBA. But the Hawks will, likely, still draft in the top five of the draft. And with some luck, another top ten pick from Dallas. If the Hawks get lucky, Travis Schlenk, Hawks GM, can really put something special together here in Atlanta.

Having the core of Young and Collins in place already gives the Hawks a lot start with. Atlanta won’t be looking for a franchise-saving player. Instead, they’ll be looking for pieces to finish this rebuild. The Hawks are ahead of the rebuild schedule due mostly to what this team has been able to do in the draft. If the lottery falls Atlanta’s way, and they wind up with two picks, the Hawks could be competing for a playoff spot as soon as next season.