The Atlanta Hawks went through significant front office and personnel changes in the offseason, firing GM Landry Fields and replacing him with Onsi Saleh before revamping the roster. Amid all these changes, one person remained constant: head coach Quin Snyder. With the increased expectations in Atlanta, Snyder is on thin ice entering his third season in charge.
When Snyder was hired by the Hawks, he was expected to build a dynamic, elite offense around Trae Young. The team didn't have deep postseason aspirations necessarily, but the hope was that the Hawks could be a playoff team in a weak Eastern Conference. During his two years in Atlanta, however, Snyder has failed to lead the team to the playoffs, finishing 36-46 and 40-42, respectively. It's safe to claim that the Hawks never had the high-powered offense that some of Snyder's teams during his Utah Jazz years did.
Increased Hawks Expectations Put Quin Snyder on Thin Ice
For the first time in Snyder's tenure in Atlanta, the Hawks have hopes for a deep playoff run. The additions of Kristaps Porzingis and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, combined with the further weakening of the Eastern Conference, demand that the Hawks are a top-four seed.
What puts Snyder firmly on the chopping block is the fact that he wasn't hired by the Saleh administration. This front office changed the roster, made significant additions to the team, and if Snyder fails to lead them to glory, he will inevitably be blamed for the failure.
That is life in the NBA as a head coach. The moment your organization builds a good enough team for you, you are expected to deliver. Since it's hard to change a newly built roster upon failure, organizations tend to change the head coach after failing. That could be Snyder's fate if the Hawks start the season slowly.
Yet, the Hawks don't have an excuse for starting the season slowly. They are fully healthy. Porzingis had a productive EuroBasket, Jalen Johnson should miss fewer games this season, and young studs like Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher should be better. This team has depth, quality, and enough talent on both ends of the floor to be a sure-fire playoff team in the East. If that is not the track the Hawks are on to begin the 2025-26 campaign, the clock will start to tick for Snyder.