With the NBA Summer League coming to an end, NBA fans are left with rumors and whispers of potential trades for the rest of the NBA offseason. The Hawks are heavily linked with Pascal Siakam, as he is one of the biggest names to be featured this offseason. All we can do now as NBA fans is to listen to trade rumors until they happen or until NBA Preseason games begin. Here are a few notable precautions that the Hawks should be wary of.

Trust in Snyder

The Hawks have only played less than a full season under newly-tenured coach Quin Snyder. A full summer and training camp under Snyder will help unlock the Hawk’s potential. The Hawks had a record of 12-11 after the All-Star break, but the Hawks were playing much better basketball than in the first half of the season. Watching the games showed how the Hawks had renewed energy, giving energy on the defensive end and running a structured offense. The Hawks gave more effort on defense, rotating correctly and sliding their feet. Trae also began to show more effort on defense, sliding his feet and not becoming a negative defender on the floor. Snyder quickly made substitutions and switched matchups, guiding the Hawks to victory. On the offensive side, the Hawks were taking better and more efficient shots, shooting more open 3’s, and running set plays. Snyder ran plays out of time-outs and encouraged the team to shoot more threes. Snyder’s influence helped propel the Hawks from mediocrity, as the Hawks squeezed into the playoffs and even took two games off of the #1 seeded Boston Celtics. 

Winning Now Does Not Mean Giving Up Your Future

The Hawks are in a win-now mode. The current floor for this Hawk’s team is to make the playoffs at least; anything less would be disappointing. Newly tenured GM Landry Fields has a large expectation placed on him to construct a roster that will contend for an NBA title. There are rumors that the Atlanta Hawks want to acquire Pascal Siakam from the Toronto Raptors. While it is necessary to give young talent to acquire Siakam, Landry has a tough choice regarding which young piece he needs to trade away. Of all the young guys, I would consider Onyeka Okongwu the untouchable. He is our starting center of the future, as he is splitting minutes evenly with Capela. Other notable young players are AJ Griffin and Jalen Johnson. These are the next two players that I would consider untouchable. If one of them had to go, I would choose Johnson due to him and Siakam playing the position. Either way, Landry should not be inclined to sacrifice a portion of the Hawk’s future unless he could convince Siakam to re-sign with the Hawks.

Ring Culture

Hawks fans and NBA fans greatly value winning an NBA Title. ‘Ring Culture’ has become a phenomenon, skewing players’ rankings on the all-time lists depending on if they have won a championship or multiple. Many GMs and teams have tried numerous combinations of superstar players that fall too short due to unforeseen circumstances. In this league, nothing is guaranteed. The trio of James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving failed to win a championship due to injuries and off-court issues. The Brooklyn Nets are now in purgatory, trying to recover their draft capital and good players. The James Harden and Joel Embiid duo failed to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals this year. Even with an MVP and an elite point guard, the Sixers fall short of making it to even the Eastern Finals. Hawks fans desperately want a title to come to the A, as the last title was pre-merger and happened in St. Louis. The fans, the players, and the front office want to win, and hopefully, they will deliver in the near future.

With the offseason being halfway through and NBA activities resuming again, all we can do as fans is to wait and see if the rumors are purely rumors or if they come through. We are powerless and can only use our imaginations and hope this Hawks team will overcome the great pressure in winning an NBA Championship.