The Hawks have decided to have a mini rebuild with their roster. Opting to trade away Dejounte Murray and drafting Zaccharie Risacher has left many fans disgruntled. However, the front office is sneakily building a perfect roster around Trae.

Goals of the Front Office

Landry Fields has decided to hit the red button, blowing up the failed Trae-Dejounte experiment. The initial thought was to pair Trae with an all-defensive guard and a secondary creator, but Dejounte lacked in both of those departments. His defense was exaggerated from his Spurs days, and his previous injury and poor roster construction have both contributed to it. But many people claim Murray had excellent defense, which was simply not true. I am glad Fields decided to pull the trigger and quickly end the experiment, opting for a more Trae-oriented offense, promising to surround him with shootings.

With the #1 pick, the Hawks select…

The Hawks opted to go with the 6 ‘9 swingman, Zaccharie Risacher, instead of what most people considered the consensus number one pick, Alex Sarr. I initially wanted Sarr, as he would be the perfect pick-n-roll partner with Trae and Dejounte and fill out the weakness of the center position; but watching highlights of Risacher and Sarr’s unwillingness of wanting to play in Atlanta has swayed my opinion. Risacher can plug nicely with Trae, as he does not need the ball in his hands to create, and is excellent in attacking the closeouts. On the defensive side, he can guard 1-4 comfortably and will help anchor the defense for Trae.

Hawks get fleeced for Dejounte?

Many NBA followers, and even some fans of the team, believe that the Hawks were going to get Ingram with the trade. As Woj and Shams reported the final dealings of the trade, many fans were astonished at the little return the Hawks got. In reality, the Hawks were never going to get their 5 first-round picks back, the value of Murray was different from back then. Earlier in the year when the Hawks were rumored to be shopping Dejounte, they asked for a return of a promising young player, a young solid bench player, and two first-round picks. That is exactly what they got with Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr, and two first-round picks. Daniels is a terrific defender, and will most likely be the POA defender along Trae. With Richaser, this allows for excellent defensive flexibility to pair with Trae, not to mention the others like Jalen Johnson, Kobe Bufkin, and Onyeka Okongwu who are already on the team. 

The Hawks office has created a clear goal in mind: get younger and surround Trae with 3-and-D guys. The Hawks got younger, got taller, have gotten better defenders, and they have a solid offseason to get used to Snyder’s system. Only time will tell if the front office has made the correct decision in their roster moves, but I am optimistic about this retooled roster.