After a long, winding road, the Atlanta Hawks have finally found a direction

The Atlanta Hawks had one shot to change their trajectory: the NBA Draft Lottery on May 12.

Hawks brass knew this would be the last time in a while when it could have control of its future, in large part because of a June 2022 trade that sent Dejounte Murray from San Antonio to the Hawks for a bunch of picks, including Atlanta’s 2025 first-round selection.

So when the pingpong balls landed in the Hawks’ favor earlier this spring and brought them the top overall pick in 2024, it represented both a beginning and a temporary farewell to choosing their own destiny.

Zaccharie Risacher was the choice, and only time will tell if that was the right call. Granted, the 2024 draft class was never that highly regarded, but if Risacher tops out as a 10-year rotation player that might actually be just fine.

But the finality of the draft meant something else. Something potentially freeing and exciting.

With Atlanta knowing it had no control of its 2025 selection, the Hawks entered the 2024-25 season with no incentive to lose, regardless of how good the likes of Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey project to be. The Hawks were free to focus entirely on winning. Now the front office won’t make panicked deadline deals to worsen the team in a chase for better offseason lottery odds.

Instead, the Hawks can get down to business and attempt to make a legitimate push toward the playoffs and a possible return to the Eastern Conference finals, which they made in 2021.

The streamlined thinking between front office, coaching staff and players might also be what the doctor ordered for the relationship between the organization and All-Star Trae Young. While there’s never been any real animosity between the two parties, Young has found his name in trade rumors for about three seasons. However you slice it, that’s not a way to strengthen the bond between player and franchise.

Having a full season to put the noise aside and focus on the actual games should give both sides a better idea of whether they want the partnership to last. So far, nothing indicates that won’t be the case.

Aiding that relationship is the evolution of Jalen Johnson.

Questions persist as to whether Young can be the best player on a contending team. Atlanta’s decision to play a heliocentric style of ball, with Young as the beneficiary, hasn’t proven particularly effective.

With Johnson now making a genuine leap from starter to star — at least so far — the overarching questions about Young might fade, as Johnson could become the co-star the organization has always needed.

Johnson, a 6-foot-9 ball-handling, do-it-all forward, is currently averaging 18.9 points, 10.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. His percentages are all down from last year, so expect his scoring production to increase as the season progresses.

The ability of Johnson to both handle the ball and set screens is what separates him from Young’s last big man co-star, John Collins. While Collins was always an outstanding play-finisher who sported elite scoring efficiency, he couldn’t do much on his own, and the offense would often die if the ball landed in his hands away from the rim.

With Johnson, Young and his teammates can now rely on constant creation. The play doesn’t stop nor does the offensive flow diminish when the Duke product finds himself with the ball in his hands and a shot clock that’s about to run out.

With the addition of the 6-10 Risacher, the Hawks installed another long forward into the starting lineup, which has helped offset some of the size that Young gives up defensively. But more importantly, it’s given Young another large target.

On Wednesday, Risacher exploded for a career-high 33 points and seven rebounds in a close win against the New York Knicks. Johnson added 23 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists.

That type of win, which included Young and Dyson Daniels combining to shoot 10-of-37 from the field and Bogdan Bogdanović sidelined, simply wouldn’t have been achievable last season, especially against a quality opponent.

If the Hawks can suddenly win games in which Young doesn’t need to be the center of attention, that changes their future, and drastically so.

This isn’t to say the Hawks are assuredly going to return to Eastern Conference prominence. Nor does it mean their season this year will even have a strong finish. There are a lot of moving parts still not in place yet, and their constantly updated injury report isn’t doing them any favors.

But despite it all, they’re doing something different. They’re changing their recipe.

Yes, a lot needs to get done before the Hawks are legitimate contenders. And perhaps they do make the call that pivoting off Young is ultimately the right way to go.

But that won’t happen before they give this team a real chance. And for that chance to be taken seriously, players have to buy in. So far, they have. Young seems almost relieved that his offensive burden has been lessened, just as Johnson seems almost eager to take on a larger responsibility.

If that dynamic persists, the Hawks could lay the foundation for a very interesting future.