Since making a surprise appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals, it is perfectly fair to say that the Atlanta Hawks have not met expectations. They have not won a playoff series in the three years since and the one big move they made (trading a large number of picks for Dejounte Murray) did not pan out and the Hawks traded Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans this summer in hopes of resetting the roster.

When ranking the most disappointing NBA franchises over the past three seasons, Bleacher Report’s Mo Dakhil ranked the Hawks at No. 4, in front of the LA Clippers and behind the 76ers, the Lakers, and the Nets.

Here is what he had to say about the last three years for Atlanta:

After the Atlanta Hawks’ surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2020-21, they have been nothing but disappointing since.

The following season, the Hawks went a lackluster 43-39, finished eighth in the East and in the play-in tournament. Atlanta did make it into the playoffs but was eliminated in the first round by Miami in five games.

That team played with a level of apathy that often frustrated fans. Franchise cornerstone Trae Young was even quoted as saying: “It’s regular season. I’m not going to lie, it’s a lot more boring than the playoffs.”

After that conference finals trip, the front office’s big mistake was a lack of moves. The team’s president at the time, Travis Schlenk, told 92.9 The Game: “We made the decision last year to run the same group back and…we probably should have tried to upgrade as opposed to stay status quo.”

“The Hawks did make a splashy trade in the 2022 offseason, sending a protected first-round pick, a pick swap in 2026 and two of their own unprotected first-round picks (2025, 2027) to San Antonio for Dejounte Murray. The thought was pairing Murray with Young would take some pressure off Young offensively and protect him defensively…narrator, this did not work.

The ensuing season, 2022-23, saw the Hawks replace Schlenk with Landry Fields, and fire coach Nate McMillan and bring in Quin Snyder. The team finished 41-41, worked its way through the play-in tournament and lost to Boston in the first round.

Last year, Atlanta lost Young for a large portion of the season, went 36-46 and got knocked out of the play-in tournament. To further cement its suboptimal luck, Atlanta got the first overall pick a year too late for Victor Wembanyama and a year too early for Cooper Flagg.

Over the last three seasons, it has been nothing but disappointment for the Hawks during a slide from conference finalist to the lottery while Young’s prime dwindles.”

Again, it is perfectly fair to call the last three seasons a disappointment. I would probably not rank them ahead of the Clippers because of their expectations after the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George deal.

This is going to be a big season for the Hawks and their future. Young is still one of the NBA’s best players and they have young talent with Jalen Johnson, Zaccharie Risacher, Onyeka Okongwu and Dyson Daniels, but how will it look? That is one of the biggest questions facing the Hawks as they look to build a new future after the Murray trade.

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