There is a lot to be said about the Atlanta Hawks’ 2024-25 offseason, but it certainly has not been uneventful. They traded away All-Star guard Dejounte Murray for two first-round picks and rotation pieces while taking French wing Zaccharie Risacher with the 1st overall pick. The franchise appears to be at a crossroads, which has been cause for plenty of debate.

The Hawks have certainly had an off-season that can be viewed through either a good or bad lens. Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes attempts to juxtapose both of those viewpoints in a recent piece explaining the reasons to love and hate every team’s 2024 offseason.

For the Hawks, Hughes had this to say about the positives of their offseason:

“Love: They acquired future-focused assets. We can’t really credit the Atlanta Hawks for lucking into the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, which ultimately became Zaccharie Risacher. But the acquisition of a top talent, even in a weak draft, combines well with the trade that turned Dejounte Murray into Dyson Daniels and a pair of first-round picks. Those assets give the Hawks optionality if Trae Young can’t guide an otherwise unchanged core to more than last year’s 36 wins.”

However, he also had this to say about the negatives of their approach to the off-season:

“Hate: The on-court product isn’t any better. Risacher is unlikely to be a helpful player this season, and the subtraction of Murray means the Hawks don’t have as much overall talent as they did a year ago. Because they don’t control their own 2025 first-rounder, it’s hard to see the Hawks tanking. So that means they’re stuck gunning for the Play-In with reduced firepower. It’s possible Daniels will pop, and his defense-first skill set is admittedly intriguing next to Young. Atlanta could get organic growth from him, Onyeka Okongwu and Jalen Johnson, thereby compensating for Murray’s departure. But the product, on paper, isn’t as good as it was a year ago.”

While I agree with Hughes’ logic detailing why he likes the offseason, I cannot get behind his reasoning for why he does not like it. Risacher will not be an All-Star, but he could end up being a starting-caliber player. I would disagree with the product not being better. While trading away a player like Murray seems like a loss because, in a vacuum, Murray is a really good player, the reality was that he was never a fit next to Trae Young and the team was not good with both of them on the floor together. Young could see an uptick in production as the main vocal point of the offense and for the first time since they made the Eastern Conference Finals, the roster construction has been solid and the team makes sense.