The 2024-2025 NBA Season is still two months away and the offseason is at a standstill. Most of the big moves have been made and the rosters that each team has is likely what they are going to be taking into the season barring something surprising. When looking at the current rosters in the NBA, you can start to see the potential strengths and potential weaknesses of each team.

For the Atlanta Hawks, they have a lot of questions they have to answer. They traded away Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans and drafted Zaccharie Risacher with the No.1 pick of the draft. Their biggest weaknesses last year were defense and size and they have done their best to be able to try and fix those problems. When looking at the potential biggest weakness on the Hawks, here is what Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes had to say:

“Dejounte Murray is gone, but that might only be because it was easier for the Atlanta Hawks to split up their ill-fitting backcourt by dealing him than Trae Young. The latter’s contract is far larger, and any team acquiring Young would have to fundamentally alter the way it plays. Those factors tend to trim trade options.

The Hawks added defensive ace Dyson Daniels in the Murray deal, and he’ll team with Bogdan Bogdanović to form one of the more versatile three-man guard rotations in the league. If Atlanta’s frontcourt cooperates, this team could make it back to the playoffs after last year’s brutal 36-win effort.

But if things don’t go to plan, and the Hawks determine at some point this season that bigger changes are in order, don’t be surprised if they revisit the idea of moving on from Young.

Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, gives Atlanta cover to make a franchise-altering move; the Hawks can point to him as the cornerstone of a new era—along with Jalen Johnson and whatever young pieces they might land in a deal that sends Young elsewhere.”

I would argue against some of that, but if things did continue to trend in the wrong direction for the Hawks, it is something that could be discussed next summer. I think the key to the Hawks season is the progression of the young players on the roster. Trae Young is an all-star caliber player, but what about everyone else? Does Jalen Johnson have another leap to make this year? Can Dyson Daniels and Risacher make an impact from day one? Will Onyeka Okongwu be the starter at center finally? The Hawks have potential to be better than some think, but they have quite a few questions that need answering.