Atlanta Hawks: Post All-Star Break Mailbag

Hello friends. I hope the eight days off in between games has treated you well. It's been the longest break in action since October 2021. Now we enter a crucial stretch of the season. No more excuses, the Hawks must play at a high level, or they will have taken a significant step back from last season. Let's get into your questions now.

Rumors out there that Zion wants out of New Orleans. Could we be suitors for him? There was speculation that he wanted the Hawks to draft him a few years ago.

Zion Williamson's career is going one of two ways - Greg Oden or Joel Embiid. Either a player whose career is struck down before it ever really got started due to injuries. Or another big man that missed significant time but came back and was able to not only save his career but thrive in the NBA.

Williamson hasn't played a game this season, but last year he was revolutionary. At 20 years old, he averaged 27 points (64.9 TS%) and 7.2 rebounds per game. But the box score doesn't do Williamson justice. You have to crack open the history books when discussing this phenomenon. There is a litany of records and benchmarks that tie Williamson to Shaquille O'Neal.

Zion Williamson's 25 straight games with 20+ PTS on 50% shooting or better ties Shaquille O’Neal for the longest such streak in the shot-clock era (since 1954-1955). pic.twitter.com/pUdbNEqxwI
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) April 7, 2021

Of course, the Hawks front office should kick the tires on Williamson. The thought of alley-oops from Trae to Zion is intoxicating. But I don't know if they should completely rework their entire roster and system to accommodate him. Last season, Williamson had a 28.7% usage rate, while Young had a 32% usage rate. The Hawks have the best point guard the Eastern Conference has seen since prime Allen Iverson, and I'm not taking the ball out of his hands.

One last thing, Williamson is still a negative defender. That could easily change in the future. But when we last saw him, he was either taking plays off on defense or out of shape or both. The Hawks can't afford any more below-average defenders.

What do you think the Hawks will go in their next five games?

Who knows, your guess is as good as mine. As you know, this team has been wildly inconsistent. They often play to the level of their competition. I'll be optimistic and say 4-1.

After an amazing first half of the season, the Bulls have been struck down by injuries. With Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso out for a while, I could see the Hawks taking both of those games. Similarly, the Wizards are taking on water with Bradley Beal out for the season, so that should be a win. Then I think the Hawks split the games between the Raptors and Celtics.

What's the two-year plan for Jalen Johnson and Sharife Cooper? Do they have any value around the league now, or did we just destroy these assets for a trade?

That's a great question. Despite being drafted 20th overall, Johnson is 67th in minutes played for rookies. Cooper drafted 48th overall is 78th in minutes played for rookies. The silver lining is they have gotten plenty of burn in the G-League.

I don't think their trade stock has been devalued too badly. I'm just confused about the direction of the roster. They are not developing the rookies (even though other contending teams are doing so), which leads me to believe they're win-now. But at the same time, the front office didn't make any moves at the trade deadline (while teams ahead of them did and got better).

What are your predictions for this team entering the second half of the season?

Well, we're actually 70% of the way through the regular season. So, there's a lot less room for error. Additionally, the Hawks had already turned things around by this point last season (they were 32-26 compared to 28-30).

Although my disappointment with the inaction at the trade deadline is well-documented, I still believe this team can make noise in the playoffs. It's almost guaranteed they will have to fight their way out of the play-in games, but after that, who wants to face this team in a 7-game series? I'll take my chances against any team in the Eastern Conference except for the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets.

Here’s my All-Hawks starting lineup and 12 man roster for the last 40 years: Trae Young, Steve Smith, Dominique Wilkins, Kevin Willis, and Moses Malone. Off the bench: Dikembe Mutombo, Dan Roundfield, Doc Rivers, Paul Millsap, Al Horford, Mookie Blaylock, and John Collins.

That's a solid lineup. Unfortunately, I'm far from a Hawks historian. I first started covering the team for a different publication in 2019. Plus, I'm a Lakers fan (hence my petulant win-now mentality), so there are plenty of actual fans out there who can discuss this list better than I can. But I'll suggest Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, and Kyle Korver should replace Kevin Willis, Doc Rivers, and Mookie Blaylock.

Thank you all for your support throughout this season. Not only am I excited about the final stretch for the Hawks, but more so for some content that is in the works for you. There are plenty of reasons for optimism in Atlanta. As always, stay locked into Sports Illustrated's AllHawks.com for breaking news, highlights, and analysis.

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