Three Goals For The Atlanta Hawks The Rest of This Season

What should the Hawks be prioritizing for the rest of this season?

Feb 7, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) shoots against the Charlotte Hornets in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Hawks have one more game until the All-Star break. They will face the Charlotte Hornets for the final time this season, an important game given how close the two teams are in the standings.

Atlanta made several forward facing moves at the trade deadline and though they are not going to live up to their high expectations that were there at the beginning of the season, they should be focused on trying to accomplish these goals.

1. Develop young talent, including Jonathan Kuminga

Jan 20, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (1) looks to pass against the Toronto Raptors in the second quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

This is of course the top priority for Atlanta. They have young talent on the roster and they need to keep trying to see how everything works.

The trade for Jonathan Kuminga was the Hawks biggest move at the deadline, but he is not going to play until after the All-Star break at earliest. With Kuminga having a team option for next season, the Hawks need to see how he fits with this team in the last 20 or so games, which is still a small sample size.

Kuminga has talent, but his fit on the roster is a big question mark. Seeing how he fits this season and long term needs to be paramount for the Hawks.

2. Hope the Pelicans and Bucks lose plenty of games

This is something that the Hawks don't actually have control over, but they need both the Pelicans and the Bucks to lose plenty of games down the stretch of this season.

You probably know by now, but the Hawks own the most favorable of the Pelicans/Bucks selections in this year's draft. This draft has been been looked at as one of the best and deepest ever, with players like Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, Duke forward Cameron Boozer, and North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson being looked at as elite level talents.

New Orleans has the 20th hardest (10th easiest) schedule strength remaining and the Bucks have the 14th toughest schedule the rest of the way. Winning the lottery could change the trajectory of this franchise and the Hawks will be tuned in every time these two teams play.

3. Make the playoffs

Making the playoffs is usually the top goal for every team, but it is not paramount for the Hawks. However, it would be good to see this young core get into a playoff series and see how they respond when the stakes are highest. Right now, the Hawks are in 9th place in the Eastern Conference and would have to win two play-in games to get to the postseason, where they will more than likely face the Pistons, who are 3-0 against the Hawks this season.

The Hawks are Jalen Johnson's team now and it would be good to see how he does in a postseason series as the No. 1 option. Let's see if the Hawks easy schedule strength can help them surge in the final weeks of the season.