I’m getting used to put pretty much my thoughts on last season and the full offseason in one article.
Let’s start with what we (or at least I) saw from the Hawks last season. Our goal going into the season was to add hopefully another 5 wins to bring us in the 30-win range and close the gap to the playoff spots. We actually started very good, which I still “blame” on the signing of Embiid during last year’s FA. He really gave us some badly needed vet leadership and was even in limited minutes an important presence on the court.
Eventually we traded him to Milwaukee mid-season, he just deserved to be on a roster where he had a real shot for a title.
Surprisingly, we still were able to hang in the 6-8 range in the East after that trade. Especially Okoro was getting more and more comfortable with our offense and finally showed some signs of his expected talent as former #2 pick. Also, Goloman was able to provide some useful minutes to fill the hole Embiid’s exit created. Add steady play from vets White and Leaf and the team was a lot of fun to coach.
Towards the end of the regular season, we lost a bit steam Maybe we ran out of gas but also a few untimely injuries created a few speed bumps. Overall though, I was very happy with how the team performed.
With the season in the bag, we were changing our long-term goals a little. We were looking for ways to accelerate our schedule a bit. Thoughts of getting into deals for the super stars, who were dealt like never before, crossed my mind. Ultimately, we decided to clean out the roster, add some more young players during the draft and agreed to trade for a project on day 30. That should make sure coaching will stay a challenge and will give us flexibility next offseason.
Key addition will most likely be the #8 pick Naji Marshall. Depending on his ability to grow in his anticipated scorer role, the team I have in mind is almost set. His TC looked very solid, it may be too much to expect him to make noise in season one, but like Okoro, I hope for a good step forward in season two.
A step forward in season two would also highly appreciated from last year’s #2 pick Josh Giddey. But so far, he seems to be slow to develop and could not outplay Coby White for the starting PG role. That is something I’m curious to see this season.
The ongoing building of this team is really a fun trip so far and I really hope that stays this way. Up’s and down’s are normal, but it is fun to see the slow progress of a team coming together.
2020, 2023, 2027, 2035
