The calendar has turned to September. You know what that means, right?! Our offseason outlook series is back for the second-straight year!
Hot Hot Hoops senior writer Matt Hanifan will provide his take on the offseasons of all 30 teams for the next 30 days! We will be going in alphabetical order, beginning with the Eastern Conference. Today, to begin the series, we look at the Atlanta Hawks!
Evaluating the Atlanta Hawks’ 2025 offseason
Additions: Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kennard, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, N’Faly Dante, Caleb Houston
Subtractions: Clint Capela, Caris LeVert, Terance Mann, Garrison Matthews (free agent), Larry Nance Jr., Georges Niang, Dominick Barlow, Daeqwon Plowden
Re-signed: Jacob Toppin, Keaton Wallace
Draft: Asa Newell (No. 23 overall)
Hanifan’s outlook: The Atlanta Hawks were one of my surefire winners of the 2025 offseason. They rebounded after a down 2023-24 season, when they finished just 36-46. Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels broke out, and rookie Zaccharie Risacher flourished in the second half of last season.
But Johnson was limited to just 36 games after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery in January, and the bottom kind of fell out. Atlanta made the play-in game for the fourth-straight year and was eliminated, ultimately leading to them parting ways with general manager Landry Fields and hiring Onsi Saleh.
Saleh did an excellent job this offseason of surrounding Trae Young with size, athleticism and shooting — adding Luke Kennard and Nickeil Alexander-Walker for team-friendly contracts in free agency, acquiring Kristaps Porzingis at an inexpensive price via trade and drafting Georgia big man Asa Newell, who cracked the “my guys” list and was No. 13 on my big board.
Oh, and they acquired the New Orleans’ 2026 first-rounder unprotected on draft night! What more could you have asked for?
This is Young’s best supporting cast since arriving in Atlanta. This is a put-up or shut-up year for him.
Grade: A
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Atlanta with Young as their main player will never win anything. Miami is in the same situation with Herro as a main player.
Nothing against those two, they are great players. They just don’t have what is needed for something like that.
Per FANSIDED (September 1, 2025)
Painful realization Heat must accept to get out of this nightmare
The Heat have to be honest with themselves.
“Even though it’s probably the right decision, embracing a “gap” year is not going to do much to accomplish the Miami Heat’s biggest issue as they continue to find themselves in the nightmare that is mediocrity. And unless they’re willing to accept the reality that they must be willing to part ways with Tyler Herro, they may never be able to break out of this competitive lull.”…
“The Heat have to part ways with Tyler Herro
And with a huge decision on his future on the horizon, it’s probably in the best interest of the Heat and Herro to part ways. Because of the way the CBA is constructed, it would be increasingly difficult (and perhaps downright impossible) for the Heat to add a superstar-level player while also signing Herro to an extension of his liking ($40-plus million per year)”…
Per FANSIDED (September 1, 2025)
Miami Heat
“The Miami Heat will likely not make the playoffs in 2026, but that doesn’t mean they’re bereft of talent. Tyler Herro can’t be the 1A of a Finals team, at least as is, but he’s still one of the best scorers in the league. And while he’s old, newcomer Norman Powell is still coming off an All-Star-worthy season who can put Miami’s offense into hyperdrive.
Sure, Terry Rozier and Davion Mitchell haven’t lived up to what the Heat have hoped for them, but they could be great spark plugs off of the bench.”
My personal observation:
If it appears Miami is not headed for the playoffs after the first of the year, Riley may need to seriously consider cleaning house of all expiring contracts to obtain the best assets (young players and draft picks) available. If this version of the Heat is unable to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference during a down year (for Boston, Milwaukee and Indiana), it is highly unlikely they will make the playoffs when those teams are at full strength.
There are many in the pro basketball world, and they are mostly the ones considered experts, who take a decidedly less optimistic slant when appraising this years edition of the Heat, as they now stand. And, some of those same guys have openly advocated for the trade of Tyler Herro, something I have espoused numerous times. To me, it’s a no brainer, for reasons well articulated in this column and by myself.
Fansided, if nothing else happens, has it about right. I know it’s anathema to what some around here hope for, but maybe it’s time for them to be more realistic. Perhaps those who want to believe in a higher upside should assess our roster directly with other teams rosters to get a more accurate gauge of .where we stand. And, while you’re at it, possibly admit that never tanking can become more of an excuse than a policy when we stand Pat for a third year as a mediocre team. And maybe even allow that Riley, despite the Powell pilferry, is at this point in his career, having a lot of trouble finding his way out of the tangled web he has spun.
Excellent summary. I think you are right about both Herro and Riley. The problem with trading Herro is finding a team willing to provide equitable trade value. I would rather not give him away for a marginal player and a distant draft pick. This is Riley’s last chance to work his magic or realize that his time has come and gone and accept the reality that it is time for him to retire.
Ty may also be hard to move, but not untradeable. Its possible we overvalue him compared to other teams. It’s going to be intriguing to watch as it has potential to become a mess. It also could, with the right move, become a mutually beneficial situation that could take our team right back to relevance again. We would be dealing from surplus and could strengthen our main weakness. We could get along just fine now without Ty. Sure, we would miss his explosive offense, but we have plenty of talent at guard. We could use another power forward, a two way player, or a quality big, even if Nico becomes quite viable at that position. If we traded Ty for someone like that, this team would be ready to compete. And that trade could help our cap concerns too. And it’s not like that is homerism thinking. Ty could get us a good player, maybe not quite as much as Riley wants, but still a contributor.
The catch is, that Herro is a good player for current contract, and half of the league would have him for 30 a year.
But nobody wants him for 40 or more a year… including Heat fans.
this is a good heat team that if things click can win the east.we added a very good player.subtracted a guy that fd up our defense.ive been watching bball for long time dunc is the worse defensive player ive ever seen.not just cause of his lack of athleticism. but his stupidness to foul all the time and especially when a guys about to get a layup just let him go but dunc was a grabber..ive never been thrilled with herro on our team.i like players with all round game.move ball and are team first players.tys more of a one on one player doesnt make players around him better and takes lots of shots.dejonte murray for tyler is a fair trade but we become better with a 2 way player.with ty n dunc gone nobody to attack.jjj jovic and especially pelle are decent defenders.when u have guys that can guard that will make us better.i expect a stronger ware to be more of a factor he was too skinny for nba.dru smith if healthy is our best pg with dav a good backup.dru just looks the part body wise.dribbling shooting i like the kid just stay healthy damit.with a top 15 coach everything should click we hope.who in the east is clearly better.just please trade ty already just to free up $$.powell is a better all round player.
…and Davion Mitchell haven’t lived up to what the Heat have hoped for….
Was this a typo by that writer? Did he possibly mean Wiggins? Because I think Davion exceeded all of our expectations, likely playing the best basketball of his career.
Yup. Davion is a diamond in the rough
I saw that. The comment didn’t make sense. Mitchell has been a surprise on the good side.