Hawks ‘gotta be smart ‘about how they build their team

The Hawks’ season ended on a disappointing note, but they learned valuable information on how to proceed moving forward.

After going 26-30 before the All-Star break, the Hawks had a remarkable turnaround in the second part of the season. They won 20 of their final 26 games, including an 11-game win streak in March. They posted the third-best record after the All-Star break behind the Spurs and Thunder, who ranked No. 2 and No. 1 in the Western Conference.

To do that, the Hawks developed chemistry in just two months following the NBA trade deadline in February. That bond has given the Hawks hope that they’ve built a solid foundation for their future.

“I just think the resiliency of our group,” Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh said. “You’re 26-30, I think we were the 10th or 11th spot at one point, and for us to fight and do what we did, and come together. And it’s such a great group of guys that we’ve got, too. They’re just, they play for each other, which is really special, and they’re such a young group.”

Before the trade deadline, the Hawks had the third-youngest team in the NBA. The team’s average age increased with the addition of several veterans, who imparted invaluable knowledge that can help the team mature.

That, of course, will pay dividends next season and beyond.

The Hawks have two draft picks in the NBA Draft in June. They will get younger with the addition of two players, likely both under 22.

That’s why the Hawks don’t plan to skip any steps in building the team into a contender. They intend to take the best available player, wherever they land in the draft. They plan to give those players as many minutes as possible in the Summer League in both Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.

It’s why the Hawks plan to maintain some continuity with coach Quin Snyder still leading the way.

“I can’t speak more highly of anybody in the sense of his leadership, his ability to adapt to circumstances,” Saleh said of Snyder. “He’s taken three iterations of this team, and the last iteration he thought fit really well and to what he was trying to do.

“And the way that he got everybody to buy in was pretty remarkable. I’d not seen that. And Most Improved Player, back-to-back, I’ve never literally been done before. Jalen’s (Johnson) ascension, O (Onyeka Okongwu) getting better at literally everything — he’s been phenomenal. And (Snyder’s) been an unbelievable partner in all this.”

Of course, the Hawks also have to build their team through free agency.