Hawks must get stronger and tougher for next season to last longer

Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh isn’t overreacting to the way his team’s season ended. That’s a good thing.

Knee-jerk reactions are for fans. Media have been known to do so a time or two (hand raised). An essential part of a GM’s job is keeping the long view in focus, even when the short-term results are ugly.

The Knicks blasted the Hawks in the Eastern Conference playoffs. That’s not a sign Saleh should make dramatic changes that hamstring his ability to keep building out the roster.

The full analysis includes the post-All-Star break surge as well as the postseason wipeout. The franchise-worst loss in Game 6 doesn’t negate the good things the Hawks did before, and what they still can do as they gain experience.

Still, Saleh also can’t ignore what that series exposed about the Hawks.

Once the Knicks got their act together, they dominated the Hawks for three straight games because they are the bigger, stronger and tougher. Coach Quin Snyder’s run-and-gun Hawks need more of those traits to advance in the playoffs.

Saleh’s priority should be helping that transformation by acquiring those types of players — the Hawks don’t have enough of them. That became apparent in the playoffs as the pace slowed, the physical play increased and the whistles decreased.

Saleh said the Hawks are counting on improvement from incumbent players. That’s a reasonable expectation. But the possibility of internal gains should be supplemented by the more certain strategy of adding strong, tough and experienced players.

The Hawks lack a beefy big man, but the Knicks series showed they need stronger players all around to compete in the playoffs. Guys who can play through contact with the ball and resist getting pushed back on defense. The main Hawks players couldn’t do that against the Knicks.

The experience of losing to the Knicks, painful as it was, should help the Hawks be better in the long run. Getting bigger and stronger is harder to do.

The limits of the human body in general (and key Atlanta players, in particular) are what they are. Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels could spend the summer in the weight room and still not gain enough functional strength to effectively bang bodies in the playoffs.

Then there’s the matter of toughness. Being stronger helps with that, but it also requires the right mentality.

The Hawks didn’t have it when things got hard against the Knicks. I’m not sure if Snyder can fully commit to building a culture that elevates toughness to the same level of importance as dribbling, passing and shooting.

Saleh can help nudge Snyder in that direction by adding good players with the right traits. The GM has the flexibility to do so because he’s managed to build a pretty good roster while leaving his options open for moves that can make it better.

The Hawks are projected to have roughly $30 million in space below the luxury-tax threshold after the draft. That’s enough money to sign good free agents. The Hawks also can take on much more money in trades than they send out, via exceptions they gained from previous deals.

If the ping-pong balls bounce right in Sunday’s lottery, the Hawks will pick early in what’s considered to be a strong draft. They own the rights to two first-round picks (Pelicans and Cavaliers). The Pelicans’ pick has a roughly 40% chance of landing among the top four. The other pick is No. 23.

It’s rare for even the best prospects to make a big impact as 19- or 20-year-old rookies. There are some physically mature players in this draft who could eventually help Atlanta become a more resilient team.

Right now, the Hawks are a sleek and slender group that’s built for speed. That style of play helped turn around the season after the All-Star break and finish sixth in the East. The Knicks negated the Hawks’ strengths in the playoffs.

New York’s bully ball wore down Johnson, Alexander-Walker and Daniels. Daniels is a great defender, but even he got physically overwhelmed. Jonathan Kuminga showed flashes of being effective with a more rugged style, but his decision-making was erratic.

Those four players are among 10 under contract with the Hawks for next season. The other key returnees are Onyeka Okongwu, Mo Gueye, Zaccharie Risacher and Asa Newell. Kuminga and Okongwu are plenty strong (Okongwu matches up against bigger centers), but the others need to muscle up.

Strength isn’t the only thing those players need to improve. It’s at the top of the list because it would help with everything else. There’s just no way for the Hawks to improve much without getting bigger and stronger, and they need external help with that.

That’s not an overreaction to the way this season ended. It’s an acknowledgment of what must happen for next season to go on longer.