A quick prediction of the Hawks’ 2023-24 regular-season rotation

Based on the exhibition finale last Friday, Saddiq Bey will likely start at the position with third-year forward Jalen Johnson coming off of the bench.

While the exhibition season and training camp gave the Hawks a window into what their rotations may look like, coach Quin Snyder alluded to the fact that he and his staff will continue to remain flexible throughout the season -- as well as in-game changes.

“Yeah, I think as much as anything, I don’t think we had everybody together in the preseason until the Philadelphia game,” Snyder said. “But you get windows into it. You get windows into it in practice, and a rotation, isn’t something that’s not like a playoff roster where you have to put everybody’s name down and that’s what it is for, for the rest of the time. I think the key for our group is rotations are malleable.

“Whether that be starting lineups, finishing lineups, you see it more obviously with finishing, but even in terms of what are the combinations that are playing together, and that can change, game to game.”

The Hawks will weigh plenty of factors -- matchups, time played, combinations that work well together -- to determine their rotations for the season. So, the initial starting lineup is not the end all and be all.

That being said, here’s a look at what the rotation could look like throughout the season:

Starters

PG: Trae Young (11)

SG: Dejounte Murray (5)

SF: De’Andre Hunter (12)

PF: Saddiq Bey (41)

C: Clint Capela (15)

Bey has plenty of experience as NBA first-teamer (172 starts in 229 career games) and his ability on the offensive end gives the team another option in its hopes of fast-scoring starts in each game. The Hawks will need Bey to take a step defensively but the team has tasked itself with step forward collectively on that side of the ball.

Much like last the season, the Hawks staggered Young and Murray’s minutes throughout the exhibition season. With the two on the floor together, they command so much attention from opposing defenders when they drive to the basket that it frees up other players to knock shots down from the perimeter. If the two play on the outside, it frees up the team’s big men roll to the basket or drive into the paint if the action begins higher up.

Young and Murray draw enough attention that they can collapse defense on their own. But their staggered minutes in a rotation allows the Hawks keep the ball moving at a pace that keeps defenses guessing a little more.

Second Unit

Bogdan Bogdanovic (13)

Jalen Johnson (1)

Onyeka Okongwu (17)

AJ Griffin (14)

Many beat reporters who covered the Jazz during Snyder’s tenure in Utah said that the coach regularly kept his rotation to nine players. Of course, Snyder citing the need for malleability with the rotation, the team could find need to to expand it.

Based on the exhibition finale, the Hawks played what would likely be their regular for rotation for the first three quarters of the game. The team did not sub in a 10th man until the beginning of the fourth despite Johnson running into foul trouble midway through the third.

So, the Hawks will likely keep their rotations tight unless the game dictates the need for adaptation.

The team will likely make changes to the rotation as player health prescribes. The 82-game regular season leaves players with bumps and bruises along the way and the Hawks have rarely been immune to the injury bug.

For now, Bogdanovic, Johnson, Okongwu and Griffin will round out the team’s second unit alongside Young’s or Murray’s staggered minutes.

Bench

Kobe Bufkin (4)

Wesley Matthews (7)

Trent Forrest* (32)

Garrison Mathews (25)

Patty Mills (8)

Bruno Fernando (24)

Seth Lundy* (3)

Mouhamed Gueye (18)

Miles Norris* (0)

* Denotes player on a two-way contract