It’s that time of year again when NBA free agency begins and everybody in Atlanta wonders: Why is everybody ignoring us?

Because for as much progress as the franchise has made on the court over the last three years, the Hawks’ haven’t been destination central for high profile free agents. If NBA stars jet into Hartsfield International, it’s only because they’re connecting to another city. Or the Bahamas.

Will that change? In regards to their hope of signing Kevin Durant, probably not. At best, maybe Hawks part owner Grant Hill – Durant’s good friend and the the second-most powerful man in the organization behind owner Tony Ressler – can convince Durant to meet members of the organization in a room. Heck, the whole meeting can last 15 minutes, over herbal tea, at a corner table in the airport food court, while Durant is waiting for his connection to Miami.

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Hawks television analyst Dominique Wilkins (left), along with play-by-play announcer Bob Rathbun, will call all three exhibition games. (David Zalubowski/AP 2021)

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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