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1Working under the premise that it seems far-fetched that the Hawks are going to play another basketball game in their 2019-20 season, it’s time to look ahead to the offseason.
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3This is an important offseason for the Hawks because it seems like the players are exhausted with the amount of losing that has happened the past two seasons, and they want to start being put in better positions to win.
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5With that comes important decisions that have to be made. If the Hawks are going to take the next step of their rebuild, do they have the right head coach in place? Do they have the right mix of players in their young core? What else do they need to add?
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7Let’s get to the biggest offseason questions that will shape next season and the future seasons for the Hawks.
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9Will Pierce reach his third season? 
10Lloyd Pierce knew what he was signing up for when he became the head coach of the Hawks two offseason ago. This was going to be a full-fledged rebuild, which meant lots of losing. In Pierce’s two seasons, the Hawks are 49-100.
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12General manager Travis Schlenk wanted someone with a player development background when he was searching for Mike Budenholzer’s replacement, and Pierce fit that qualification coming from Philadelphia where he was Brett Brown’s lead assistant. Pierce saw the 76ers go through a tiring rebuilding process before becoming playoff contenders in the Eastern Conference.
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14Pierce largely has done his job when it comes to player development. Trae Young turned into an All-Star starter in his second season. John Collins turned into a 20-10 machine. Kevin Huerter became a starting shooting guard in his rookie season when it was thought he might have to get reps in the G League because he didn’t look close to being an NBA-ready player in training camp. Cam Reddish continuously improved in his rookie season. De’Andre Hunter showed some signs of improvement in his up-and-down rookie season.
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16If player development was Pierce’s only job, he wouldn’t have anything to worry about when it came to job security. But other things make you start wondering just how secure Pierce’s job status with the Hawks is.
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18We touched on Pierce’s relationship with Young last month and noted that there has been a disconnect between the two of them this season from coaching decisions Young didn’t agree with to off-the-court issues like Pierce’s initial comments on his star point guard not being named a finalist for the Olympics roster.
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20Since last month, sources with knowledge of Young’s thinking have confirmed that his relationship with Pierce isn’t strong. It leaves Pierce in a precarious situation if the Hawks’ star player, and one who obviously will be around for years to come, isn’t Pierce’s biggest fan.
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22For two seasons, some players have also questioned Pierce’s rotations and some of his in-game decisions. One player went as far as to say, “It’s almost as if we actually are tanking on purpose” when discussing his qualms with some of Pierce’s decisions.
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24All of this does seem somewhat unfair to Pierce, and you wonder if these issues would have persisted if the Hawks had a better roster that could compete for more wins. Winning cures mostly all drama.
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26What will the Hawks decide to do with Collins? 
27Even before this season began, Collins’ upcoming possible rookie extension was being discussed. He mentioned that Pascal Siakam’s max extension with Toronto was motivating him this season because that was the kind of contract he wanted when the time came.
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29That time is approaching in the coming months, and just recently, he told The Athletic that he believes he’s worthy of a max-level extension from the Hawks.
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31“I definitely feel like I am in max contract contention,” Collins said. “If I finish this season averaging 20 and 10, the other guys who are averaging 20 and 10 are max-caliber guys. I’m in that conversation and feel like I am worthy of being extended as such. That’s for the Hawks to decide and figure it out. If you want to look at numbers and flat-out play, I definitely feel like I’ve earned it. But the team situation, future cap and all that, now you have a contract negotiation.”
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33If the season is over, Collins will have played only 41 games largely due to his 25-game suspension and what likely is going to end up being a 15-game cancelation for the Hawks. There’s obviously no way of knowing if Collins’ stats would have been sustainable if he played close to a full season, and because of the money he and his representation are likely going to ask for, that likely will end up impacting the Hawks’ decision when it comes to offering an extension this summer.
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35Atlanta’s decision to trade for Clint Capela also likely throws a wrench into extension talks. The Hawks have no idea how these two players are going to co-exist on the floor, even though Collins has shown he’s one of the most versatile big men across the league.
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37Getting Capela on the court for even a small sample size would have given the Hawks an idea of what next season could be when he and Collins are pegged to be the starters in the frontcourt. It just doesn’t make much sense though for the Hawks to offer Collins an extension this summer without seeing the on-court fit play out.
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39If there’s no extension given this summer, the possibility of Collins getting traded increases. Teams around the league already were calling Schlenk to check on Collins’ availability before this past trade deadline, and the inquiries only will increase if a deal is not done before the start of next season.
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41“I wouldn’t take it personal, but my antennas would be up, for sure,” Collins said. “If I can leave it at that. My antennas would be up.”
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43Which players have played their final game in a Hawks jersey? 
44The Hawks have eight players who are on guaranteed contracts heading into next season: Young, Collins, Huerter, Capela, Dedmon, Reddish, Hunter and Bruno Fernando. Brandon Goodwin’s deal only includes $100,000 of guaranteed money and won’t become fully guaranteed unless he’s on the roster beyond Aug. 1.
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46That leaves DeAndre’ Bembry, Jeff Teague, Skal Labissiere, Damian Jones, Treveon Graham and Vince Carter as the players who are entering free agency this summer. Carter is the only player who definitely won’t be back with the Hawks because he’s retiring.
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48Bembry is currently the longest-tenured Hawks player and the only one who precedes Schlenk’s arrival in Atlanta. Bembry has been a personal favorite of Pierce’s the past two seasons because he doesn’t have to worry about Bembry’s energy and effort levels coming off the bench, which has been a collective issue for the team.
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50But Bembry almost assuredly has played his final game for the Hawks. He missed the final 23 games with neuritis and abdominal pain and was going to get phased out of the rotation when he was cleared to play. League sources also told The Athletic that Bembry was readily available in trade conversations before the deadline.
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52Before Teague played his first game with Atlanta this season, Schlenk said that the rest of the season for the one-time Hawks guard was going to be a dress rehearsal to see if the team should re-sign him when free agency begins. It’s hard to imagine that happening now. Teague only played 25 games for the Hawks, and while he was better than Evan Turner, Teague wasn’t good. The same major concern on offense that was prevalent in Minnesota was still there after the trade — the incessant dribbling late into shot clocks causing hurried shots or turnovers.
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54The Teague trade didn’t cost the Hawks anything of value: They gave up Allen Crabbe, who was on an expiring deal, and they received Graham in the deal. The Hawks essentially got a free 25-game look at Teague, and that should be enough to show Schlenk that he needs a better upgrade at the backup point.
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56Labissiere was recovering from a left knee chondral injury when he was acquired at the trade deadline from Portland. He’s a player Schlenk has been interested in for several seasons and could find himself back in Atlanta when free agency begins. The Hawks likely will renounce his rights and let him enter unrestricted free agency before re-entering talks to possibly bring him back with cap space.
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58Jones is one of four centers on the roster, and three of them have a guaranteed deal for next season. There’s no chance the Hawks bring him back on any sort of new contract.
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60Graham was absolutely brutal for three-fourths of his time in Atlanta before making some progress in his final few games. He proved to be a reliable defender and a capable 3-point shooter in those final games, but it likely won’t be enough to come back next season.
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62What should the Hawks do with their first-round draft pick?
63Because of COVID-19, there is a real chance the Hawks won’t be able to meet with any more draft prospects before the draft actually takes place. The whole pre-draft process seems to be in flux with social distancing being of the utmost importance as the nation tries to flatten the curve.
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65The NCAA Tournament is usually one of the most high-profile events for general managers as players tend to cement their draft stock or explode onto the scene, but it was canceled. Other events, like the Nike Hoops Summit and Portsmouth Invitational, also have been canceled as have leagues overseas.
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67This draft is already seen by most executives and scouts as weak, and that’s going to make decisions even more difficult if evaluations are mostly done. There’s not a consensus No. 1 pick with a handful of different players being in the discussion.
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69If the Hawks were to get the No. 1 pick, my guess is that they would listen to trade offers and see what they could get in return. Georgia guard Anthony Edwards makes sense for the Hawks at No. 1 because the team does need a reliable secondary creator who could play next to Young, but Edwards has several warts in his game that don’t make him the sure thing you’d want from the top pick.
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71Ideally, the No. 1 pick could be part of a package for a team that is looking to unload a star-level player who might be disgruntled in his current situation. Even in a weak draft, spinning to your fanbase that you traded a star for the No. 1 pick isn’t the worst PR.
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73With so many unknowns with this draft and the Hawks already having six first- or second-year players, trying to get the biggest return for the first-round pick seems like the right decision as of now.
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75What is the Hawks’ priority this offseason?
76Pierce stated earlier this month that the next step of the rebuilding process is the playoffs. Considering the Hawks only have 20 wins, it’s going to take quite the leap, but it’s possible in the weak Eastern Conference.
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78But that’s where understanding the priorities of the front office is important. There are some franchises that are OK with just making the playoffs and having a few more extra home games each year but having almost no chance of winning a championship. Atlanta was that kind of franchise under previous ownership. Tony Ressler and the front office, however, tore down the 60-win team piece-by-piece because they felt like it wasn’t a championship-level team.
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80Making moves for the short term hasn’t been the modus operandi for Schlenk yet, but Pierce publicly declaring that he isn’t afraid to say it’s playoff time for the Hawks next season puts pressure on everyone in the building to start winning more games immediately.
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82Will the Hawks try to sign older veterans, who still have on-court value, to one-year or two-year deals? Or is the priority to still think with a long-view lens and try to acquire young players who can grow with the franchise?
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84Atlanta has the most cap space in the league and could decide to accelerate its rebuild faster by choosing to trade one or two of its young core pieces for an established star who is on a large contract.
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86There are many different options the Hawks can take this offseason and finding out what matters most to them for this upcoming season is one of the most important questions that needs an answer.