Within a year of taking control of the Atlanta Hawks’ front office, Onsi Saleh has already solved the team’s biggest problem: its lack of a cohesive identity.
With Trae Young, Jalen Johnson, and Kristaps Porzingis forming a powerful trio on paper, the team was ostensibly looking to compete in the playoffs this season. While saying Atlanta had serious title hopes would be a stretch, I thought they could be a dark horse contender with a little luck in an injury-riddled Eastern Conference.
But this was a mirage in a desert littered with Play-In appearances.
Barring a miracle regarding Porzingis’s health, this star trio was never meant to stick together.