26. Atlanta Hawks

By: Lucas Kochevar

     The Atlanta Hawks were in the Eastern Conference Finals just three seasons ago. Now they are essentially at rock bottom. The Hawks are starting almost from scratch the exception of a few players. They just brought in a new GM in Travis Schlenk  that came from the Warriors. The Hawks lost multiple players in free agency and through trades. The Hawks biggest loss was PF Paul Millsap, who has been the rock of the Hawks for the past four seasons. The Hawks best player is now Dennis Schroder. He will command all the attention from opposing defenses and he will need his wing players to step up and hit the three point shot consistently. He will see most of his assist come from drive and kicks. This is what I can see the starting lineup  looking like. 

PG: Dennis Schroder
SG: Kent Bazemore
SF: Taurean Prince
PF: Ersan Ilyasova
C: Dewayne Dedmon

6th Man: Mike Muscala

     Dennis Schroder has had the keys to the team for a season now and he should feel more comfortable now that he has that season under his belt. He should be successful this season because of the reasons I listed above. Kent Bazemore is in the second year of his bust of contract and he needs to play better if he wants to stay on this team long term. Taurean Prince is the starter for the future of these Hawks. He started at the end of last year and in the playoffs and did quite well for a rookie. I expect him to make a leap and become a very good quality wing. The front court is a big question right now as I believe the three big men above are interchangeable. First round pick, John Collins, should get some respectable playing time as the depth is not that good right now. If he plays good enough you can expect him to earn the starting job. The bench is very rough as the back up PG spot is not great and the back up wing players are not very good either. I expect the Hawks to miss the playoffs and hopefully secure a top 5 pick.