August 28, 2025
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Suddenly, Hawks star point guard Trae Young has become the subject of some pressure in 2025-26.
While the Sixers still have some business to attend to before their offseason can be complete, most of their Eastern Conference cohorts have just about wrapped up their work ahead of the 2025-26 season in the fall.
Now is as good of a time as ever to survey the landscape of an Eastern Conference that has lost a pair of championship-caliber teams due to superstar injuries. Very few sure things exist in the conference this year, and there is plenty of opportunity for new contenders to arise.
The Sixers are running back a roster fairly similar to the one that finished out last season in hopes of improved health and continued development from younger players propelling them back into contention. But how have the teams they will have to surpass changed over the summer?
Up next: the Atlanta Hawks, one of the clear winners of the NBA offseason as a new front office maximized its optionality to improve their current roster while setting up a promising future. The Hawks are likely not going to be serious championship contenders, but they could be on the cusp of it in a barren conference if everything goes as planned.
SCOUTING THE SIXERS' COMPETITION
Boston Celtics | Indiana Pacers | Cleveland Cavaliers | New York Knicks | Milwaukee Bucks | Detroit Pistons | Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta entered the offseason with two first-round picks -- one near the end of the lottery and the other near the end of the round -- and tons of financial flexibility. They had multiple significant trade exceptions at their disposal with a handful of trade-friendly, medium-sized contracts. It all coalesced into a marvelous offseason in which their new front office -- with former Sixers executive Peter Dinwiddie among the braintrust -- made significant improvements to the team's current roster. The Hawks also added an unprotected 2025 first-round pick -- the more favorable of New Orleans and Milwaukee -- that might be a more valuable asset than any of the players listed below:
Added: Kristaps Porziņģis (trade), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (sign-and-trade), Luke Kennard (free agency), N'Faly Dante (free agency), Asa Newell (No. 23 pick in NBA Draft)
Retained: Nikola Đurišić
Extended: none
Lost: Clint Capela, Terance Mann, Georges Niang, Caris LeVert, Larry Nance Jr., Dominick Barlow
Porziņģis provides a presence that Trae Young has never had as a floor-spacing, rim-protecting center. He is a better player than incumbent starter Onyeka Okongwu in a vacuum, but Okongwu is a much safer bet to be available. Alexander-Walker is an elite third guard for any rotation. Luke Kennard is an elite fourth guard for any rotation, but he must stay healthy so the Hawks have competent ball-handling behind Young.
MORE: Which Sixers should be rotation locks in 2025-26?
Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher and Jalen Johnson will all start. Whether Porziņģis and Okongwu mans the middle remains to be seen, but they will also play together in double-big lineups and are both in line for significant minutes regardless. Kennard and Alexander-Walker will be pivotal off the bench. Atlanta's depth chart looks quite good right now:
| PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
| Trae Young | Dyson Daniels | Zaccharie Risacher | Jalen Johnson | Kristaps Porziņģis |
| Luke Kennard | Nickeil Alexander-Walker | Vit Krejči | Asa Newell | Onyeka Okongwu |
| Kobe Bufkin | Nikola Đurišić | Mohamed Gueye | N'Faly Dante |
Atlanta has a stellar rotation among its best eight players, but will need one or two more players to emerge as reliable contributors.
The Hawks do not have any former Sixers on their roster, neither team owes the other any draft picks and Atlanta's coaching staff does not have any connections to the Sixers. So the only true tie is Dinwiddie, whose five-year tenure with the Sixers ended before the start of the offseason when he was offered a position in Atlanta.
MORE: How important can VJ Edgecombe be as a rookie?
