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ATLANTA (AP) — Trae Young rose from the bench, shook the hands of his teammates and bid farewell to the 15,993 fans in State Farm Arena midway through the fourth quarter of the Hawks’ Jan. 7 win over the Pelicans.
After weeks of anticipation, Atlanta had finalized a deal that sent the four-time NBA All-Star to the Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.
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Young, the centerpiece the franchise built around for the past seven seasons, had become synonymous with the Hawks. And his departure was only the first domino to fall.
But when the dust settled after all the transactions, what remained was something different: a group of seven players who had started the season together and eight eager new additions who learned to lean on one another, carrying Atlanta out of play-in purgatory and into an outright playoff berth for the first time since the 2020-21 season.
A selfless, unified group is what coach Quin Snyder knew was the only path forward for a team that had lost its identity amid a revolving door of player acquisitions and exits.
“I think we’ve had literally about five different iterations of a team,” Snyder said, fresh off the trade deadline. “The key thing for us is going to be to continue to grow together.”
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Snyder was off with his estimation. Twenty-five different starting lineups have taken the court this season for the Hawks, but heading into a first-round series against the Knicks, the April version is the most cohesive to date.
A 13-2 winning streak in March, which brought the Hawks from the familiar cusp of the play-in tournament into the mix for the No. 5 or No. 6 seeds, proved that to be true.
Four of the Hawks’ starting five embarked on the season together: center Onyeka Okongwu, first-time All-Star Jalen Johnson, reigning Most Improved Player Dyson Daniels and new addition Nickeil Alexander-Walker. All of them are having career years.
McCollum, acquired in the Young trade, replaced former No. 1 draft pick Zaccharie Risacher in the lineup and brought the veteran presence the team needed. Jonathan Kuminga, when healthy, has established himself as the sixth…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/play-purgatory-knicks-playoff-series-182453968.html
Author : MAURA CAREY
Publish date : 2026-04-15 18:24:00
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