NBA Notes: Hawks, CJ McCollum, Blazers, Damian Lillard, Suns

Hawks

The Hawks may be one of the NBA’s most interesting teams heading into the offseason.

Atlanta won 46 games, reached the playoffs and appears committed to a young core featuring Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels and Onyeka Okongwu. The Hawks also hold the No. 8 overall pick in this month’s draft, giving them another opportunity to add talent.

Since moving on from Trae Young, Atlanta has shown signs of becoming one of the league’s better defensive teams. As relayed by ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Hawks went 27-15 after Jan. 11 and built momentum around a balanced roster.

Now come the tougher decisions.

Veteran guard CJ McCollum is headed toward free agency, while Jonathan Kuminga remains one of the roster’s biggest wild cards. Atlanta has flexibility, draft assets and a promising foundation. The challenge is determining how aggressive to be.

Trail Blazers

For the first time in several years, the message in Portland is clear.

Specifically, the rebuilding phase is over.

New owner Tom Dundon recently indicated the organization’s focus is shifting from player development to winning, a sign of how far the Trail Blazers believe they’ve come.

A young core led by Deni Avdija, Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe and Donovan Clingan helped Portland return to the playoffs this season. The expected return of Damian Lillard from injury next year only adds to the optimism.

The next challenge is finding enough shooting and depth to take another step in a loaded Western Conference.

Suns

The Suns spent years chasing star power. Now they’re trying to build continuity.

Phoenix won 45 games this season behind a core led by Devin Booker, while newcomers Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Mark Williams and Collin Gillespie helped establish a much stronger defensive identity.

That turnaround has given the franchise a clearer direction moving forward.

The offseason priority now becomes keeping as much of the group together as possible. Williams is headed for restricted free agency, while Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin are also due new contracts.

After years of searching for answers, the Suns finally appear to know who they are.

The next step is proving it wasn’t a one-year thing.