The Atlanta Hawks have had a solid start to the 2026-2027 NBA season. They are 7-5, currently the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, and have an exciting young group of players. While not every player has gotten off to the start that they had hoped when the season began, you can see the talent on the floor each night with Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Onyeka Okongwu, Kingston Flemings, and Zuby Ejiofor.

But it just feels like the Hawks need one more high-level player.

Johnson was an All-NBA selection last season and was the biggest reason the Hawks got into the playoffs against the Knicks. Since that series loss to New York though, there have been questions about Johnson's viability as a No. 1 option in the NBA and his start to this season, though he has missed three games, have not quieted things down.

Daniels has been the Hawks most impactful player this season, despite the three-point shooting, Alexander-Walker is one of the league's elite shooters and has turned into a fantastic scorer, Flemings and Ejiofor are impressing as rookies, and Okongwu (despite some early struggles), has settled in and is one of the better shooting bigs in the NBA.

Since their offseason moves to give CJ McCollum and Jock Landale one-year deals as well as trading for Lu Dort and Dorian Finney-Smith, there has been speculation about whether the Hawks could package either all four of them or three of them, likely along with some draft picks, to try and make an upgrade to the roster.

Who could the Hawks target?

I don't think the Hawks are going to be making a move anytime soon, but it is a good thing to be looking at the landscape of what could be coming and what Atlanta might be able to do.

I think getting a high-level big man would be the Hawks preference, but like this offseason showed that the amount of game-changing players at that position who would fit the Hawks and make them real contenders is slim, if not none.

The dream targets for the Hawks would be Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein, but again, the actual chance that either is available is almost zero. Before the season, there was talk of Karl-Anthony Towns and the Knicks being far apart in contract negotiations, but there is not a chance the Knicks move him during the season.

The name being talked about by analysts who cover the league is Suns guard Devin Booker. The Suns have not gotten off to a good start this season and their future, as far as young players and draft picks, are bleak. Would the Suns ever move one of the best players in franchise history to restart their future? I have doubts, but he does check some of the boxes for the Hawks, especially when it comes to scoring, but his contract and potential trade cost would be interesting.

The four players I mentioned above (McCollum, Dort, Landale, Finney-Smith) have had average to below-average starts to the season, especially Landale and Finney-Smith. Finney-Smith, who is not in the rotation at all, has a non-guaranteed contract for next season and is essentially an expiring. All of these players alone might not be able to swing a trade, but they would represent financial freedom next summer to a team that is looking to move a big salary, but draft picks might have to be attached/

The Hawks have the ingredients to be a dangerous team in the Eastern Conference, but they are still one piece shy. A trade package involving some or all of McCollum, Dort, Landale, and Finney-Smith makes plenty of sense for the Hawks to use at some point, either before or at the trade deadline. and that is one thing that is becoming clearer with every game.