NBA Season Preview 2018-19: Every team’s biggest question

The NBA calendar is still in a period of unknowns. We’ll start getting answers in just a few weeks but, for now, here is every team’s biggest question.

The NBA season is just weeks away and all the questions we’ve been savoring all summer will start to be answered. Can LeBron James really save the Lakers? Can anyone beat the Warriors? Which of the new rookies are headed for stardom and which players from last year’s class are ready to take another leap.

Here is the biggest question for every NBA team as preseason approaches.

Atlanta Hawks: How will Trae Young and John Collins play together?

Travis Schlenk pointed the Hawks in a clear direction by trading Luka Dončić, widely regarded as the best player in the 2018 Draft, for Trae Young, a dynamic point guard with superstar upside. Young is by far the riskier prospect, with a significantly lower floor than some of the other top picks in his draft class, but also represents an archetypal modern lead guard – a shifty ball-handler with elite passing vision and limitless range. Atlanta has signaled its intention to build around shooting, and the chemistry between Young and Collins will define the next era of Hawks basketball.

Most of Atlanta’s upside will hinge on whether Young’s shooting translates. At his best, he’ll be a scoring threat from anywhere on the floor and make the game significantly easier for his teammates; at worst, he’s a streaky shooter and playmaker whose defensive weaknesses outweigh his offensive contributions. Young’s game will likely require a more carefully designed ecosystem than some of his peers, but the Hawks are actively putting that system in place with shooters at nearly every position.

Enter Collins, who, despite playing power forward for most of his rookie season, projects as a dynamic center in the long term. He is a terrorizing roll man, cramming most every lob he gets with alarming force, and a hyperactive rebounder. He fired at will from beyond the arc in Summer League, flashed some ability to handle the ball and, most importantly, immediately looked comfortable playing with Young. His role will expand in Year 2, which could foretell a dip in overall efficiency (Collins ranked 17th in the NBA in true shooting percentage last season) and more rough spots as he learns the qualities and responsibilities of a modern big man.

A fully actualized version of Collins makes for an ideal costar for Young – a versatile, athletic big who can punish defenses enough to give Young room to operate. They could blossom into a devastating pick-and-roll duo as they learn each other’s games, and it’s not hard to envision those two regularly teaming up for highlight alley-oops and triples. Add in Taurean Prince as a slasher and defender on the wing, and the Hawks are slowly – but intentionally – building toward a bright future.