3 changes the Hawks need to make coming out of the All-Star Break

The NBA All-Star break provides a window for players, coaches, and staffers around the league to recharge their batteries after a grueling start to any campaign. The break is not actually the halfway point by any stretch and, for the Atlanta Hawks, two-thirds of the team's game will be in the rearview mirror before the second "half" of the season begins.

At any rate, the hiatus also provides teams with a chance to reset from a basketball standpoint. That means potential tweaks to what was happening before the break, and Atlanta has three potential avenues for change.

Zaccharie Risacher needs to play more

As of Feb. 12, Zaccharie Risacher is No. 7 among NBA rookies in total minutes. The No. 1 overall pick has made 45 starts this season and, given that he is a member of a team that is trying to win in the short term, there is nothing inherently wrong with Risacher's overall deployment. However, his minutes have stagnated a bit in recent days, and Risacher has played more than 29 minutes just once since the calendar flipped to 2025.

On one hand, Atlanta actually added depth at the trade deadline, turning two rotation pieces (De'Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic) into three rotation pieces (Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, and Terance Mann). In theory, that could take shine away from Risacher, particularly given Atlanta's incentive to win games with an eye toward the playoffs.

On the other hand, Jalen Johnson is not walking through that door and, while the Hawks are favorites to at least make the Play-In this season, some of Atlanta's higher-end outcomes are likely off the table without Johnson in the fold. As such, the Hawks could reasonably lean more into the long-term, including a focus on getting Risacher as much seasoning as possible. Risacher's veteran-like acumen also should help to offset some of the concerns with playing a rookie more minutes, as he has only one turnover in his last six games to go along with an uptick in his shooting efficiency.

Try to sign Dom Barlow to a multi-year contract

The Hawks acquired Bones Hyland from the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the Terance Mann trade, but Hyland never reported to Atlanta and the team quickly waived him. That decision wasn't terribly surprising given that Hyland was simply in the deal for matching salary, but it does give the Hawks an open roster spot. Atlanta could cycle through 10-day contracts are seek help on the buyout market, but given where the team is in its developmental cycle, investing in the future would be a logical choice.

That is where Dom Barlow comes into play. Currently, the 21-year-old big man is on a Two-Way contract, but the Hawks would be wise to at least attempt to sign him to a team-friendly, multi-year deal. Atlanta was able to secure such a deal with Vit Krejci before this season, and that has immediately paid dividends with Krejci providing rotation-level play at a (very) cheap cost. Barlow remains somewhat raw, particularly on the defensive end, but it was a steal when Atlanta was able to sign him to a Two-Way this summer, and the same could be said if they could lock him up for a few years right now while Barlow is already under team control.

As a second consideration, a move to sign Barlow to a standard contract would also open a Two-Way spot, and the Hawks already have a logical candidate to fill it. Nikola Djurisic, Atlanta's 2024 second-round pick, is currently operating on a G League deal with the College Park Skyhawks and, logically, the Hawks will want to tab him with an NBA deal soon.

Don't put Clint Capela on ice

For most of the season, Clint Capela was the starting center for the Atlanta Hawks, and that was a continuation of his role from previous campaigns. Ultimately, the Hawks decided to pull the trigger on a swap to insert Onyeka Okongwu into the lineup and, while that made sense on some level given the age and trajectory of the two players, Capela remains a sturdy rotation player with real value on the defensive end. With an eye toward potential trades, Capela did not play in the lead-up to the trade deadline, but the Hawks did not move him and he has been a healthy inactive since returning to the team.

Some of this situation is complicated by the reality that Larry Nance Jr. is also a rotation-level veteran big for the Hawks, but Nance Jr. left Monday's game with a knee injury and there is uncertainty about his short-term and long-term health as this post is constructed. Regardless of Nance Jr.'s availability, though, it makes more sense to keep Capela in the mix, both as an insurance policy for either Okongwu or Nance Jr. and also as a valuable piece in certain matchups. For all of the offensive versatility provided by deploying Okongwu or Nance Jr. at center, Capela is their best defensive option against certain centers, and there is no inherent harm in keeping him in the mix, rather than putting him on ice.