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Atalnta Ranks Near The Top Of B/R’s Offseason Drama Rankings

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Atalnta Ranks Near The Top Of B/R’s Offseason Drama Rankings


For the first time since 2020, the Atlanta Hawks did not qualify for the NBA Playoffs and were sent home by the Chicago Bulls in the NBA’s Play-In Tournament. After being the most talked about team leading up to the trade deadline, the Hawks decided to stand pat and not make any moves. That is not likely to be the case this summer.

It seems like most around the league are expecting the Hawks to split up the duo of Dejounte Murray and Trae Young, but that might not be the only thing that happens. It seems like the only player that won’t be traded is forward Jalen Johnson, who showed he has massive potential. While they might not be the most talked about team this summer, they will be near the top.

And that is why they ranked in the top ten of Bleacher Report’s offseason drama rankings of all 30 teams. Here is what analyst Grant Hughes had to say about the Hawks being ranked No. 9:

“The Atlanta Hawks can’t blame their disappointing season on Trae Young’s injury, as they were only 24-32 when he went out with a torn ligament in his hand shortly after the trade deadline.

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The hoped-for improvement with a full season of Quin Snyder as head coach didn’t materialize, every piece of the supporting cast not named Bogdan Bogdanović or Jalen Johnson underwhelmed, and the Young-Dejounte Murray backcourt pairing flopped.

Atlanta lost the minutes those two played together by 6.3 points per 100 possessions, and the most-used lineup with Young and Murray posted a whopping minus-15.3 net rating in 628 possessions.

Murray could be the one to go as the Hawks try to reshape the roster, but Young’s departure would be a more significant change. Either way, GM Landry Fields seems to understand the verdict is in on his backcourt tandem.

He told reporters after the season: “The sample size is getting larger and larger and larger and assuming you’re looking at specific lineups, and defensive and offensive ratings … Yeah, you’re starting to see that more and more. And yeah I can’t lie to you, the numbers speak to themselves on that.”

Johnson’s extension negotiations could get interesting, and several other role players could be on the block. But the potential for a deal that sends away Young, long viewed as a franchise cornerstone, would be a seismic change.”

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It should be noted that the Hawks have not made Young available for trade and Young has not asked to be traded. This is all just speculation and I still think Young will remain in Atlanta when all is said and done this summer. It seems that Atlanta is heading towards breaking up their backcourt of Young and Dejounte Murray, but that could mean that Murray is the one who is traded. Atlanta was shopping Murray this season.

While the trade talk is what will dominate this offseason, the first big day of the offseason will be on Sunday. The 2024 NBA Draft Lottery is this Sunday and for the first time since 2020, the Hawks will be involved. It could be the Hawks last pick for the forseeable future due to the Murray trade with the Spurs, making it that much more important. Atlanta’s predraft position is 10th and they have a 13.9% chance to leap into the top four picks and a 3.0% chance to land the No. 1 pick. The Hawks have never been able to have much luck in the lottery, but that could change starting tomorrow.

This summer has the potential to be one of the craziest NBA offseasons in recent memory. There are a lot of teams that could be remaking their rosters and Atlanta could be one of them.



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Atlanta, GA

Cancellations, delays continue at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

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Cancellations, delays continue at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport


ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — The trouble for travelers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport continued Sunday as rain persisted in metro Atlanta.

As of 5 p.m. Sunday, 487 flights have been delayed and 124 have been canceled.

TSA wait times have also ballooned; passengers going through the main checkpoint should expect to wait upwards of an hour, and those going through the north checkpoint should expect to wait more than 30 minutes.

The airport said, “The delays are the result of residual impacts from two ground stops issued on Friday, which created a temporary backlog in passenger volumes, combined with current TSA staffing constraints.”

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The delays added to a disastrous weekend for Hartsfield-Jackson. Travelers on Saturday described hourslong tarmac waits, missed connections and overnight strandings after storms triggered mass cancellations and delays.

The Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines received the bulk of travelers’ frustration. The airline released a statement to Atlanta News First addressing the tarmac delays.

“We apologize to our customers, as we know that a delay on the tarmac waiting for an arrival gate is frustrating. Delta people worked through severe weather challenges in ATL that drove gating constraints overnight,” the company said. “The safety of our customers and crew is our highest priority.”



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Atlanta, GA

Youth, served: Real Salt Lake pulls past Atlanta United to keep fast start

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Youth, served: Real Salt Lake pulls past Atlanta United to keep fast start


SANDY — Three games into the 2026 campaign and Real Salt Lake has a formula for success.

Spoiler alert: the kids are (still) all right.

Aiden Hezarkhani scored a goal for the second-straight week, rookie Sergi Solans added his first professional, and Real Salt Lake served its youth again en route to a 3-2 win over Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Fellow teenager Zavier Gozo also scored for Real Salt Lake, the Utah native’s first of the season after his breakout four-goal, three-assist campaign last year to help his home side improve to 2-1-0.

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Aleksei Miranchuk had a brace for Atlanta, which fell to 0-3 while being outscored 7-2 a year after struggling to a 5-16-13 campaign.

“It was a shootout,” RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni said. “This was one of those games that was super exciting. It’s a real credit to the group on both sides of the ball. I thought we were really deliberate … and defensively, we were great against a top attacking group.

“We knew it was going to be difficult. But the guys weathered the storm … and we challenged the group to dig deep, to defend our box, and manage the game the right way.”

Salt Lake, meanwhile, has won two of its first three matches — even with a shorthanded roster. The club lost Diego Luna (knee) and Victor Olatunji (eye) to injuries during the same training session before the season opener in Vancouver, and former U.S. international fullback DeAndre Yedlin picked up a hamstring injury last week.

But if adversity spawns opportunity, Real Salt Lake’s rising generation is taking advantage of either — or both. Give credit, too, to the veteran players for bringing along the youth that also include 17-year-old Luca Moisa — and not skip a beat.

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“It’s like a brotherhood,” Mastroeni said. “There’s no guy that’s bigger than the team.”

Gozo and Morgan Guilavogui nearly connected for a goal just 49 seconds into the match, but the newly signed Designated Player making his first start saw his shot tipped over the cross bar.

Instead, Guilavogui gave the visitors the early lead midway through the first half, slipping a brilliant through ball behind the defense to Solans for the clinical finish in the 23rd minute.

Solans was selected with the 30th overall pick of the 2025 MLS SuperDraft by Salt Lake, who traded $50,000 in general allocation money to the LA Galaxy in select the Spanish native.

But instead of signing forthright with the club, Solans elected to return to collect for one more year and the 22-year-old alumnus of Spain’s Girona FC academy returned to UCLA and scored a team-high 16 goals with six assists in 19 matches en route to All-American second-team honors and a program record-breaking third hat trick in the Big Ten Tournament final.

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“Sergi doesn’t necessarily have top-end speed,” Mastroeni said, “but he has top-end timing. When you threaten the back line, you don’t have to have the fastest speed. But you do have to have the right timing.

“You’ve got to make plays — and that’s what making plays looks like.”

Hezarkhani doubled the lead in the 27th minute, gaining possession of the ball in the final third with his chest off an angled touch from Solans before sliding a right-footed shot from the center of the box that put Salt Lake up 2-0.

It’s the second goal in as many matches for Hezarkhani, the 18-year-old academy alumnus who had six goals with four assists in 21 matches (19 starts) for Salt Lake’s third-division affiliate Real Monarchs a year ago.

Miranchuk pulled one back for the home side in the 38th minute, scoring Atlanta’s first goal of 2026 with one touch from Elias Baez from the center of the box to cut the deficit to 2-1.

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But Gozo finished a counter initiated by Philip Quinton and Justen Glad with his left less than two minutes later to push Salt Lake back in front 3-1 at halftime.

After a series of second-half introductions including the halftime debut of Utah native and former Corner Canyon High standout Griffin Dillon for RSL, Miranchuk added another for Atlanta in the 74th minute to cut the deficit to 3-2.

But Rafael Cabral made two saves on 16 shots faced to help the visitors hold on for their second straight win.

Real Salt Lake returns home next Saturday, March 14 to host Austin FC (7:30 p.m. MDT, Apple TV) before a road trip to San Diego FC.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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Atlanta, GA

On the set of "Scream 7"

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On the set of "Scream 7"


Ghostface is back…and this time, the call’s coming from Atlanta! The seventh installment of the blockbuster horror franchise “Scream” was filmed in Metro Atlanta, including at Midtown’s SCAD Film Studios. We’re checking out one of the film’s notable sets, which is now serving as a classroom for students. We’re also catching up with screen legend Kurt Russell, his real-life won Wyatt, Emmy Award winner Anna Sawai, and the rest of the cast of the Apple TV hit “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,” which is back for a second season. Finally, we’re getting a first taste of Atlanta’s newest culinary hotspot, 17th & State Restaurant + Bar! Bon Appetit!



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