For me it boils down to if we can sign or trade for a star by next offseason combined with 1 of young players like Brown becoming a rising star. If so maybe Thomas and Horford can take a little more of a backseat as they age while we remain very competitive. Next offseason ma be the last time for a while with a big cap increase and the chance to sign a star.
If that doesn't happen I'm afraid we'll turn into the Hawks of the last 5 to 10 years good but never good enough, and at least time to think about trading Crowder, Bradley, and Thomas.