the hawks are one of only two nba teams to make the playoffs the last 7 seasons in a row (the spurs are the other). given they're in the eastern conference, so that might not mean much, but it does show they can put a competitive group on the floor. on the flip side they also have the second longest title drought behind the kings.
the biggest problem the hawks have is the ownership group. just horrible business people. they can't agree on anything, can't keep a coach or core roster together for more than a few seasons at a time which hurts team recognition and fan connection. they do a terrible job of marketing. they could tout the relative success, bridge demographics by tapping a wide array of local entertainers and superstars from hip hop to pop to country, they don't involve hawks legends like nique and spud enough. the owner group is just cancerous and have pissed away opportunity for a long time. there's no good reason the hawks shouldn't have a stronger fan base when atlanta's other two big professional teams have been just as mediocre or worse and have much more loyal fan base. it's the leadership, they suck.