The Hawks spent their offseason trying to solve a familiar problem: how to turn a shaky second unit into something dependable. Their starting five finished the season’s final 26 games playing at one of the NBA’s best levels, but the bench never matched that standard. Outside of Jonathan Kuminga and Jock Landale, it was a rough group, and things got even thinner once Landale got hurt.
Atlanta attacked the issue from a few angles. The front office drafted three rookies and brought in veterans Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Ryan Nembhard. At the same time, the Hawks are counting on internal growth from players already in the mix, including Mouhamed Gueye and Asa Newell.
The clearest hope is that Wiggins and Dort can slide in and produce right away after spending time as rotation pieces for the Oklahoma City Thunder, one of the league’s elite teams. Wiggins may end up with the biggest role of his career in Atlanta.
With Oklahoma City, he was often the 10th or 11th man in the rotation. For the Hawks, he’s expected to be one of the first three players off the bench every night.
If he handles that jump, it could mean a lot for Atlanta.
Dort brings a different kind of value. The defense is the known commodity.
The question is whether his offense can hold up after a rough three-point shooting season. If he rebounds and settles into the Hawks’ system, he could even work his way into the 6th man of the year conversation.
Landale remains a major swing factor because Atlanta does not have a proven, trustworthy backup plan behind him. He was excellent late in the season, and the Hawks felt his absence when he was sidelined.
That trio would give Atlanta a strong starting point off the bench, but the group could go much deeper if the young players develop quickly. The Hawks are banking on recent draft picks Kingston Flemings, Zuby Ejiofor, Henri Veesaar, Asa Newell, and Mouhamed Gueye to fill roles. The rookies are going to go through the usual learning curve, but Gueye and Newell especially need to take a step forward this season.
There’s real upside in that mix of veterans and youth. If it clicks, Atlanta could end up with one of the deepest teams in the league.
But the downside is just as easy to see.
What if Dort and Wiggins don’t translate away from Oklahoma City? Both played defined jobs with elite talent around them every night. Atlanta is good, but it is not the Thunder.
What if Landale can’t stay on the floor? That would leave the Hawks exposed at backup center, and it’s a big ask for Ejiofor and Veesaar to become major contributors as rookies. There will be bumps, especially if they’re forced into action earlier than expected.
Flemings carries his own questions, too. The No. 8 pick flashed at Summer League, but rookie point guards usually have a hard time adjusting to the NBA.
And then there’s the internal development piece. Gueye has been a steady defensive presence, but defenses don’t respect him on offense. Newell barely played last season and, as expected for a rookie, had his share of defensive issues.
The Hawks have clearly upgraded the talent in their bench group. The bigger question is whether that talent is enough to push the unit into elite territory.
In Other News...
Hawks May Regret How One Young Guard Decision Just Played Out
Roster squeezes can force a team into tough calls, and the Hawks ran into one with Devin Carter. The defensive-minded guard, entering his third NBA season, was waived in Atlanta because the club did not have the room to keep everyone, even with Carter still carrying real upside as a backcourt defender and development piece.
The move makes a little more sense when you look at the guard picture the Hawks were trying to sort through, especially after adding Ryan Nembhard. Still, the timing left enough intrigue for Boston to step in and give Carter a new deal, which is the kind of outcome Atlanta will be forced to think about if its collection of similar young guards starts producing elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Lu Dort Has To Be More Than A Hawks Stopgap
Atlanta spent this offseason reshaping its wing rotation, and Lu Dort arrived as part of a three-team trade with a clear purpose: help fill the hole left by Zaccharie Risacher. The fit makes sense on paper. Dort brings toughness, physicality and the kind of edge that can matter in a crowded Eastern Conference, where Atlanta is trying to climb into a more serious tier before the season gets away from it.
But the Hawks cannot treat him like a simple plug-in. The next step is less about what Dort already does well and more about whether he can sharpen the parts of his game that decide bigger roles, from cleaner shot choices to steadier work at the point of attack. If Atlanta is going to lean on him when the games tighten, it will also need more than defense and energy. It will need a player who can help guide the group when the postseason pressure finally arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Rookie Faces The Same Early Test Jalen Johnson Once Did
Jalen Johnsons early path is a useful reminder that development in Atlanta does not always happen in a straight line. Much of his first stretch in the league came through the College Park Skyhawks, and the Hawks have clearly become comfortable using their G League affiliate as a real part of the growth plan, not just a holding spot for fringe players. That track record helped shape how the team approached this years rookie class, where Kingston Flemings, Zuby Ejiofor and Henri Veesaar are all facing different early expectations.
Veesaar looks like the latest prospect to be asked to take that route, and Atlanta seems willing to be patient with it. The organization has seen enough success developing players through College Park to believe it can matter in the long run, even if the early stages are less visible to fans watching the NBA roster every night. For a rookie trying to carve out a future, it is the same sort of test Johnson had to answer, only now the Hawks are asking it again with another young big in the pipeline. [Read more 🡒]