The Hawks have spent the week doing a little bit of everything, and the roster math is starting to come into focus.
Atlanta already re-signed veteran guard CJ McCollum to a one-year deal, brought in Aaron Wiggins in a trade, added Kingston Flemings, Zuby Ejiofor and Henri Veesaar in the draft, exercised the $2.4 million team option for Mouhamed Gueye, and guaranteed Buddy Hield’s $9.6 million contract for next season. That deal can still be traded. Now the next major decision lands today: whether to pick up Jonathan Kuminga’s $24.3 million team option.
With free agency set to begin Tuesday evening for the new league year, the Hawks’ cap picture is clear enough to sketch out. The salary cap is $165 million, the luxury tax sits at $201,000,000, the first apron threshold is $209,000,000 and the second apron threshold is $222,000.
Atlanta’s current salary list runs like this: Jalen Johnson at $30,000,000; Dyson Daniels at $25,000,000; CJ McCollum at $21,000,000; Onyeka Okongwu at $16,100,000; Nickeil Alexander-Walker at $14,403,710; Corey Kispert at $13,975,000; Zaccharie Risacher at $13,826,040; Buddy Hield at $9,658,536; Aaron Wiggins at $9,028,038; Asa Newell at $3,399,480; Mouhamed Gueye at $2,406,205; and Kingston Flemings, Zuby Ejiofor and Henri Veesaar at TBD.
That adds up to $158,797,009 for the top 11 players, with the rookie numbers still to be determined.
If Atlanta exercises Kuminga’s option and does nothing else, the team would land at $183,097,009 before accounting for the rookies. Once those projected rookie salaries are added in, the Hawks would be about $8 million below the luxury tax and would not have access to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
Even so, more movement still feels likely.
Hield is the clearest name to watch. He did not play meaningful rotation minutes for Atlanta in either the regular season or the playoffs, and there has been buzz about the Hawks looking for a trade partner for his contract. That’s a situation worth tracking in the coming days.
The other names to monitor are Kuminga, Kispert and Risacher. Atlanta could pick up Kuminga’s option and still move him in a trade.
Hield, Kispert and Risacher also stand out as possible trade candidates. It would not be a surprise if the Hawks tried to move either Hield or Kispert without taking salary back, which would open up more room for the non-tax MLE and give them a path to add either a center or another bench piece.
For now, Atlanta is sitting in a solid financial position heading into the offseason.
In Other News...
Hawks Just Made A Backup Center Move With Bigger Implications
Atlanta had already spent the summer sorting out the edges of its frontcourt, and Nicolo Mellis return clarifies at least one part of the picture. The Hawks are bringing him back on a one-year, fully guaranteed deal worth $14 million, using nearly all of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception to get it done because his Non-Bird Rights would not have allowed them to get to that salary any other way. The move points to a clear role for Melli behind Onyeka Okongwu, giving Atlanta a backup center option it knows well.
Mellis return also comes with a bit of roster math attached, because the Hawks are now closer to the tax line and have less flexibility for whatever comes next. He was productive in his time with Atlanta, and his floor spacing gives the team a different look when Okongwu sits, but the bigger question is how much room the Hawks will have left to maneuver if another decision needs to be made before camp. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Just Sent A Telling Message About Their Center Debate
Atlantas center conversation appears to have settled at least for now, with Jock Landale set to return on a one-year deal and the front office signaling it is comfortable moving forward with Onyeka Okongwu as the starting five. The message from the Hawks is pretty clear: they are leaning into the group they already have rather than chasing a pricier fix on the open market, and Landales return gives them another experienced body in the middle without forcing a major reshuffle.
Landale also arrived with a built-in role after coming over from the Utah Jazz just before the trade deadline, so this is not exactly a fresh experiment. What makes the decision more interesting is the way Atlanta views its own finish to last season, since Landales late injury may have had a hand in the playoff issues against the Knicks, especially around rim protection and rebounding. Even with that backdrop, the Hawks seem prepared to trust continuity over a bigger splash, and that choice says plenty about how they see the center debate right now. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Still Face One Risky Free Agency Fix They Can't Ignore
The Hawks offseason checklist still starts inside, where the need for more size and steadier rim protection has been obvious enough to shape how they approach free agency. With a path potentially opening up after Atlanta declined Jonathan Kumingas team option, the front office has at least some flexibility to look at the kind of center help that can ease the burden on Onyeka Okongwu and tighten things up defensively.
Jock Landale gives Atlanta a familiar fallback after being solid down the stretch, while Sacha Mamukelashvili brings a different kind of appeal with his spacing and improved production. Robert Williams III stands out as the most intriguing upside play because of what he can do protecting the rim, but his injury history makes every conversation about him a balancing act. For a Hawks roster trying to cover an obvious weakness without boxing itself in, the answer may come down to how much risk it is willing to absorb for a solution that could matter all season. [Read more 🡒]