The Hawks are heading into the season with a roster squeeze, but the bigger picture looks a lot cleaner than the numbers on the page might suggest.
Atlanta has 17 players on the roster right now, and that has to get trimmed to at least 15 before the regular season starts. Even so, the team sits in a strong financial spot, with plenty of room to maneuver once the cuts are made.
The current cap picture shows just how much breathing room Atlanta has to work with:
Luxury Tax Space: $3,819,114
1st Apron Space: $11,556,747
2nd Apron Space: $24,227,747
The Hawks are hard-capped at the first apron, and they still have never paid the luxury tax under Tony Ressler’s ownership. As the roster gets pared down, those figures should only open up more.
That flexibility is the real story here. Atlanta is positioned with one of the better long-term setups in the league, especially when it comes to optionality. A chunk of money could come off the books soon, and the Hawks still have some of the most attractive contracts around.
CJ McCollum is on a $21 million expiring deal, Lu Dort is at $17.7 million, Jock Landale is at $14 million, Mouhamed Gueye is at $2.4 million, and Ryan Nembhard is at $2.1 million. If Atlanta declines Devin Carter’s team option for next season, that becomes a $5.1 million expiring contract. Buddy Hield’s deal is only guaranteed for $3.1 million next season if he is waived before or on the first day after the 2027 NBA Draft.
That gives the Hawks a path to real cap space next offseason if they choose to let those contracts run out. They could use that room to chase free agents, or they could turn it into trade flexibility by absorbing a bigger salary.
There’s also another route: waiting for the right moment at the deadline. With more than $60 million in expiring money, Atlanta would have the ability to match a major salary if a star became available.
That doesn’t mean a blockbuster is coming, but the Hawks have clearly set themselves up to be in the conversation when one does. Instead of forcing a major swing this summer, they stayed patient, drafted three rookies, added depth through trades, and brought back McCollum and Landale from last season’s group.
They also have their “core four” intact in Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Onyeka Okongwu.
Johnson, Daniels, and NAW all have at least two more seasons left on their current deals. Add in No. 8 overall pick Kingston Flemings on his rookie contract and Aaron Wiggins on a descending deal with a team option, and Atlanta has a setup that could appeal to a high-level free agent.
Which team has the best future in the NBA is still up for debate. But the Hawks have made a strong case to be part of that conversation. They’ve built a good team, and they’ve left themselves plenty of ways to make it better.
In Other News...
Aaron Wiggins Could Be The Hawks Next Quiet Breakout
Aaron Wiggins arrives in Atlanta with a profile the Hawks have tended to appreciate: a low-drama addition who has already done real work for a contender and now gets a chance to show more of it. Acquired from Oklahoma City in the offseason, he comes off a season in which he was part of the Thunders championship run, and the move gives Atlanta another wing who should fit into Quin Snyders system without needing the ball to be the center of attention.
The appeal here is simple enough. Wiggins is expected to have a larger role with the Hawks, and Atlanta has built some of its recent reputation on helping players find extra layers to their games. If his scoring nudges up and his impact grows the way the team hopes, he could become one of those quiet additions that ends up mattering more than the name value suggested at the time. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Suddenly Face A Tough Mo Gueye Roster Decision
Atlantas frontcourt picture already had some moving parts after the Hawks brought in Jock Landale on a one-year deal early in free agency while Jonathan Kuminga remained unsigned. Now Mouhamed Gueye is part of the equation too, after Atlanta picked up his $2.4 million team option and kept him in the mix as a young developmental big for the coming season.
The problem is the Hawks may have to sort out that depth chart without him for a while, which only tightens the squeeze on a roster that is still not settled. Depending on how the rest of the summer unfolds, Gueyes place on the team could come under pressure as Atlanta works toward its final roster decisions and tries to balance present need with future upside. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Tied To Multi-Team Deal That Could Bring Future Value
The Lakers push to land Jonathan Kuminga has pulled Atlanta into the conversation as the league keeps sorting through the next layer of the offseason trade market. Los Angeles is eyeing Kuminga as a starting power forward and seems to have moved into the drivers seat after Cleveland turned its attention elsewhere, while the broader framework being discussed would also involve the Bulls and Nets in a four-team sign-and-trade that has not been confirmed.
For the Hawks, the intrigue is less about the headline name and more about the kind of future flexibility these multiteam talks can create if they keep advancing. Kuminga is reportedly not interested in settling for a one-year minimum deal, which makes a resolution more complicated and keeps the Lakers pressing to finalize something sooner rather than later, while Atlanta waits to see whether the talks produce a return worth the wait. [Read more 🡒]