Three months still separate the league from the start of the 2026-2027 NBA season, but it’s already easy to imagine how a playoff matchup between the Hawks and the revamped Philadelphia 76ers could play out.
Philadelphia has gone all-in. Trading for Jaylen Brown and adding LeBron James in free agency has given the Sixers a new superteam look, with Brown, James, Maxey, Embiid, and Edgecombe forming a group that, on paper, looks overwhelming. Atlanta, though, may have a couple of answers waiting.
The biggest one is health. Joel Embiid’s availability is the real question hanging over this Philadelphia roster, and it’s a massive one.
LeBron James, who is soon to be 42, has actually been the more reliable body in recent seasons. Since moving to the Lakers in 2019, he has played at least 60 games in each of his last three years.
Embiid, by contrast, hasn’t reached 38 games over that same stretch.
Philadelphia does have depth behind him, with Dominick Barlow and Adem Bona giving the team two defense-first backup centers. But with Andre Drummond gone to the New York Knicks in free agency this summer, neither Barlow nor Bona offers anything close to the nightly offensive force Embiid brings, even when he’s not at full strength.
If Embiid is out or limited, Atlanta’s path gets a lot cleaner. The Sixers would still have plenty of firepower, with LeBron, Maxey, and Jaylen Brown driving the offense and shooters like Anfernee Simons, Dean Wade, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and rookie LaBaron Philon spacing the floor around them.
That’s where the Hawks’ perimeter defense comes in. Atlanta now has a rare trio of point-of-attack stoppers in Lu Dort, Dyson Daniels, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and the matchups line up neatly against Philadelphia’s top three.
Dort is built to handle LeBron’s physical style, and he just proved it in the playoffs on the way to a sweep of the LA Lakers. Daniels gives Atlanta a strong answer for Brown, using his quick feet and 6'7 frame to stay attached to explosive scorers.
Alexander-Walker has also shown he can handle fast guards, and he would be the obvious choice to open a series on Tyrese Maxey. He can even switch onto bigger players in the post effectively.
Atlanta also has rookie Kingston Flemings waiting in the wings as another defensive-minded option to support that group.
The one matchup that could swing everything back toward Philadelphia is Embiid against Onyeka Okongwu. With Embiid healthy, Okongwu doesn’t have the size to consistently deal with the kind of volume scoring the Sixers center can bring.
Still, the Hawks have reason to feel good about their chances. The defensive pieces are there, and the history of Embiid’s health gives Atlanta a real opening. The only thing left is to see which version of Embiid shows up in April.
In Other News...
Hawks Center Search Just Ran Into A Familiar Problem
The Hawks search for help at center has led them to a familiar kind of target: a proven starter who would look good on paper and be difficult to pry loose in practice. Jarrett Allen has drawn Atlantas interest as a possible upgrade in the middle, which makes sense for a team trying to strengthen a key spot, but the path from interest to actual movement is already crowded with the usual hurdles of roster math and salary matching.
Atlanta would have to trim its roster from 17 players to 15 and clear enough money to make a deal workable, and Allens contract only adds to the challenge. For now, the idea remains speculative, with no trade or sign-and-trade agreement in place, which leaves the Hawks still searching for a realistic way to turn a big-man wish list into something more concrete. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Rumors Are Finally Testing How Aggressive Onsi Saleh Really Is
The Hawks are still in the early stages of sorting out how they want to reshape the roster, but the direction is becoming clearer. Atlanta has 17 players on hand and will need to trim to 15 before the 2026-27 season, which gives the front office a little time but not much room for indecision. Along the way, the team has been linked to a few bigger swings as it looks for ways to upgrade the group around its core.
One of those ideas involves Peyton Watson, with Atlanta considering a sign-and-trade while he remains a restricted free agent. The broader picture is what makes the rumor mill worth watching: the Hawks are trying to be opportunistic, and every possible move carries roster implications. Nothing has been finalized yet, but the fact that Atlanta is exploring multiple paths suggests the next few decisions could say a lot about how aggressive the front office plans to be. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Still Arent Getting The Kuminga Deal They Need
The Hawks are still carrying 17 players as the regular season approaches, which leaves them needing to trim the roster by two and keeps Jonathan Kuminga at the center of their summer math. Atlanta has explored the possibility of bringing him back or moving him in a sign-and-trade, with Cleveland and Los Angeles the two teams most often tied to the discussion, but nothing has moved far enough to solve the roster crunch.
For now, the hold-up is simple: the Hawks have not seen an offer they like enough to turn a complicated fit into a clean transaction. Clevelands cap situation makes a sign-and-trade the path forward, while the Lakers have also been in the mix, but Atlanta is still waiting for a framework that makes sense on both the basketball and roster-management fronts. [Read more 🡒]