The Atlanta Hawks have put themselves in a strong financial spot, and that matters just as much as the talent on the floor. After a couple of aggressive offseasons, they’ve built a roster that includes smart additions like Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, plus internal growth from players such as Jalen Johnson and Oneyka Okongwu. That combination gives Atlanta a real edge if the next big star ever becomes available.
Still, no roster is perfect. Every team carries a few deals it would rather not have, and the Hawks are no exception. Looking at the current contract sheet from top to bottom, there are clear bargains, a few fair bets, and a couple of deals that stand out for the wrong reasons.
At the very top sits Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and it’s easy to see why. He’s set to make $14.4 million this season after winning the Most Improved Player Award, taking a big step as a scorer, especially from the perimeter, and continuing to be a strong defender on the wing.
That’s starter-level production at a very reasonable price. Jalen Johnson may be the better player, but Alexander-Walker’s deal is simply too good to pass up.
Johnson isn’t far behind. He’s on $30 million per season, which is a bargain for a player who just made his first All-Star Game and earned third team All-NBA honors.
He’s still climbing and already looks like one of the league’s best young talents. The question now is what comes next in 2026-2027.
Onyeka Okongwu also belongs near the top of the list. He’s the 22nd-highest paid center in the NBA at $16.1 million this season, and that’s a steal for a player who had the best year of his career in 2025-2026. His growth as a shooter was a major part of that leap, and with extension eligibility arriving in October, his next deal will be worth watching.
The Hawks also got value in the offseason deal for Wiggins from the Oklahoma City Thunder. He’s on a $9 million salary this season, and that number actually drops in 2027-2028 before an $8.1 million team option for 2028-2029. He may not be an All-Star, but a two-way player at that price is exactly the kind of contract teams love to have.
Rookie Flemings is more of a projection play, but the price tag makes him intriguing. He hasn’t played an NBA game yet, and putting a rookie this high on a list like this is always risky.
Even so, if he comes close to his talent level, he’ll already be underpaid. He has a chance to become the backup point guard this season and could even work his way into the starting lineup in 2027-2028.
His Summer League showing gave Atlanta a reason to believe he’ll matter right away.
Dyson Daniels draws some skepticism from outside voices, but the case for his contract is strong. He’s making $25 million per season, and that’s not overpay territory for a player who is already one of the league’s best perimeter defenders, a high-level rebounder, and an underrated playmaker. His shooting still needs work, but he has only been a starter for two seasons, and there may still be more to unlock.
CJ McCollum’s one-year, $21 million deal is a different kind of value. It might lean a little expensive, but the short term softens that. He was very good for Atlanta after arriving from the Wizards in the Trae Young deal, and he should stay in the starting five this season.
Luguentz Dort brings another elite defensive presence to the roster. The fit with Daniels and Alexander-Walker could give Atlanta one of the best defensive trios in the league.
The concern is on the other end. If Dort doesn’t improve his offensive numbers, particularly from three-point range, his next contract may not be as strong.
The lower half of the list is where the uncertainty starts to pile up. Gueye is only making $2.4 million this season, and the deal is non-guaranteed. He has become a nice player over the last three seasons and has shown elite defensive ability, but his roster spot isn’t locked in because of both the contract and his offseason foot injury.
Nembhard comes in at $2.1 million in 2026-2027 after a surprisingly good run as an undrafted free agent for Dallas last season. His size is a limitation, but he outplayed the deal and could still have a future as a backup guard.
Newell is tough to place because he has only one season behind him. At $3.3 million, the contract doesn’t look bad, but it also doesn’t have enough track record to call it a bargain yet.
Veesaar has not appeared in an NBA game, but his price is tiny - less than $2 million this season. For a player viewed as first-round talent, that’s excellent value, especially with a developmental year likely ahead.
Ejiofor also fits in the middle group. He isn’t a bad contract, but he does make more than Newell, Nembhard, and Veesaar, any of whom could be better this season. He stood out in summer league and could earn playing time while embracing the tougher, more physical tone Atlanta wanted to build this offseason.
Landale’s deal is one of the more surprising ones on the books. He was very good for the Hawks after the trade deadline, but $14 million this season is a lot for a player who has not really been a true backup center for most of his career. It is only a one-year deal, though, which gives Atlanta a clean exit if it doesn’t work out.
Carter lands just above the true problem contracts. The Hawks have only two deals that really qualify as bad, and this one doesn’t quite get there.
Still, he hasn’t proven he can be a consistent rotation player at the NBA level, especially on offense. His defense gives him a chance, but even $5.1 million could end up feeling rich if his game doesn’t grow.
Buddy Hield’s deal is where things start to get uncomfortable. Onsi Saleh has made plenty of good moves since taking over as the lead executive, but guaranteeing Hield’s contract at $9.6 million this season was a curious call.
He wasn’t in the regular rotation after coming over from Golden State, and there doesn’t seem to be a clear path to steady minutes now. He’s also a candidate to be moved before the season.
At the bottom, it’s Kispert by a wide margin. He has more than $26 million guaranteed over the next two seasons, and his game is limited, especially defensively. Atlanta would love to move him before the season, though doing so may not be easy.
In Other News...
Quin Snyder And The Hawks Are Being Overlooked Again
Quin Snyder spent the stretch run of the 2025-26 season doing what coaches are supposed to do when a team needs a lift, steering Atlanta through an 18-2 surge that pushed the Hawks up the Eastern Conference ladder. The comeback came after the club was 27-31 and sitting ninth in the East, and it included an 11-game winning streak that helped change the tone around the roster heading into the spring.
Still, the broader recognition never really matched the results. Snyder drew only two third-place votes in Coach of the Year voting and finished ninth, then ESPNs 2026-27 Summer Forecast left him outside the five coaches expected to draw votes at all, even with most of Atlantas roster back and a few additions and draft picks to work with. It is a familiar kind of slight for a team trying to build real momentum, and one the Hawks will have plenty of reason to remember once the new season begins. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Just Showed How Far This Front Office Is Willing To Go
Jonathan Kumingas brief run in Atlanta is already another example of how aggressively this front office is willing to reshape the roster. He arrived in the deal that brought the Hawks out from under Kristaps Porzingis, a move tied to the veteran centers expiring contract and health concerns, and it quickly became clear the organization was thinking less about a single season than about the larger direction of the team.
Under Onsi Saleh, the Hawks have shown a willingness to make hard choices early, even when that means moving on from a player before the fit has fully taken hold. Kumingas time in Atlanta never lasted long enough to settle into anything, but his departure says plenty about the front offices appetite for maneuvering and the kind of flexibility it wants to preserve going forward. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Final Roster Squeeze Just Got Harder To Ignore
Atlantas roster math already had a tight feel to it, and now the market has removed one more possible escape hatch. Jonathan Kuminga is off the board after choosing the Minnesota Timberwolves, taking another name out of the mix for teams still sorting through the last stages of their offseason plans. For a Hawks group that has been watching the edges of the roster more closely than the headline moves, it only sharpens the pressure on what comes next.
The Hawks are carrying 17 players and still need to trim to 15 before the regular season, a process that could hinge on waiting for key trade-eligibility dates involving certain players. That has left the front office room to hold off for now, but not much room to avoid the issue entirely. No definitive decisions have been made, and with one more potential option gone, the path to opening night looks even less forgiving. [Read more 🡒]