Atlanta’s early-season surge has done more than fill up the win column. It has put the Hawks in the kind of position every front office wants: the kind where buying at the deadline actually makes sense.
That matters for President of Basketball Operations Onsi Saleh, because the clearest way to become a player in February is to have a winning record. Atlanta has given itself that opening by opening the season with two convincing victories.
The first came against the rival Orlando Magic, a strong start even with a couple of key shooters still shaking off the rust. The second was even louder, with Dyson Daniels breaking open the discussion around his defense again after piling up seven steals in a completely one-sided Hawks performance against a shorthanded Hornets team.
The results on the floor are only part of the story, though. Atlanta also built flexibility into its roster, and that may be the real weapon here.
The Hawks have one of the cleanest cap sheets in the league, with Jalen Johnson’s $30M salary sitting at the top of the payroll. Compared with teams carrying contracts in the $60-$70M range, Atlanta’s biggest deal barely scratches the surface.
They also have a stash of expiring money that can be moved in a bigger deal, with CJ McCollum, Jock Landale, and Luguentz Dort combining for $53M in expiring cash this season.
That kind of setup naturally invites speculation, and Atlanta can realistically check in on a range of names if the right opportunity surfaces. Domantas Sabonis of the Sacramento Kings is the more conservative swing.
He has lived on the trade market for several seasons, and the source notes that his asking price has come down as he has gotten older. For a Hawks team built around strong perimeter defense, he would fit neatly.
From there, the possibilities get tougher. Steph Curry is a far more complicated target, even after signing an extension this summer with Golden State. Still, if the Warriors fall short in a crowded Western Conference, and if Jimmy Butler doesn’t get back to where they want him before the deadline, Curry could be dragged back into the rumor mill.
Then there’s the true moonshot: Nikola Jokic. That’s obviously the longest shot of the bunch, but it’s at least a name worth watching as the season unfolds.
If Denver runs into the kind of injury issues it dealt with last year and slips into the play-in mix, the source suggests Jokic could become the centerpiece of a stunning February trade. From a cap-space angle and an asset-return angle, Atlanta would be the cleanest fit.
Whether the Hawks are chasing a star of that caliber or something less dramatic, the direction is clear. If this start holds, they won’t just be on the phone in February - they’ll be one of the teams making the market.
In Other News...
Hawks Bench Newcomer Is Raising A Bigger Question Early
Aaron Wiggins has wasted no time becoming one of the early stories in Atlantas 2-1 start, giving the Hawks a lift as a bench presence who looks comfortable in his role from the jump. Through his first three games, he has fit neatly into the rotation and provided the kind of scoring punch that can change the tone of a second unit, which is exactly why his arrival has already started to feel like more than just a useful depth move.
What makes Wiggins worth watching now is the bigger question his opening stretch raises for the Hawks: if he keeps this up, how long before he moves from pleasant early surprise to real league-wide conversation? The production has been strong enough to put him on the radar for honors like Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player, and Atlantas early success only adds to the intrigue around how much more he can give off the bench. [Read more 🡒]
Zaccharie Risacher Is Giving Hawks Fans A New Reason To Wonder
Zaccharie Risacher has been in the mix from the start, logging heavy minutes in the preseason and carrying that workload into the first two regular-season games with Dallas. For Hawks fans, the intrigue is easy to understand. The reputation he brought into the league was built around his shooting, and his early showing has looked very different from the polished perimeter threat many expected.
The opening sample has been rough enough to raise eyebrows, especially for a player whose pre-draft appeal centered on efficiency and spacing. He has had chances to settle in, but the early results have not matched the promise, leaving Atlanta observers with a familiar draft-night question: how much of the outside profile was real, and how quickly can it show up when the games start to matter? [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Head Back To Houston With One Clear Concern Pre-Game
The Hawks head back to Houston with a familiar test in front of them, coming off a recent loss to the Rockets and trying to clean up the kind of offensive stretches that bothered head coach Quin Snyder after the last meeting. Atlanta already knows it will be shorthanded, with Mouhamed Gueye and Henri Veesaar ruled out because of injuries, while Houston enters with Steven Adams unavailable.
One name to watch on the Rockets side is Marcus Smart, who is listed as questionable as the rematch approaches. For Atlanta, the bigger immediate concern is less about the matchup details and more about whether the offense can look sharper on the road against a team that has already shown how uncomfortable this series can get. [Read more 🡒]