Jock Landale is staying in Atlanta.
The free agent center has agreed to a one-year, $14 million contract with the Hawks, agents Sammy Wloszczowski and Mike Lelchitski of SIG Sports told ESPN’s Shams Charania. The deal is fully guaranteed, according to Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports.
Atlanta is expected to use nearly all of its $15 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception to get the contract done, since Landale’s Non-Bird Rights wouldn’t have allowed him to reach that salary on their own. Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron also noted that the market for top backup centers is now sitting in the $14 million to $15 million range annually, pointing to Landale’s deal and Robert Williams re-signing with Portland.
The contract strongly suggests Landale will open the year as the Hawks’ No. 2 center behind Onyeka Okongwu, according to Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks. Rowland also reported that if Landale had made it to free agency, he would have drawn multiyear offers from other teams above the biannual exception, which is projected at $5.494 million for 2026/27. The Bulls, Lakers, Clippers, Sixers and Cavaliers were previously mentioned as possible landing spots.
Landale’s path to this new deal has been a winding one. He signed with Memphis last summer, then was traded twice at the deadline. Atlanta acquired him from Utah on February 3 as part of the Jaren Jackson Jr. deal, then picked him up two days later from Utah in exchange for cash.
Once he got to Atlanta, Landale gave the Hawks real production in a short sample. In 23 regular season games, he averaged 9.1 points and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 51.6% from the field and 39.1% from beyond the arc. A high right ankle sprain in early April ended his season and kept him out of the first-round playoff series against New York.
The move also leaves Atlanta in a tight financial spot. The Hawks are now within $11.7 million of the tax line, which Gozlan said could make it difficult to bring back forward Jonathan Kuminga. Atlanta declined Kuminga’s $24.3 million option on Monday.
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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 🡒]