The Atlanta Hawks didn’t hand Jock Landale a one-year, $14.1 million deal just to beef up the backup center spot. The move points to something bigger: Atlanta wanted another movable contract in its pocket as it keeps hunting for a co-star for Jalen Johnson before the trade deadline.
That’s why the price tag makes more sense now than it did at first glance. Landale’s deal is expiring money, and in a deadline market, that kind of salary can become a valuable matching piece. He has earned $20.7 million over his first five NBA seasons, so the new contract is a major bump - but one the Hawks clearly felt was worth it for the flexibility it creates.
Atlanta’s offseason work has loaded the roster with tradable salary. After re-signing CJ McCollum and trading for Luguentz Dort, the Hawks now have $52.8 million in expiring salaries.
That gives them plenty of room to chase a major swing, and it also shows how serious the franchise is about finding the right partner for Johnson. The Hawks even sent out three second-round picks to get Dort, a move that helped others more than it helped them.
Landale himself is coming off a career year and gives Atlanta a backup big who can stretch the floor. The 30-year-old has shown he can space the court, though his defense still comes with questions.
He was also reportedly drawing multi-year offers, which helps explain why the Hawks had to pay up to keep him. For now, he can also spend a few months mentoring Henri Veesaar before the front office shifts fully into trade-deadline mode.
The bigger picture is obvious. McCollum was excellent last season, but at 35, he doesn’t fit the long-term timeline. Johnson, Dyson Daniels, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker are all moving into their primes, and after last year’s playoff run, that group is looking for one more high-end piece to make a real title push.
That’s where Landale comes in. A multi-year deal at $8-plus million per season would have boxed Atlanta in, especially in the second apron era, where every dollar matters and bad money can kill flexibility fast. The league has already seen how much a contract can change a player’s trade value, with Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jaylen Brown all moving for less than many expected.
By keeping Landale on a one-year expiring contract, the Hawks preserve wiggle room under the first apron and give themselves a salary-matching tool that could help bring back a player making $20-plus million, or even more if another contract is attached. That kind of flexibility is exactly what Onsi Saleh and the front office wanted.
And if a rebuilding team decides Landale is more useful as a buyout candidate than a roster piece, Atlanta’s path gets even cleaner. Either way, the Hawks are set up to be aggressive. They’ve shown that already, and Landale could end up being the kind of deadline chip that helps them land a surprise deal in February.
For now, the overpay label doesn’t tell the whole story. If Landale ends up being the contract that gets a bigger move over the line, nobody in Atlanta will care what it looked like in July.
In Other News...
Hawks Could Solve A Backcourt Problem In One Proposed Deal
Jonathan Kuminga is still on the market after Atlanta declined his team option, and that alone has kept his name tied to a few different roster discussions around the league. The Hawks, Kings and Blazers have all come up in speculative trade frameworks that would reshape each team in different ways, with the idea of a sign-and-trade giving Atlanta another route to adjust its backcourt and keep flexibility in how it builds around the roster.
One of the more interesting angles is how a deal like that could address an obvious need without forcing the Hawks into a full reset. Atlanta has been exploring ways to balance immediate help with long-term movement, and Kuminga's unsettled status leaves the door open for that kind of maneuvering. For now, though, it remains exactly that - a proposal, not a finished transaction - which means the real answer still depends on whether the teams involved are willing to turn the speculation into something official. [Read more 🡒]
Lu Dort Gives Hawks A Closing Lineup Fans Will Want To See
The Hawks have given Quin Snyder another late-game defensive lever in Lu Dort, and that alone changes the conversation around how Atlanta can finish games. Dorts arrival adds to a group that already includes Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu, giving Snyder more ways to build a closing five that can pressure the ball, switch across positions and protect the rim without sacrificing too much size.
What makes this especially interesting is the flexibility it creates from game to game. Some matchups may call for a heavier dose of perimeter defense, while others could push Atlanta toward a group that keeps more creation on the floor, and Dorts versatility helps bridge that gap. The trade-off is obvious enough, but so is the appeal: the Hawks now have enough defensive pieces that the best closing lineup may depend less on who is available and more on which version Snyder wants to put in front of an opponent. [Read more 🡒]