The Atlanta Hawks spent the offseason trying to solve two problems at once: get younger, and build real depth. They checked both boxes in the draft and on the trade market, bringing in Kingston Flemings, Zuby Ejiofor and Henri Veesaar, while also adding Aaron Wiggins, Luguentz Dort and Devin Carter. Then they brought back Jock Landale, and that move might end up mattering more than any other reserve piece.
That’s not a knock on Dort or Wiggins. Both are expected to be better players and post better numbers than Landale. But importance and production aren’t always the same thing, and for Atlanta, Landale is the one who could end up carrying the most weight.
The reason is simple: the Hawks already know what happens when the center depth disappears.
Atlanta opened the season hoping Onyeka Okongwu and Kristaps Porzingis would form one of the league’s best center tandems. That plan never really got off the ground.
Porzingis couldn’t stay healthy, and he was later traded to the Golden State Warriors. With the Hawks scrambling for help behind Okongwu, they sent cash considerations to the Utah Jazz for Landale because they needed someone who could actually fill that role.
Mouhamed Gueye wasn’t viewed as a center, and Christian Koloko was on a two-way contract.
Landale gave them exactly what they needed. He spaced the floor, rebounded, and played with the kind of physical edge the Hawks were missing.
Then a dirty play by Orlando center Goga Bitadze knocked him out, and he missed the rest of the regular season. By the time the playoffs arrived, Quin Snyder was left using Gueye and Tony Bradley at center against the New York Knicks.
Matching that group up with Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson was one of the biggest mismatches you’ll see anywhere in the NBA.
That’s why Landale looms so large now. The Hawks needed to add a center this offseason, and while he was a free agent, bringing him back made sense because of how he played after the trade deadline. Atlanta clearly believes Okongwu is a very good player, but also a player with limitations who needs help next to him.
The issue is that the market didn’t offer many realistic alternatives, so the Hawks settled on the safest path. Even so, the risk is obvious: if Landale gets hurt again, Atlanta could be right back where it started.
There isn’t much proven center depth behind him. Henri Veesaar, taken at No. 52 overall, was viewed as borderline first-round talent and looks like a steal, but the question is whether he’s ready for backup center minutes if needed.
Gueye is still injured, and the Hawks don’t see him as a true center. Second-year forward Asa Newell is in that same bucket.
Zuby Ejiofor, selected at No. 23, is a rookie, smaller, and not someone you’d want to throw into backup center duty without hesitation.
Landale’s shooting only raises the stakes. His ability to stretch the floor fits Atlanta’s offense, and that matters because Okongwu has already shown a big jump from three-point range.
The rest of the options don’t bring that same clean fit. Gueye is an uncertain shooter, Ejiofor wasn’t a good shooter in college, Newell has looked good but in a very small sample, and Veesaar has the stretch-big label but also enough flaws that could keep him off the floor.
So while the Hawks added flashier names and younger pieces this summer, Landale may be the reserve who ends up deciding how stable this team really is. Atlanta needs him healthy, productive, and close to the player he was after the trade deadline. For a team with playoff aspirations, that backup center spot could become a much bigger story than it looks on paper.
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