The Atlanta Hawks have spent the offseason making quieter moves than some of their Eastern Conference rivals, but that doesn’t mean they’ve been standing still. Atlanta brought back CJ McCollum, Jock Landale, and Mouhamed Gueye, added Kingston Flemings, Zuby Ejiofor, and Henri Veesaar in the draft, and pulled off a pair of under-the-radar trades for Aaron Wiggins and Devin Carter.
That matters because one of the biggest issues from late in the 2025-2026 season was the bench. The Hawks were solid enough at the top, but once the reserves came into the picture, the drop-off was obvious. Atlanta finished 17th in the NBA in bench scoring during the regular season and 9th in bench scoring in the playoffs.
Landale had given them steady minutes as the backup center before a dirty play from Magic center Goga Bitadze late in the year knocked him out and forced him to miss the playoff series against the Knicks. After that, the second unit thinned out fast. Gabe Vincent, Corey Kispert, Zaccharie Risacher, Mouhamed Gueye, Keaton Wallace, Buddy Hield, and Tony Bradley just didn’t provide the kind of production Atlanta needed.
The Hawks are still going to lean on some of those same names, but the hope is that the new additions change the shape of the group. The two players they seem to be counting on most are Wiggins and Flemings.
Flemings could end up being a major upgrade at backup point guard over Vincent. He doesn’t bring Vincent’s experience, but he does bring more speed and a higher ceiling as both a shot creator and a defender. There will be an adjustment period, no question, but by January or February, he could be one of the better backup guards in the league.
Wiggins already showed he can help a contender off the bench in Oklahoma City. He gives Atlanta something it values: the ability to defend multiple positions and knock down threes. That combination should let him handle tougher defensive matchups and fit into almost any lineup the Hawks want to use, which was not always the case last season.
Landale may not be the rim-protecting big Hawks fans have been imagining next to Onyeka Okongwu, but he still brings floor spacing, physical play, and rebounding. If he picks up where he left off before the injury, he gives Atlanta a useful piece back in the rotation.
There’s also room for internal growth. Devin Carter has to prove he can be a rotation-level player after an uneven start in Sacramento.
Gueye, now entering year four, has a chance to take another step, even with the latest injury news hanging over him. And then there are the rookies - Asa Newell, Zuby Ejiofor, and Henri Veesaar - who probably can’t be expected to make a huge impact right away, but could still help.
Atlanta could also still make more changes. Any of Zaccharie Risacher, Buddy Hield, or Corey Kispert could be traded before or during the season, and the Hawks would benefit if one of them steps forward anyway, especially Risacher. This is a make-or-break season for him.
There’s plenty of projection baked into all of this, but the path is there. If Flemings and Wiggins deliver, Landale stays healthy, and one or two more players from the next tier become dependable rotation pieces, the Hawks may have finally patched the bench problem that haunted them last season.
In Other News...
Hawks Suddenly Have A Frontcourt Question Zuby Ejiofor Can Answer
Mouhamed Gueyes summer took an unfortunate turn when a workout injury left the Hawks looking at their frontcourt a little differently than they expected. The second-year big mans recovery timeline leaves his status for the start of the season up in the air, and that matters for a team still sorting out its depth behind the established pieces.
Into that opening steps rookie Zuby Ejiofor, who suddenly has a clearer path to compete for minutes than he did a few days ago. Atlanta will still want to see how he holds up through Summer League, training camp and preseason, but the opportunity is there now in a way it wasnt before, and the Hawks could use a young frontcourt option who forces the issue. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Seem To Be Sending A Clear Message In Kuminga Talks
Jonathan Kumingas trade market has become one of those summer storylines where every interested team is also trying to protect its own flexibility, and the Lakers are no exception. Their limited asset stash has made any meaningful upgrade harder to pull off, even as theyve been connected to Kuminga in recent discussions, and the recent addition of Ziaire Williams only adds another layer to the conversation around what Los Angeles is actually building.
For Atlanta, the more interesting part may be the signal it is sending about where it wants to do business. Sean Deveney reported that the Hawks would rather work through a sign-and-trade with Cleveland than get pulled into a Lakers framework, which says plenty about how they view the options on the table. In a market where teams are weighing fit, cost and future flexibility all at once, that kind of preference can matter just as much as the player at the center of it. [Read more 🡒]