The Hawks already knew how to move the ball. Last season, Atlanta led the NBA with 30.1 assists per game, and Quin Snyder’s offense was built around pace, passing, player movement, and transition chances. Now the Hawks have added another layer to that identity, because their three new rookies - Kingston Flemings, Zuby Ejiofor, and Henri Veesaar - all bring above-average playmaking for their positions.
That matters for a team that already leans on Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu to create offense. Atlanta’s 2026 draft class doesn’t change the blueprint so much as deepen it, giving Snyder even more ways to keep the pass-first system humming.
Veesaar and Ejiofor have already shown they can function as short-roll facilitators, which fits neatly into what Atlanta asks from its bigs. Daniels, Johnson, and Okongwu all make quick reads in those spots, whether that means getting to the rim, finding a cutter along the baseline, or kicking the ball out to a shooter. Ejiofor and Veesaar flashed that same feel during summer league.
Veesaar’s vision showed up in Salt Lake City when Jacob Toppin finished a highlight dunk off one of his reads. Isaac McNeely hit the former UNC center on the roll after both defenders blitzed the screen, Toppin’s defender had to stop Veesaar inside, and the seven-footer immediately fed his teammate cutting baseline for the slam.
Hawks fans have already been used to seeing Johnson, Okongwu, and Jonathan Kuminga on the receiving end of those kinds of plays. If Veesaar earns a spot in the opening-night rotation, Atlanta could have two or three plus-playmakers on the floor almost every trip.
Ejiofor has drawn attention in summer league for his strength, hustle, and work on the glass, and he already posted a 19-point, 15-rebound double-double against Aday Mara and the Oklahoma City Thunder on July 6. His passing has been a quieter part of the package, but it showed up in a key sequence during Atlanta’s 93-66 win over the San Antonio Spurs in its first Las Vegas Summer League game on July 6.
Late in the third quarter, Ejiofor fought for inside position on fellow rookie Tarris Reed Jr., secured an offensive rebound, then held the ball in the low post before firing an over-the-head pass to Gabe Madsen for a layup. It was a clean snapshot of what he can do beyond finishing plays himself.
Kingston Flemings may be the most obvious fit of the bunch. Through three summer league games, he has 23 assists and only three turnovers.
Young point guards usually need time to adjust to NBA speed, but the No. 8 pick has looked comfortable right away. His passing has stood out even before he gets his first look with the main roster.
Flemings now joins Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and CJ McCollum, and he may be the best pure playmaker in that group. Alexander-Walker and McCollum are more scoring guards than table-setters, and that showed in the playoffs when both were forced into turnovers after being doubled. With Flemings in the mix, Snyder can keep either him or Daniels on the floor at all times to help avoid those issues.
For Atlanta, the question now is how all of this playmaking gets layered into the motion offense. The pieces are there, and the rookies have already given the Hawks another set of hands to keep the ball moving.
In Other News...
Ranking The Hawks Moves That Could Define This Front Office
The Hawks spent the offseason trying to thread a tricky needle: get better now without losing sight of what comes next. That meant swinging big for Aaron Wiggins from Oklahoma City at the cost of two first-round picks, then turning around and adding three rookies with the No. 8, No. 23 and No. 57 selections while also keeping familiar veterans around on one-year deals to stabilize the rotation.
There is a clear logic to the mix, even if the front office is still waiting to see how it all fits together. CJ McCollum gives Atlanta another proven shot creator, Jock Landale adds insurance behind Onyeka Okongwu, and Mouhamed Gueyes option keeps a developmental piece in place, but the move that may say the most about where the Hawks are headed is the one for Devin Carter, a former lottery pick whose defensive upside could make him another useful layer in the bench picture. [Read more 🡒]
What The Hawks Really Preserved In The Jock Landale Deal
The Hawks move for Jock Landale came with more than just a new big man on the roster. As part of the broader contract picture around the deal, Landale, Jordan Clarkson and Charles Bassey all agreed to waive the implicit no-trade protection in their contracts, a small but meaningful detail that gives teams more flexibility down the road. For Atlanta, that kind of cleanup matters almost as much as the player acquisition itself, especially when every roster move has to be weighed against future cap maneuvering.
Landales agreement also fits into a wider league-wide run of contract housekeeping, with details emerging on players such as Trey Lyles, Jaylen Clark, Marcus Smart, Norman Powell, Ousmane Dieng, Jaxson Hayes, Josh Okogie and Jusuf Nurkic. One of the more interesting side notes for the Hawks is how little room the deal leaves in their non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which is the sort of constraint that can shape the rest of a teams offseason just as much as the headline move. [Read more 🡒]
Mouhamed Gueye Suddenly Faces A Real Hawks Rotation Threat
Mouhamed Gueye has given the Hawks something to like on the defensive end, where his length and activity have helped him carve out a place on the roster conversation. Atlanta also recently picked up his one-year team option, a sign that the organization still sees value in keeping him around, even as the bigger question remains whether his game can grow enough on the other side of the floor to make him more than a situational piece.
Now the pressure is coming from a different direction, with rookies Zuby Ejiofor and Henri Veesaar turning heads in summer league and adding more bodies to a frontcourt mix that is starting to feel crowded. For Gueye, the path forward is pretty clear: keep defending, cut down the mistakes, and show enough offensive progress to stay ahead of the newcomers, because if that part of his game stalls, Atlanta may start looking at its options sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]