Jalen Johnson’s rise with the Hawks has become the blueprint for what patience can look like in Atlanta.
He’s the kind of player who reminds everyone that development doesn’t always happen on the fast track. Johnson is much better now than he was when he first got to the league, but that growth took time, and a lot of his early work came away from the main spotlight. He appeared in 22 games for the Hawks in the 2021-22 season, yet most of his real run came with the College Park Skyhawks in the G League.
That same kind of path could be waiting for one of Atlanta’s newest rookies.
Henri Veesaar, the Hawks’ second-round pick, looks like the one most likely to spend his first NBA season in College Park. Even though he signed a standard deal and not a two-way contract, that doesn’t lock him into the big-league roster.
It just guarantees money. It doesn’t guarantee minutes, and it doesn’t mean he won’t be sent to the G League.
In Veesaar’s case, the expectation is that he’ll spend nearly all of his rookie year with the Skyhawks.
The Hawks clearly believe that route can pay off. Their recent developmental success includes Mo Gueye, Vit Krejci, Dominick Barlow and, of course, Jalen Johnson. That track record helps explain why Atlanta was comfortable taking Veesaar at No. 52 in the 2026 NBA Draft.
The bigger picture is simple: the Hawks didn’t pass on him because they think he’s a long shot. They took him because they believe the long game is worth it.
That belief was even stronger because Veesaar had been projected much higher for most of the offseason. He was widely mocked as a late first-round pick, so his slide to 52 was a notable drop. The source of that fall could come down to a few things, especially age and defensive potential, but Atlanta still sees a player whose best version would give the team what it has been missing.
In Other News...
Hawks May Regret How One Young Guard Decision Just Played Out
Roster squeezes can force a team into tough calls, and the Hawks ran into one with Devin Carter. The defensive-minded guard, entering his third NBA season, was waived in Atlanta because the club did not have the room to keep everyone, even with Carter still carrying real upside as a backcourt defender and development piece.
The move makes a little more sense when you look at the guard picture the Hawks were trying to sort through, especially after adding Ryan Nembhard. Still, the timing left enough intrigue for Boston to step in and give Carter a new deal, which is the kind of outcome Atlanta will be forced to think about if its collection of similar young guards starts producing elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Lu Dort Has To Be More Than A Hawks Stopgap
Atlanta spent this offseason reshaping its wing rotation, and Lu Dort arrived as part of a three-team trade with a clear purpose: help fill the hole left by Zaccharie Risacher. The fit makes sense on paper. Dort brings toughness, physicality and the kind of edge that can matter in a crowded Eastern Conference, where Atlanta is trying to climb into a more serious tier before the season gets away from it.
But the Hawks cannot treat him like a simple plug-in. The next step is less about what Dort already does well and more about whether he can sharpen the parts of his game that decide bigger roles, from cleaner shot choices to steadier work at the point of attack. If Atlanta is going to lean on him when the games tighten, it will also need more than defense and energy. It will need a player who can help guide the group when the postseason pressure finally arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Still Have One Frontcourt Problem They Haven't Fixed
The Hawks spent the offseason trying to round out the roster, adding Kingston Flemings and Henri Veesaar in the draft, then bringing in Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Ryan Nembhard through trades while keeping CJ McCollum and Jock Landale in place. It was a busy stretch aimed at giving the roster more balance, and in a lot of areas Atlanta looks better equipped than it did a year ago.
One problem, though, still hangs over the frontcourt. Against teams that can roll out a true two-big attack, the Hawks are counting on Landale along with rookies Zuby Ejiofor and Veesaar to cover the middle, which leaves some real uncertainty there. Onsi Saleh pointed to Ejiofor as a physical, switchable piece with upside for playoff basketball if his shot comes along, but for now that is still more projection than proven answer. [Read more 🡒]