The Atlanta Hawks enter the season with a roster that’s loaded with talent, and the big question isn’t whether they have pieces - it’s how those pieces fit into the long game.
Jalen Johnson sits at the center of it all. That’s the easy one.
He made his first All-Star team and earned All-NBA recognition last season, and the Hawks see him as a future MVP candidate. With the way his game keeps climbing, and with the contract attached to it, he’s the kind of player you build around without hesitation.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker belongs in that next wave too. He took a major jump last season, won the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award, and saw his offensive production rise in a big way. Atlanta plans to use him as a starter, and there’s real All-Star upside there if he keeps moving in the same direction.
Dyson Daniels brings a different kind of value. He’s already one of the league’s best perimeter defenders and one of its top ball thieves. But the Hawks also like what he does beyond the steals and stops - the rebounding, the passing, the little things that make him so important to the roster.
Onyeka Okongwu has become one of the Hawks’ better development stories. Last season, he showed he can stretch the floor from deep and hold his own defensively. The question now is whether there’s still another level waiting for him.
Atlanta also has a few younger names with a chance to force their way into the picture. Kingston Flemings, the No. 8 overall pick in this year’s draft, is the kind of player the Hawks hope can grow into their future starting point guard and maybe even a star. Aaron Wiggins, who came over from the Thunder, is still young enough to fit the timeline and has a chance to prove he belongs in the core with a big season.
Asa Newell is another first-round pick who could carve out a real role. Atlanta wants him to compete for minutes in the frontcourt this season, and he already showed offensive upside coming off the bench. The defensive side still needs work, but the opportunity is there.
Then there are the players who sit closer to the middle - valuable, but not locked into one lane. Luguentz Dort is the toughest call.
He’s on an expiring contract, which means Atlanta could move him if the right deal comes along. At the same time, he’s young enough to stick around as part of what the Hawks are building.
Either way, he gives them another elite defensive presence on the perimeter and adds some much-needed edge and physicality.
Mouhamed Gueye is in a different kind of spot. His non-guaranteed deal, foot injury, and the team’s roster crunch all point toward the possibility that he gets moved before the season. If he stays, though, Atlanta can keep evaluating him as a potential long-term piece.
Zuby Ejiofor and Henri Veesaar are both part of the Hawks’ bigger developmental puzzle. Ejiofor was drafted in the first round of the 2026 draft because of his defense, toughness, and physicality, and he flashed enough in Summer League to hint at what might come next.
Veesaar, taken at No. 52 after sliding in the draft, gives Atlanta the center prospect it wanted. He could need a year in the G League, but the Hawks believe he has real offensive talent and a chance to become an NBA-caliber center, whether as a starter or a backup.
There’s also a group of veterans and possible movable contracts at the back end of the roster. Corey Kispert stands out as Atlanta’s only real negative-value asset, and if the Hawks were going to move him, they probably would have done it already. A trade before the season is still possible, but his path to meaningful minutes looks thin.
Buddy Hield is in a similar spot. Atlanta made the surprising call to guarantee his deal for the season, but there still isn’t an obvious route to consistent playing time.
CJ McCollum doesn’t quite fit into the core or trade-chip buckets cleanly. A trade doesn’t seem likely, but his age keeps him out of the long-term group. Still, if the perfect deal showed up, his $21 million expiring contract could be part of it.
Jock Landale is expected to back up at center, and he handled that role well when called on last year. But he’s over 30 and on a one-year deal, so he could become movable if the situation makes sense.
Ryan Nembhard is another name to watch. He played well as an undrafted rookie for Dallas last season, but his expiring contract, Fleming’s arrival, and his 5-foot-10 frame make him a less-than-ideal fit even as a reserve guard. He could be moved or waived before the season starts, though the decision to waive Devin Carter makes that outcome seem less likely.
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 Rookie Faces The Same Early Test Jalen Johnson Once Did
Jalen Johnsons early path is a useful reminder that development in Atlanta does not always happen in a straight line. Much of his first stretch in the league came through the College Park Skyhawks, and the Hawks have clearly become comfortable using their G League affiliate as a real part of the growth plan, not just a holding spot for fringe players. That track record helped shape how the team approached this years rookie class, where Kingston Flemings, Zuby Ejiofor and Henri Veesaar are all facing different early expectations.
Veesaar looks like the latest prospect to be asked to take that route, and Atlanta seems willing to be patient with it. The organization has seen enough success developing players through College Park to believe it can matter in the long run, even if the early stages are less visible to fans watching the NBA roster every night. For a rookie trying to carve out a future, it is the same sort of test Johnson had to answer, only now the Hawks are asking it again with another young big in the pipeline. [Read more 🡒]