Kingston Flemings keeps stacking good nights, and the Hawks may already be staring at a lineup decision they didn’t expect this soon.
After a strong summer league run, the No. 8 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft has kept it rolling through preseason, showing enough poise to make you wonder how long the Hawks can keep him in the background. If Flemings carries this level into the regular season, the real question isn’t whether he’ll matter - it’s whether he forces his way into the starting five and bumps CJ McCollum to the bench.
The most eye-catching part of Flemings’ game has been how clean it looks. Rookie point guards usually come with a loud flaw, and more often than not it’s turnover trouble.
That hasn’t been the case here. Flemings wrapped up a strong preseason with a 6 AST, 0 TO performance against the Dallas Mavericks, another sign that he can run an offense without constantly putting it in danger.
That kind of composure is exactly why the Hawks could start thinking about reshaping their rotation. Flemings looks capable of handling the lead role, but the defensive side of the equation matters too. The idea would be to let him take on tougher defensive assignments in the starting group while McCollum becomes the kind of scorer who can punish bench units.
There’s a neat fit there for McCollum, too. As he gets older, moving him into a reserve role could preserve his scoring while reducing the pressure on his efficiency. Against second units, he should have plenty of chances to keep producing deep into his late 30's.
In that setup, McCollum would fill a role similar to the one Jonathan Kuminga handled last postseason: a creator who keeps the offense afloat while the starters rest. The defense may not be the selling point, and it wasn’t elite from Kuminga, but the offensive value is the whole point.
None of it is locked in yet, of course. Flemings still has to turn these preseason flashes into regular-season production. But if he does, the Hawks may not wait long to move him into the starting five.
In Other News...
Hawks Face A Roster Squeeze If This Big Man Hits The Market
Moussa Cisses name is starting to circulate as the Mavericks weigh their roster ahead of the October 19 deadline, and that has put a handful of teams on alert. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Bulls, Hawks, Lakers and 76ers are among the clubs keeping an eye on the big man if Dallas decides to waive him, with the appeal centered on a low-risk chance to add size before the season fully gets going.
For Atlanta, the interest is easy to understand. The Hawks are always looking for help in the frontcourt, and a player like Cisse would at least give them another option to evaluate if he becomes available. The wrinkle is fit and timing, since a roster move would have to be made first, and Atlantas own big-man picture has already been affected by Henri Veesars offseason ACL injury, which could factor into whether Cisse eventually has a realistic path to minutes if the opportunity opens. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Face A Costly Onyeka Okongwu Decision This Week
Onyeka Okongwu enters his seventh NBA season with an important issue hanging over the Hawks front office, and it comes with a deadline attached. Atlanta has to decide whether to lock in its young center with a contract extension now or hold off and let the season play out, a choice that puts his value, his role and the teams long-term cap planning under the same microscope.
For the Hawks, this is more than a routine roster conversation. Okongwu has developed into a key part of their frontcourt picture, but the organization still has to balance his strengths and weaknesses against the financial flexibility it wants to preserve for the rest of the roster. The decision could shape not just what he costs, but how Atlanta manages its future payroll as this core continues to take form. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks May Have Found A Tough New Bench Look With One Catch
During the preseason, Quin Snyder has been tinkering with Atlantas second unit, and one of the more interesting looks came with Lu Dort sliding into a backup power forward role. The 27-year-old veteran brings the kind of physical defense the Hawks value, and his three-point shooting gives the bench a different shape than the more traditional frontcourt options on the roster.
It was a notable wrinkle in the finale against Dallas, especially with Asa Newell, Zuby Ejiofor and Mouhamed Gueye all left in other roles while Snyder explored the matchup. The setup gives Atlanta a tougher, more versatile look on paper, but it also raises a familiar question for any small-ball frontcourt group, how well it survives when the opposition rolls out a bigger interior presence. [Read more 🡒]