The Atlanta Hawks spent the offseason sending a pretty clear message: they were not going to force a splash just to say they made one.
That approach starts with what President of Basketball Operations Onsi Saleh laid out, and the team has followed through on it. Saleh said the Hawks were not one move away and that they were not going to skip steps in the process. Even with Atlanta’s 20-6 record after the All-Star break and its status as the only team to beat the Knicks multiple times in a playoff series - and the only team that had New York trailing in a series at all - the Hawks did not pivot into chase-a-star mode.
They were linked to Jaylen Brown and other names, but barring something unexpected, a blockbuster does not appear to be coming. Instead, Atlanta has positioned itself for either a midseason swing if a star becomes available or a bigger run at flexibility next summer.
That flexibility is real. The Hawks have CJ McCollum ($21 million), Dort ($17 million), Jock Landale ($14 million), Buddy Hield ($9.6 million), Mouhamed Gueye ($2.4 million), Ryan Nembhard ($2.1 million), and potentially Devin Carter ($5.1 million) on expiring contracts.
That gives them a path to match salary if the right deal comes along, plus draft picks to include. Or they can simply let those deals run out and head into next offseason with plenty of cap space to work with.
Saleh has made optionality and flexibility a theme, and Atlanta has built itself plenty of both.
The other thing the Hawks learned this offseason is that they can lean into what worked late last year while fixing the biggest flaw that showed up in the playoffs. After the All-Star break, the starting group of McCollum, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu was one of the NBA’s best. The issue was what happened behind them, especially when the Knicks exposed the bench.
Atlanta set out to change that, and the work they’ve done points in that direction. Wiggins and Dort are established players who should sit near the top of the rotation.
Landale is back as the backup center. The Hawks also drafted Kingston Flemings and Zuby Ejiofor, with Flemings expected to compete for the backup point guard job.
And that’s before getting to Gueye, second-year forward Asa Newell, Carter, and Nembhard. If Jonathan Kuminga returns, the depth only gets stronger.
So while Atlanta may not be grabbing the loudest headlines, the Hawks have spent the offseason doing two things at once: protecting their flexibility and building a deeper roster around a starting five that already showed real bite down the stretch. If that starting group stays at the level it reached late in the season, the bench should be in much better shape.
In Other News...
Nickeil Alexander-Walker Just Got The Kind Of Help Hawks Fans Wanted
The Hawks have spent the offseason trying to turn last seasons defensive progress into something sturdier, and the latest move fits that plan. Nickeil Alexander-Walker has already been part of Quin Snyders matchup-heavy approach, with Dyson Daniels also asked to handle difficult assignments, and Atlanta has been looking for more pieces that can let those two work without carrying quite as much of the burden.
Lu Dort gives them exactly the kind of versatility that can change the feel of a defense when he is healthy. He can slide across multiple positions and take pressure off the backcourt in ways that should make Alexander-Walkers job cleaner, while also giving Snyder more freedom to keep leaning into the kind of disruptive looks that helped the Hawks take a step forward a year ago. [Read more 🡒]
One Year Later Onsi Saleh's First Hawks Bets Look Very Different
A year can change the way an offseason looks, and that has been the case for the Hawks under Onsi Saleh. Moves that once read as bets on flexibility and upside now sit in a much clearer light, from the draft-night maneuvering that eventually led Atlanta to Asa Newell to the veteran additions that were meant to stabilize the roster. The front office has spent the past two summers working the margins, trying to turn timing, value and opportunity into a cleaner path forward.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kennard all became part of that larger picture, even if each arrived with a different purpose and a different shelf life. Alexander-Walker gave Atlanta the kind of two-way guard play it was after, Porzingis came with obvious upside but a short runway, and Kennard provided shooting before his own exit reshaped the books again. Taken together, the sequence says as much about Salehs approach as any single move: opportunistic, adaptable and willing to change course when the market changes. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Finally Feel Like They Have A Real Plan Again
The Hawks front office has taken on a different feel since Onsi Saleh stepped in after Landry Fields departure and later moved into the president of basketball operations chair. Instead of chasing quick fixes, Saleh has pushed a clearer organizational direction built around patience, flexibility and a roster that fits Quin Snyders defensive identity, a shift that has given Atlanta something it has not always had in recent years: a coherent plan.
That approach has shown up in the kinds of players the Hawks have brought in, with Kingston Flemings, Aaron Wiggins and Lu Dort all fitting the broader push for depth and versatility. The idea is simple enough, even if the execution still has to prove itself over time, and Atlanta is trying to keep enough financial flexibility intact to stay competitive now without boxing itself out of future moves. [Read more 🡒]