The Hawks have already done most of their offseason shopping, and that shifts the spotlight to the roster spots that could disappear fast. With Atlanta leaning into depth and short-term contracts, the margin for the non-starters is thin. A few players may need huge seasons just to stay in the picture beyond this year.
Buddy Hield is one of the clearest examples. He appeared in only seven games for Atlanta last season, and while he knocked down 41.2% of his threes, he was only taking 2.4 attempts per game.
That’s part of a larger trend, too: his 4.2 three-point attempts per game last season were a career low. With Kingston Flemings and Aaron Wiggins now in the mix, the path to meaningful minutes looks crowded.
Hield is set to make $9.6 million in 2026-27, but Atlanta probably sees him as little more than an end-of-bench piece unless something changes quickly.
That’s why a trade-deadline move makes plenty of sense. If Hield starts the season well, the Hawks could move him for a contributor on an expiring deal while sending him to a team that actually needs his shooting. A tanking club like the Chicago Bulls, for example, could be a clean fit for everyone involved.
Onyeka Gueye is a different kind of case. He’s become a favorite because of his defense, occasional hot shooting from deep and shot-blocking.
At 23, there’s still real room for growth, and it wouldn’t be shocking if another team eventually turned him into a legitimate rotation big. But Atlanta’s frontcourt picture is crowded.
Asa Newell and Zuby Ejiofor are already there as backup center/power forward options, Jock Landale is on a one-year stop gap deal, and the Hawks could add another young big in the 2027 draft.
The injury piece matters, too. Gueye is expected to miss the start of the season while recovering from a fracture in his left foot, and that only makes his job harder.
Foot injuries are a tough road for big men, and even once he’s back, he may not look like himself right away. He’s not taking Onyeka Okongwu’s starting job, and even a backup role isn’t guaranteed with Newell, Ejiofor and Landale around.
Unless the situation changes in a big way, Atlanta may not be the place where Gueye gets a real runway.
C.J. McCollum is the most established name in the group, and the one who mattered most last season.
His burst in the first three games of the Knicks series helped put Atlanta up 2-1 and briefly in position to threaten the eventual NBA champions. That didn’t end with an upset, but McCollum still enters 2026-27 at 35, carrying another year of wear.
Guards age better than bigger players, but McCollum’s ability to separate and get to his spots inside the arc won’t stay sharp forever. He’s never been a standout defender, and even the passable level he showed on that end during the regular season could get tougher to hold over a full schedule.
With Flemings going in the top 10, the Hawks are also clearly looking ahead. McCollum probably isn’t part of the plan beyond this season unless he turns in a strong year.
He could still play his way into another one-year deal. The question is whether Atlanta should be the team to hand it to him.
The Hawks need to find out what Flemings can handle as a starter, and that gets harder when a veteran of McCollum’s caliber is taking up those minutes. For McCollum, a larger role elsewhere may make more sense as he puts the finishing touches on a long career.
In Other News...
Kingston Flemings Has 2 Big Hurdles Between Promise And Stardom
Kingston Flemings already arrives in Atlanta with traits teams cant teach: speed, athleticism and the kind of playmaking that can change the pace of a game in a hurry. As the Hawks 2026 first-round pick, he looks the part of a guard with real long-term upside, the sort of talent a franchise hopes can grow into more than just a useful contributor.
The next step is where the conversation gets more interesting. Flemings has the tools to become a serious scoring threat, but the path to that level depends on whether his outside game becomes a bigger part of his profile and whether he can get more reliable around the basket. If those pieces come together, Atlanta could be looking at more than a promising young guard. It could be looking at a cornerstone. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Suddenly Have A Frontcourt Problem They Didn't Plan For
The Hawks were already counting on rookie center Henri Veesaar to be part of their long-term frontcourt picture after drafting him 52nd overall and signing him to a four-year deal in July. Instead, his first stretch with the organization has been derailed by a knee injury that leaves Atlanta with an immediate reason to reassess how it plans to build size and depth around its young core.
Veesaar suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during a workout on September 15, and the surgery is set for next month. The bigger concern for Atlanta is the timeline beyond that procedure, because the team expects him to miss the entire 2026/27 season, turning what had looked like a development project into another test of the Hawks patience in the frontcourt. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Frontcourt Depth Just Took A Hit Atlanta Could Feel All Year
The Hawks frontcourt picture lost another layer of depth this week when rookie center Henri Veesaar went down in a workout on Sept. 15, an early setback for a team already trying to sort out its big-man rotation. Veesaar, who was in line to push for a role in Atlanta, is now headed for surgery and a long rehab process, putting his development on pause before he could even get going.
For a roster that was hoping to build more stability behind Onyeka Okongwu and Jock Landale, the timing could hardly be worse. Atlanta is already navigating an offseason in which forward Mouhamed Gueye is coming back from a foot injury, and losing another young frontcourt option only makes the depth chart thinner and the internal competition less settled heading into the year. [Read more 🡒]