ATLANTA — Sure, it was one of the most embarrassing performances in franchise history … but let’s focus on the positive. No, seriously.
The Atlanta Hawks played 87 games before Thursday, and while their season-ending 140-89 demolition at the hands of the New York Knicks closed things out with a thud, this was a successful season. Atlanta won 46 games, took two more off a contending New York team in the playoffs … and, yes, finally avoided the Play-In Tournament. Eat your heart out, Miami Heat fans.
With a huge offseason ahead and expectations that realistically didn’t extend beyond the first round of the playoffs, there’s no need for a “What went wrong?” breakdown. The Hawks weren’t good enough; we already knew that.
The good news is that, for the first time in half a decade, the Hawks have a direction. Their 19-5 close to the regular season after trading Trae Young and Kristaps Porziņģis emphatically proved that.
The bad news is that they still have a great many miles to travel in that direction to contend for anything important. Even before Thursday’s game, the playoff series against the Knicks adequately demonstrated the yawning gap between the Hawks and a true contender.
It’s perhaps fortunate, then, that any 2021-esque delusions of grandeur were crushed by halftime of Game 6, by which time the Knicks had ethered Atlanta’s souls by building a 47-point lead (yes, really) and going on a 60-11 run (yes, really). “The perfect storm,” as coach Quin Snyder called it.
Reality check: New York is a “championship-or-bust” team, while the Hawks are still figuring out what they have and liberally throwing around words like “optionality” heading into the summer. Having already seen fruit from the post-Trae reconstruction, Atlanta was playing with house money before the series started. Kudos to the Hawks for beating these Knicks twice and making them sweat.
The embarrassing ending doesn’t make the 87 games that transpired before less real. Yes, that sterling mark after the All-Star break was partly Astroturf due to the profusion of tanking teams on the slate. But the Hawks also beat the Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic (twice), Philadelphia 76ers (twice) and Portland Trail Blazers (by 34) in that span; after Feb. 1, the worst team to beat them was Miami.
And now, the hard part. The Hawks head into the offseason with a defined four-man core still coming into their prime years, a likely high lottery pick courtesy of the New Orleans Pelicans and enough financial flexibility to go in a lot of different directions. Key performers Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels and Onyeka Okongwu are 24, 27, 23 and 25 years old; all four are signed for multiple years at reasonable money.
On the other hand, the playoffs showed how lacking Atlanta is in some areas. The Hawks need another half-court shot creator (or for Johnson to take another step toward becoming one), more shooting up and down the lineup, a rotation-caliber center with real beef and at least one bench guy they aren’t terrified to insert into a playoff game.
That shouldn’t obscure the job Hawks GM Onsi Saleh did in his first season at the helm to point the franchise in the right direction, resulting in his nearly winning Executive of the Year (he finished second). The Hawks clowned the Pelicans on the 2025 draft-night trade to get this year’s lottery pick, made arguably the best free-agent signing in the league in Alexander-Walker and emphatically ripped off the Trae Young Band-Aid … while finding a worthy short-term replacement in guard CJ McCollum. At the trade deadline, the Hawks also turned Vít Krejčí into two second-round picks and picked up Jock Landale essentially for free when a tanking Utah Jazz team didn’t want him.
Alas, nitpickers can point to some moves in which Atlanta went backward. Most notably, second-year pro Zaccharie Risacher — the top pick in the 2024 draft — stalled out. He lost his starting job after the All-Star break and then his spot in the rotation in April. Getting him back on track to at least play rotation minutes should be a key organizational goal, and a trade can’t be ruled out.
Zaccharie Risacher, the top pick in the draft just two years ago, barely saw the court against the Knicks. (Brad Penner / Imagn Images)
Other moves on the wing didn’t help. Corey Kispert was a stealth salary dump by the Washington Wizards in the McCollum trade, a missed evaluation by the Hawks who is owed a guaranteed $27 million for the next two years. He could end up as a Terance Mann Memorial Deadline Pickup Who Became A Salary Dump this summer.
The Hawks also traded Luke Kennard for a single second-round pick when they really could have used him in the playoffs; a potential replacement, Buddy Hield, was bizarrely thrown into the freezer and forgotten about after arriving in the Porziņģis deal. Hield didn’t play a single meaningful minute as a Hawk until his shocking entrance to start the second quarter of Game 6; he is likely to be waived from his lightly guaranteed deal if he isn’t traded.
The Hawks seem wary of not repeating the mistakes that followed their 2021 Eastern Conference finals run, when they got too high on their supply and convinced themselves they were closer to contention than they really were. Such shortsighted mistakes seem unlikely this time around, as Saleh has emphasized cap flexibility and asset accumulation.
However, optionality is only valuable when you use it to actually choose one of the options. The Hawks must winnow the sea of transactions that they could make into a short list of those that would best maximize this core over the next few seasons.
Depending on where the pick from New Orleans lands, Atlanta will have just over $130 million in committed salary for nine players, leaving the Hawks with $71 million below the projected luxury tax line. This, likely, is the effective budget for filling the last six spots via free agency and trades.
That seems like a lot, but the money may go quickly given the number of moves involved. That would include re-signing McCollum for something in the $15 million to $25 million a year range; either picking up a $24 million on Jonathan Kuminga or re-signing him at a lower number; using the full nontaxpayer midlevel exception (roughly $15 million) to add a big; and using the biannual exception (roughly $5 million) for another guard. Any returning salary in trades involving either the contracts of Kuminga or Hield also would fit here.
Rather than discuss the infinitude of players available in free agency or trade, let’s break down the roster that ended the season. Here’s where everyone stands
The core
Jalen Johnson, PF: The Hawks went from Young’s team to Johnson’s team this year; he made his first All-Star team and seems likely to add an All-NBA selection to the list of honors in the coming days. The 6-foot-9 forward is a tremendous rebounder and passer for his size, filling the stat sheet even when he isn’t scoring.
He also has one of the league’s best contracts, owed a flat $30 million per year for each of the next four seasons. However, the playoffs exposed where Johnson still needs to improve: attacking in the half court, minimizing bad passes into traffic and dialing up his resolve and physicality on defense. He’s one of the best players in the East, but he’s not quite in the orbit of the league’s superstars.
Dyson Daniels, SF: I went deep on the topic of Daniels recently, but he’ll have to spend the summer retooling his 3-point shot to be more of a shooting threat after hitting a ghastly 18.8 percent this season. Between his defense, playmaking and rebounding, he had a heck of a year for a guy who kept bricking 3s and has a pretty high ceiling if he can just make one-third of them.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, SG: The league’s Most Improved Player is signed for two more years for just $29.5 million total before his player option hits in the summer of 2028. This makes him one of the best values in the league.
The playoffs showed his limitations as a shot creator against locked-in defenders, and asking him to be the second option all season may overstretch his skill set. However, Alexander-Walker is a plus defender, a good shooter and a solid secondary ballhandler who loves to whip left-handed passes. He’s also a plus culture guy who works like crazy.
Onyeka Okongwu, C: Okongwu is undersized, but his quickness, switchability and newly emergent 3-point shot still make him a valuable player who can provide decent minutes as a starter and would be a Sixth Man of the Year candidate if he came off the bench. Signed for two more years at a total of $33 million, he’s a value even if Atlanta brings in another big to share the job.
Pelicans’ first-round pick: Atlanta has the better of New Orleans’ or Milwaukee’s first-round pick as a result of trading down with New Orleans from 13th to 23rd on draft night in 2025 and selecting Asa Newell.
The pick is most likely to land seventh or eighth and carry a cap hit around $8 million, but the Hawks also have a 9.8 percent chance of getting the top pick and a roughly 2-in-5 shot at landing in the top four via either the Pelicans or Bucks. That would likely net a better player but also a greater cap hit between $11 million and $15 million.
Either way, this would be a top pick in one of the deepest and most talented one-and-done classes in memory. Even if they’re pushed down to ninth, it would be a disappointment if the Hawks don’t get a long-term starter.
The hard decisions
CJ McCollum, PG (free agent): The 34-year-old McCollum is a decade older than the rest of Atlanta’s core but was also key to the Hawks’ two playoff wins. An unrestricted free agent, he likely will have other suitors who value his scoring, although perhaps not as a starter.
I canvassed a few execs on his likely value during my recent travels, and most seemed to think one or two years at slightly above the midlevel exception was a fair ballpark (i.e., two years and $35 million to $40 million). However, with tanking now verboten, a one-year balloon deal from a struggling cap-room team like the Chicago Bulls or Brooklyn Nets can’t be ruled out.
One other factor: If the Hawks pick seventh or eighth, which is fairly likely, a surfeit of point guards litter the draft board. That could influence where they head with McCollum.
Is Jonathan Kuminga’s NBA future in Atlanta? Time will tell. (Brett Davis / Imagn Images)
Jonathan Kuminga, PF (team option): Kuminga has a team option for $24 million; Atlanta could pick up the option and either bring him back for another year or use him as matching salary in a trade. A hybrid option would be to bring him back with the idea of using his salary as a de facto trade exception at the deadline, especially if the Hawks have enough room below the tax line to accommodate that number.
Kuminga showed positive flashes in the two playoff wins and clearly gave the team a scoring jolt with the second unit, but the weaknesses that held him back in Golden State still cropped up.
Atlanta could be a cap-room team this summer if it declines the option on Kuminga, stretches Hield’s money, lets McCollum walk and trades one of Kispert and Risacher, but that would be an unlikely strategy with an unclear return.
The difficult contracts
Zaccharie Risacher, SF: Risacher makes $13.2 million next season, and the Hawks will have a team option for $17.4 million for 2027-28 that they must decide on by late October.
Risacher is big, mobile and well-liked internally. He has clear upside if he can shoot more consistently and seemed to take rebounding a lot more seriously after his demotion. Between that and his age (he turned 21 a month ago), it would be inconceivable to decline the option, but Risacher’s salary — and potential interest in him from other teams — could make him a trade piece.
That might be easier than slotting in a $13 million salary for a player who perhaps could use a change of scenery, especially if Kuminga comes back or the Hawks land a big wing like AJ Dybantsa with their lottery pick.
Corey Kispert, SF: I lumped Risacher and Kispert together for a reason; You can’t have two non-performing eight-figure contracts at the same position. With or without Kuminga, one or the other of Risacher and Kispert would seem likely to be traded to clear the logjam.
Likely returning
Mo Gueye, PF (team option): You wouldn’t quite call him a core player, but Gueye has a team option for just $2.4 million, and as a depth piece, his ability to defend multiple positions makes him extremely useful. If the 23-year-old can add a reliable 3-point shot (he’s at 29.1 percent career), he’ll make some real money.
Asa Newell, PF/C: Atlanta’s 2026 first-round draft pick had his moments, especially offensively, when he showed a soft touch (38.7 percent from 3) and some nice feel. However, the 20-year-old left-hander needs to improve his defense and rebound more and seems caught positionally between power forward and center.
Iffy propositions
Jock Landale, C (free agent): Saleh picked him up for nothing at the deadline, and he was genuinely useful for a team with no size. His absence in the playoffs left a giant void behind Okongwu. He’d be useful if the Hawks could bring him back on a minimum deal as the third center.
Gabe Vincent, PG (free agent): I joked that his role was “Just Don’t Kill Us” after Snyder made him the first guard off the bench in March. He finished with an 8.2 PER on microscopic usage and was mostly asked to play defense and shoot wide-open 3s. The 29-year-old vet still has a role in the league, but it’s hard to imagine it being in Atlanta.
Buddy Hield, SG: Hield is under contract for next season, but only $3 million of his $9 million deal is guaranteed, and the Hawks made it abundantly clear that he is not in their long-term plans. If his deal isn’t used in a trade, Atlanta could stretch his remaining guaranteed money over five years on its cap for just $600,000 a pop.
Tony Bradley, C (free agent): Emergency backup center summoned from his couch in April after Landale’s injury. The Hawks will need to upgrade here.
Keaton Wallace, PG (free agent): Snyder has a thing for defense-first backup guards (see Vincent, above, or Trent Forrest a year earlier, for example), and Wallace got some run early in the year after the Hawks promoted him from a two-way deal. But he’s pretty clearly not a rotation player due to his offensive limitations. Again, Atlanta will need to upgrade.
