The Eastern Conference has become the confernece of blockbuster trades this offseason. Toronto, Miami, and Philadlephia have all made major moves to upgrade their roster and chase a championship, but some teams have opted to make smaller moves, retain their own players, and hope internal development gets them to where they need to go.
The Atlanta Hawks are one of those teams.
It should not come as a surprise either. Atlanta’s President of Basketball Operations Onsi Saleh was on record a number of times talking about how this team was not one big move away and that Atlanta would not be skipping steps.
He stayed true to that. Saleh brought back CJ McCollum, Jock Landale, and Mouhamed Gueye, traded for Aaron Wiggins and Devin Carter, and drafted Kingston Flemings, Zuby Ejiofor, and Henri Veesaar. Atlanta needs to make room on their roster for everyone, but this team might be set for the 2026-2027 season.
So who are the big winners and losers in Atlanta from this year’s free agency period?
Winner- Jock Landale
The center market this offseason was pretty bare and it dried up quickly. Players such as Jusuf Nurkic, Robert Williams III, and Isaiah Hartenstein all re-signed with their teams and the Hawks did not have the resources to go after restricted free agents like Jalen Duren or Walker Kessler.
So Atlanta opted to bring back Jock Landale, who played really well for them after the trade deadline. There were plenty of reported suitors for Landale, but the Hawks brought him back on a one-year, $14 million deal.
Is that a bit of an overpay? Yes, I am sure that Landale was not going to get that kind of deal from another team, but it is for just one season and given how Landale played, it should work out fine.
Loser- Jonathan Kuminga
Kuminga had his $24.3 million team option declined and he is now an unrestricted free agent. The Hawks searched the trade market for Kuminga, but there were no takers for that much money on his deal and the Hawks clearly did not want to pay him that much.
Kuminga was a good player for the Hawks and it is not entirely sure how they would replace him if he were to leave for a team like the Lakers, Cavaliers, or Bucks, but Kuminga is going to have to take a paycut as he tries to find his next NBA home, which could still be Atlanta.
Winner- Zaccharie Risacher
There is still a chance that Risacher could be traded this offseason, but after plenty of speculation heading into the summer, he is still with the team and he could benefit greatly from these offseason moves.
During Risacher’s rookie season, he thrived when he got to play with Trae Young and having someone to feed him the ball in transition and find him open looks. Kingston Flemings is not going to be the same level of playmaker that Young is right away, but he has shown in Summer League his passing and playmaking ability, which should help Risacher get back on track as a player.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
