Did the Hawks Get Better? Grading Atlanta’s signing of Nickeil Alexander-Walker

One of the best available free agents was Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker and he was highly sought after by plenty of teams. The Atlanta Hawks won the sweepstakes though, signing him to a four-year, $62 million deal in a sign and trade with Minnesota. Alexander-Walker is a high-level two-way player and instantly boosts the Hawks point of attack defense and three point shooting.

The Atlanta Hawks have been one of the most active teams this NBA offseason and have been in headlines for making many moves that have added up to them being, in some people’s eyes, a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference. Firstly, it began when they made changes within the front office, specifically when they promoted Onsi Saleh from Assistant General Manager to General Manager of the team. Since then, the Hawks traded for Kristaps Porzingis and made moves in the NBA Draft to get the 23rd overall pick and a future 2026 unprotected pick in next year’s NBA Draft.

These moves have led many people to believe the Hawks have put themselves in real playoff contention and are now entering the conversation of teams to watch. As of yesterday, the Hawks have been in the headlines as having one of the best offseasons this year after signing both Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard. Alexander-Walker is one of the top three and D players in the NBA, and this helps the Hawks in both defense and three-point shooting, which is something they lacked last season.

It was reported that Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young was involved in the offseason recruiting for both free agents Kennard and Alexander Walker. Our own Jackson Caudell covered the story yesterday:

“One week after trading for Kristaps Porzingis and drafting Asa Newell, Atlanta reached a pair of huge free agent signings tonight. The Hawks signed Wolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker to a four-year, $62 million deal in a sign and trade that sent a 2027 2nd round pick (via CLE) to the Wolves. Then, the Hawks signed free agent guard Luke Kennard to a one-year, $11 million deal. The Hawks got much better tonight and a big reason for that is their star guard Trae Young. ESPN’s Shams Charania and NBA insider Chris Haynes both reported that Young was recruiting both Alexander-Walker and Kennard to the team.

Young has quietly been one of the NBA’s best leaders and it showed tonight. The Hawks have improved their team quite a bit and are well positioned to make noise in the Eastern Conference next season.”

Trae Young’s leadership has stepped up significantly in the past few seasons, as both coaches and the front office have stated that they’ve seen significant positive changes in leadership from the guard. Adding these two players in free agency has also demonstrated the leadership role that Young has taken, as well as being at the introductory press conference for the newly drafted rookie, Asa Newell.

So what kind of grade do the Hawks get for signing Alexander-Walker?

The Hawks’ ranked 26th in total defense, allowing 115.7 points to opponents. In terms of three-point shooting, they shot 35.8% from long range, ranking 18th in the NBA. Alexander-Walker, however, shot 38% from three-point range and posted an above-average defensive rating of 112.6, which will likely lead to improvement for this Hawks roster. He will also help pick up some of the bench scoring with Caris LeVert leaving for Detroit, as LeVert averaged 14.9 points per game while in Atlanta, and Alexander-Walker averaged 9.4 points per game, 2.7 assists, and 3.2 rebounds on 43/38/77% shooting splits in Minnesota.

Overall Grade: A-