Hawks Notes: Kuminga, Hield, Landale, Okongwu, Saleh
Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh has a background with the Warriors, so he pounced on the opportunity to trade for Jonathan Kuminga, writes Angelina Martin of NBC Sports Bay Area. Before going to Atlanta, Saleh spent three years in Golden State’s front office, giving him a first-hand look at Kuminga’s potential.
“I was there for, I think, [Kuminga’s] first three years,” he said. “For us, [the trade] made sense given our timeline and what we’re trying to do. I think a 23-year-old with a ton of potential — I think the things that he helps us with are his rim pressure that he puts on. He’s a phenomenal athlete. He’s a good rebounder. I think in transition, he could be absolutely phenomenal, and he adds size at the wing position if we ever need to add another defender to guard one of these bigger wings in the league. So, I’m really excited about Jonathan.”
After years of looking for a fresh start, Kuminga finally got his wish on Thursday when the Hawks acquired him and Buddy Hield in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis. Kuminga is currently dealing with a bone bruise in his left knee that will sideline him through the All-Star break, but the team is confident he’ll be able to produce when he returns.
Saleh also welcomes the outside shooting that Hield can provide and said his “hilarious” personality will be good to have in the locker room.
There’s more from Atlanta:
- Jock Landale made a strong impression in his debut with the Hawks, delivering 26 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four blocks in Thursday’s win over Utah. He was in Memphis when the trade was announced and turned down the team’s offer for a flight, opting to make the 5 1/2-hour drive to Atlanta instead, according to Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). “I kind of said, if I’m looking to play that next night, I want to get there as soon as possible,” Landale said. “So loaded up the truck and hit the road.”
- The Hawks sent $3MM to the Jazz in the Landale trade, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks at Sports Business Classroom. The cash amount wasn’t specified when the deal was announced.
- Onyeka Okongwu returned Saturday after missing four games with a dental fracture, per Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks (Twitter link). The only player remaining on the injured list for the contest was Kuminga.
- Prior to the game, Saleh spoke to the media about his strategy at the deadline, Rowland adds (Twitter link). “Everything is future forward,” he said. “We didn’t want the flexibility that we created at the start of the season to be impacted by the deadline, and we felt like we maintained that flexibility.” Saleh also talked about preserving “optionality” for the summer.
Hawks’ Jonathan Kuminga Out Through All-Star Break
New Hawks forward Jonathan Kuminga will be reevaluated after the All-Star break due to the bone bruise in his left knee, the team announced today (Twitter link via Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks).
The 23-year-old hyperextended his left knee in a January 22 loss to Dallas, which turned out to be his final game with Golden State. Kuminga was traded to Atlanta along with Buddy Hield in the deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Warriors.
Kuminga will miss Atlanta’s next three games (vs. Charlotte, at Minnesota, and at Charlotte) because of the knee injury. The earliest he could make his Hawks debut would be February 19 at Philadelphia, the team’s first game after the break.
The former No. 7 overall pick demanded a trade out of Golden State on January 15, the first day he was eligible to be moved. While Kuminga was expecting to be dealt, he was “shocked” he landed with the Hawks, a source tells Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area (story via Johnson’s colleague Ali Thanawalla). Atlanta wasn’t a team his camp kept in contact with, but he’s looking forward to the fresh start, per Johnson.
Kuminga could be an unrestricted free agent this summer — his contract features a $24.3MM team option for 2026/27. Atlanta will have until June 30 to decide whether it wants to exercise that option.
NBA Announces Competitors For Slam Dunk, Shooting Stars All-Star Events
The Spurs‘ Carter Bryant, the Lakers‘ Jaxson Hayes, the Heat‘s Keshad Johnson and the Magic‘s Jase Richardson have been named the participants in the All-Star Slam Dunk competition, the league announced in a press release. It will be held next Saturday at the Clippers’ new Intuit Dome.
All four players will be making their event debuts. Richardson, a rookie guard, does have a familial connection with the contest. He is the son of two-time Slam Dunk champion Jason Richardson (2002 and 2003).
The league also announced the teams for the Shooting Stars competition on Saturday. Four teams of three – each featuring two NBA players and one NBA legend – will compete in the event.
- Team All-Star: Raptors star Scottie Barnes and Thunder big man Chet Holmgren will be joined by three-time All-Star Richard Hamilton.
- Team Cameron: Three Duke University alums will team up, with Hawks All-Star Jalen Johnson and Hornets star rookie Kon Knueppel being joined by former 14-year NBA veteran Corey Maggette.
- Team Harper: Five-time NBA champion Ron Harper Sr. pairs up with his sons, Spurs guard Dylan Harper and Celtics swingman Ron Harper Jr.
- Team Knicks: Knicks teammates and All-Stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns will team up with Allan Houston, who made two NBA All-Star teams and is now a member of New York’s front office.
The Shooting Stars will feature a two-round format, with all four teams competing in the first round and the top two advancing to the final round.
Teams will compete one at a time and have 70 seconds to score points while rotating through seven designated shooting locations around the court, with all three players on a team shooting at each spot in a set order. The team with the higher score in the final round will be crowned the champion.
Nuggets Trade Hunter Tyson To Nets To Duck Tax
10:39 pm: The trade is official, per NBA.com’s transactions log. The Nets have released Tyrese Martin to make room on their roster for Tyson, the team announced (via Twitter).
Tyson has also been waived, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
12:58 pm: The Nuggets and Nets have agreed to a trade that will send forward Hunter Tyson to Brooklyn along with a 2032 second-round pick, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). In return, Denver will acquire the least favorable of the Clippers’ and Hawks’ 2026 second-rounders, Charania adds.
The move had been anticipated since Denver was operating just $400K-ish above the luxury tax line, with Tyson considered the most expendable minimum-salary player on the roster.
The trade will allow the Nuggets to duck the tax and create a second opening on their 15-man roster — they’ll have up to two weeks to add a new 14th man, with two-way standout Spencer Jones looking like the obvious candidate to fill that spot on a new standard deal. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link) confirms that promoting Jones is the plan.
Even after completing that move, Denver will have a roster opening that could be filled on the buyout market, and Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link) confirms the team intends to be active on that front.
Tyson, 25, was the 37th overall pick in the 2023 draft and has spent the past three seasons with the Nuggets, but never became a trusted part of Michael Malone‘s or David Adelman‘s rotation. The 6’8″ forward has made 90 total regular season appearances, averaging 2.2 points and 1.4 rebounds in 6.8 minutes per game.
The Nuggets will create a small trade exception equivalent to Tyson’s $2.2MM outgoing salary in the deal.
Lakers Trade Vincent, Second-Round Pick To Hawks For Kennard
8:03 pm: The trade is official, the Lakers and Hawks confirmed.
9:40 am: The Lakers and Hawks have agreed to a trade, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), who hears from sources that Atlanta is acquiring guard Gabe Vincent and the Lakers’ 2032 second-round pick from Los Angeles in exchange for sharpshooter Luke Kennard.
Dan Woike of The Athletic first reported (Twitter link) that the Lakers were closing in on a deal sending Vincent to the Hawks.
Finding another shooter was among the Lakers’ priorities heading into the deadline, and they’re able to fill that role with Kennard, who’s connecting at 49.7% from beyond the arc in 46 games this season. Kennard, 29, is also a Duke alum, just like head coach JJ Reddick.
Vincent, 29, wasn’t able to provide the value the Lakers were hoping when they signed him as a free agent in the summer of 2023. Injuries played a role as he was limited to 11 games in his first season in L.A. and has appeared in just 29 this year. He’ll get a fresh start in Atlanta before becoming an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The two players have similar expiring contracts with Kennard at $11MM and Vincent at $11.5MM, so the trade won’t carry any major financial implications, either this season or beyond.
The Lakers parted with their last available second-round pick in the trade, notes Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Twitter link). However, he points out that the $500K they save in the exchange could be useful on the buyout market, since they didn’t have a ton of breathing room below their first-apron hard cap.
The Hawks will create an $11MM traded player exception in the deal, Charania adds (Twitter link). That means they figure to absorb Vincent’s contract into the TPE from last year’s Bogdan Bogdanovic trade — that $13.1MM exception would have expired on Friday, so Atlanta is essentially rolling it over for another year.
The Hawks also agreed to a deal on Wednesday to acquire Buddy Hield from Golden State, and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line hears that they plan to keep both Hield and Vincent on their roster (Twitter link).
Warriors Trade Kuminga, Hield To Hawks For Porzingis
February 5: The trade is official, the Warriors announced (via Twitter) The Hawks confirmed the deal as well in a press release.
February 4: The Warriors will trade Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Hawks in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis, sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). It’s a straight player exchange with no draft picks involved, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
The deal ends Kuminga’s long saga with Golden State, which was highlighted by occasional moments of brilliance mixed with frustration over not being able to land a consistent starting role or regular playing time during his five seasons with the team. He was hoping for an exit during restricted free agency last summer, but he didn’t receive an offer sheet and the Warriors shut down any idea of a sign-and-trade despite interest from Sacramento and Phoenix.
Kuminga received several contract offers from Golden State during the process, but he was reluctant to agree to anything that included a team option. He relented shortly before the start of training camp and accepted a deal with a $22.5MM salary for this season and a $24.3MM team option for 2026/27 that will now be controlled by Atlanta.
That agreement also featured a trade kicker, which would be worth roughly $1.3MM at this point, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
Over the past few weeks, several teams expressed interest in trading for Kuminga, who has only been available for 20 games this season, but the Warriors were hesitant to take back long-term money in any deal. Instead they get Porzingis, whose $30.7MM expiring contract will give them financial flexibility for the offseason.
Golden State may be interested in a longer arrangement with the 30-year-old big man, as Charania reports that they’ve viewed Porzingis as a potential target for the past two months in their search for another stretch five. Porzingis is a career 36.6% shooter from long distance and played a vital role on Boston’s championship team two years ago, though he has been limited to 17 games this season and is currently sidelined with an illness, which has been a recurring issue for the past year.
After missing an extended stretch of time down the stretch and in the playoffs last season, Porzingis was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). He said in the fall that he was confident about managing the condition, but he has had repeated absences due to illness this season.
Hield, 33, gives Atlanta another outside shooter after sending Vit Krejci to Portland earlier this week. He’s under contract for $9.7MM next season, but only $3MM of that is guaranteed until the day after the draft.
The Hawks could decide to waive both players and have $25MM in cap space this summer, according to Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Twitter link). He adds that they could also use Kuminga’s Non-Bird rights to give him a new contract worth up to $116MM over four years — they likely wouldn’t have to go that high if the plan is to re-sign the forward.
Parting with Kuminga likely signals the end of the Warriors’ pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo before the trade deadline. Marc Stein of The Stein Line notes (via Twitter) that he was a central part of Golden State’s offer, which likely reduces the Bucks‘ options to Miami and Minnesota if they’re determined to move him on Thursday.
Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reports that the Warriors contacted Milwaukee several times this week with an offer for Antetokounmpo centered around Kuminga, Draymond Green, Brandin Podziemski and multiple first-round picks. After receiving a “clear indication” that the Bucks wouldn’t accept that deal, they pivoted to their pursuit of Porzingis.
Hawks Waive N’Faly Dante
5:57 pm: Dante has been placed on waivers, the Hawks confirmed in a press release.
3:00 pm: The Hawks intend to waive injured center N’Faly Dante, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter). The move will open up a roster spot to allow Atlanta to complete its one-for-two trade with Golden State.
Dante suffered a torn ACL in his right knee in December during a G League contest with the College Park Skyhawks. He underwent surgery last month and will miss the rest of the 2025/26 season.
A native of Mali, Dante had a productive college career with Oregon. After going undrafted in 2024, the 24-year-old big man quickly signed a two-way deal with Houston and spent his rookie season with the Rockets.
Dante was the NBA’s only restricted free agent to sign an offer sheet during the 2025 offseason. He received a two-way qualifying offer from Houston, then signed a two-year, minimum-salary deal with Atlanta that the Rockets elected not to match.
Dante appeared in just four games for Atlanta and four for College Park this season. Prior to tearing his ACL, he was sidelined for over two weeks while going through the concussion protocol due to a head injury that he sustained while playing for the Skyhawks.
Assuming Dante goes unclaimed, which is a virtual lock due to his injury, the Hawks will carry a dead-money cap hit of $2.05MM. Dante’s contract for next season was non-guaranteed so that cap charge will come off Atlanta’s books at the end of the league year.
Jazz Acquire Lonzo Ball, Second-Rounders From Cavs
February 5: The Jazz have officially acquired Ball and two second-round picks from the Cavaliers, according to press releases from both teams. Utah also separately completed its deal with Atlanta involving Landale.
“Lonzo Ball was the consummate professional during his time with the Cavaliers, and we’re grateful for his hard work and team-first mentality,” Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman said in a statement. “We wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”
Oddly, neither the Jazz’s release nor the Cavs’ announcement indicated what exactly Cleveland received from Utah to complete the deal, but RealGM’s official transaction log indicates it was cash.
February 4: The Jazz have agreed to a pair of trades, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter links), who reports that Utah will be acquiring point guard Lonzo Ball and two second-round picks from the Cavaliers and is also sending center Jock Landale to the Hawks in exchange for cash considerations.
The Jazz are making their deal with Cleveland solely for the draft capital and are expected to waive Ball after the trade is complete, Charania adds (via Twitter). Once he clears waivers, he’d be eligible to sign with any team except the Cavs.
The Cavaliers acquired Ball from Chicago last summer in a swap for Isaac Okoro in the hopes that he could provide the team with a reliable replacement for Sixth Man of the Year finalist Ty Jerome, who departed in free agency. However, Ball had a disappointing season in Cleveland, averaging career lows in several categories, including points (4.6) and minutes (20.8) per game, as well as field goal percentage (30.1%) and three-point percentage (27.2%).
With the Cavs making an effort to reduce payroll and perhaps duck below the second tax apron, moving Ball and his $10MM salary made sense, especially after the team acquired guards Dennis Schröder and Keon Ellis from Sacramento over the weekend.
The Cavs will save approximately $65MM as a result of the Ball trade and are now just $3.9MM over the second apron, tweets Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron. Cleveland may very well keep looking for ways to get out of second-apron territory in order to avoid having its 2033 first-round pick becoming “frozen” for trade purposes this offseason, but the club has already generated massive savings as a result of its recent moves — approximately $115MM in total, per Gozlan (Twitter link).
Utah, meanwhile, still had a significant amount of breathing room below the luxury tax threshold after adding to their payroll in Tuesday’s Jaren Jackson Jr. blockbuster and will take advantage of that flexibility to take on some unwanted salary and acquire the Cavs’ 2028 and 2032 second-round picks in the process, tweets Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. Those were the only second-rounders Cleveland had available to trade.
The Jazz still have a trade exception worth more than $12MM from last summer’s John Collins deal that they’ll use to absorb Ball’s pseudo-expiring contract (he has a $10MM team option for next season that will be automatically declined when he’s waived). That Collins exception was initially worth over $26MM and has since been used to acquire Georges Niang and John Konchar as well.
Landale was one of three role players the Jazz acquired alongside Jackson in Tuesday’s blockbuster with Memphis, but he wasn’t part of Utah’s future frontcourt plans and will now head to Atlanta.
The 30-year-old Australian center was having a career year for the Grizzlies prior to the trade, averaging 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 23.6 minutes per game across 45 outings (25 starts). He was also knocking down 38.0% of a career-high 2.9 three-point tries per game. He’ll provide frontcourt depth for a Hawks team that has been hit hard by injuries up front this season.
The Hawks will have to waive a player in order to make room for Landale, but that shouldn’t be a problem — both Duop Reath and N’Faly Dante are out with season-ending injuries and are candidates to be cut. They’ll be able to take on Landale without sending out any salary of their own since he’s on a minimum-salary contract.
Hawks Finalize Jock Landale Trade, Waive Duop Reath
The Hawks have officially finalized their previously reported trade with the Jazz, acquiring center Jock Landale from Utah in exchange for cash considerations, the team confirmed in a press release.
While that agreement was reported as part of a Jazz/Cavaliers trade, it appears the two moves will be completed separately rather than as a single three-team transaction — the Hawks’ announcement doesn’t include any mention of Cleveland’s involvement in the deal.
Landale, 30, was having a career year for the Grizzlies prior to being sent to Utah in the Jaren Jackson Jr. blockbuster, averaging 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 23.6 minutes per game across 45 outings (25 starts). He was also knocking down 38.0% of a career-high 2.9 three-point tries per game.
The Australian big man will provide frontcourt depth for a Hawks team that has been impacted by injuries up front this season and is sending Kristaps Porzingis to Golden State.
Landale is on a one-year, minimum-salary contract, so Atlanta can acquire him without sending out matching salary. The team did need to open up a spot on its 15-man roster for Landale though, and did so by placing recently acquired center Duop Reath on waivers (Twitter link).
Reath, who was dealt from Portland to Atlanta in Sunday’s Vit Krejci trade, recently underwent season-ending foot surgery and wasn’t expected to remain on the Hawks’ roster. His $2,221,677 cap hit for this season will remain on the team’s books, but he isn’t owed any salary beyond 2025/26.
Trade Rumors: Morant, Thomas, Gafford, Hawks, Raptors
While Sacramento has been one of the teams linked to Ja Morant, the Grizzlies guard and his camp don’t have interest in a trade to the Kings, according to Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports, who reports (via Twitter) that Morant’s other rumored suitors – the Heat and Timberwolves – would rank much higher on his wish list.
The Kings essentially reciprocate Morant’s tepid interest, says Sam Amick of The Athletic. As Amick explains, Sacramento hasn’t ruled out the possibility of acquiring Morant, but would want Memphis to add draft capital as an incentive to take on his maximum-salary contract, which runs through 2027/28. The Grizzlies, on the other hand, are looking to acquire a draft pick or two in a Morant deal, even if it means taking on some unwanted salary.
The Kings also have potential fit and chemistry concerns about Morant, Amick adds, noting that a deal between the two teams appears unlikely.
While that could just leave Miami and Minnesota in the running for Morant, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link) says he’s been advised not to rule out the Bucks. All three of those teams may need resolution on the Giannis Antetokounmpo situation before they can realistically make a play for the Grizzlies guard.
We have more trade rumors from around the NBA:
- Nets guard Cam Thomas wasn’t with the team for its flight to Orlando today and is listed as out for Thursday’s game due to personal reasons, tweets Fischer. Thomas holds a de facto no-trade clause after signing his qualifying offer as a restricted free agent in 2025, but has long been considered a trade candidate and is drawing interest from the Cavaliers and Bucks, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
- The Hawks have maintained interest in Mavericks center Daniel Gafford, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter links), who reports that Dallas has been seeking a first-round pick for Gafford and Atlanta has only been willing to give up second-round capital. Stein’s report came in just before word broke that the Hawks had agreed to acquire Jock Landale from Utah — adding a minimum-salary big man on an expiring deal wouldn’t preclude a trade for Gafford, who is under contract for three more seasons after this one, but it may reduce Atlanta’s need for immediate help in its frontcourt.
- The Raptors were engaged in trade talks with the Mavericks about Anthony Davis before Dallas agreed to send him to Washington, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, who says Toronto also spoke to the Grizzlies about Jaren Jackson Jr. prior to the trade that sent the big man to Utah. The Raptors, who are on the lookout for a frontcourt upgrade, have also discussed Domantas Sabonis but reportedly reached an impasse in their negotiations with Sacramento.