Atlanta Hawks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Beverley, Young, Achiuwa, Herro

September 25th, 2025 at 8:37am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Wizards’ expectations for the upcoming season remain modest. It’s all about player development and growth, not wins.

“Roster-wise, we’re still in the early stages of the rebuild,” general manager Will Dawkins told the media on Wednesday, per Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network (Twitter link). “This offseason we decided to lean into the youth movement more… we like the unpredictability and the competition it’s going to bring.”

Washington is coming off an 18-64 season and it’s going to be a slow climb to get back to respectability. The Wizards will have to convey their first-round pick to the Knicks if it falls out of the top eight, giving them even more incentive to keep their win total low.

“We will not skip steps,” Dawkins said, per Varun Shankar of the Washington Post. “We will not take shortcuts.”

The Wizards have 13 players under the age of 25 and they’ll battle for playing time.

“We do not have the same level of experience or established players as we’ve had in the previous [seasons], which is fine,” Dawkins said. “We do, however, have depth. And I know we like the unpredictability and the competition that we think it’s going to breed. So for us, we view the upcoming season as a season of opportunity.”

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

Former NBA guard Patrick Beverley ripped Hawks star guard Trae Young on a podcast, stating “I’ve talked to people who played in Atlanta. They don’t wanna play there. Why? They don’t think he’s a good leader. They don’t think he’s a good teammate. You can make all the money you want. You can have all the leading assists you want. You can do all that. If you don’t win, that s— won’t matter. If you don’t win, when you retire they’re gonna forget your name.” Young offered this response, per The Athletic’s John Hollinger: “You don’t know what it’s like to be in my position, you don’t know what it’s like to put my shoes on. The numbers generate the way they do. But I promise you — there’s not a selfish bone in my body.”
Precious Achiuwa agreed to a one-year contract with the Heat. It’s a non-guaranteed deal and comes with a $2.3MM cap hit not becoming fully guaranteed until Jan. 10. The addition of Achiuwa adds some much-needed size to the Heat’s roster, joining Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware as the only centers on Miami’s standard roster, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald notes. At least in the short term, the move does not have an impact regarding Terry Rozier, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel tweets. Rozier is guaranteed $24.9MM this season on his $26.6MM salary — waiving him would bring Miami under the luxury tax.
Tyler Herro will not be ready for the start of the season after undergoing ankle surgery. How will the Heat replace him in the short term? Davion Mitchell will likely move into the starting lineup alongside offseason acquisition Norman Powell, who figures to have a prominent role offensively with Herro sidelined, according to Chiang. Pelle Larsson could see more minutes and even Rozier could force his way into the mix with a strong training camp.

Hawks Sign Malik Williams, Lamont Butler

September 24th, 2025 at 6:25pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

6:25 pm: The Hawks have confirmed in a press release that they’ve officially signed Williams and former Kentucky guard Lamont Butler. Keith Smith of Spotrac (via Twitter) reports that both are Exhibit 10 deals.

Reports in June indicated Butler was expected to sign a two-way contract, but after having filled their three two-way slots this offseason, the Hawks have apparently decided to bring him aboard on an Exhibit 10 deal instead.

4:32 pm: The Hawks have agreed to a training camp contract with free agent center Malik Williams, sources inform Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). A source tells Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter) that it’s an Exhibit 10 deal.

The 6’11” Louisville alum went undrafted in 2022 and kicked off his pro career by playing in the Polish Basketball League.

Williams spent most of 2023/24 with the Heat’s NBAGL affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Late in the season, he managed to link up with the Raptors on a 10-day contract and then a rest-of-season deal. He cameoed in seven games, averaging 2.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 0.6 BPG in 15.3 MPG.

After his tenure with Toronto ended that spring, Williams returned to Sioux Falls for the 2024/25 season, with an eye towards a potential NBA call-up. Across 31 G League games for the Skyforce last year, he averaged 16.1 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.4 SPG and 1.4 BPG. A modern stretch big, he logged shooting splits of .450/.396/.667 while attempting 5.5 three-point attempts per game.

Assuming Williams is waived and then spends at least 60 days with the Hawks’ G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, he would be eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300. College Park acquired Williams’ returning rights earlier this month.

Ashton Smith Promoted To Hawks Assistant Coach

September 24th, 2025 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Ashton Smith, who worked as a player development coach with the Hawks last season, has been promoted to an assistant coach, according to Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).

And-Ones: ESPN Survey, S. Cash, Bargain FAs, More

September 23rd, 2025 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

A panel of 20 coaches, executives, and scouts around the NBA polled by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps overwhelmingly picked Nuggets center Nikola Jokic as the current best player in the NBA, with Jokic receiving 19 votes while Lakers guard Luka Doncic earned the last one.

However, the predictions for 2025/26 MVP were more divided — Jokic leads the way with seven votes, but Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (five), Doncic (four), and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama (two) each received multiple votes, while Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards each got one too.

The panel polled by Bontemps also predicted who will be the NBA’s best player in 2030 (Wembanyama received 16 votes), who will win Rookie of the Year in 2025/26 (Cooper Flagg earned 19 votes), and where LeBron James will be when the 2026/27 season begins — seven respondents expect him to still be a Laker, while five said he’ll be retired and eight believe he’ll be with a new team.

Those coaches, executives, and scouts also believe the Hawks (seven votes) had the best offseason of the NBA’s 30 teams, while the Pelicans (nine votes) had the worst summer. And they nearly unanimously picked the Thunder to repeat as champions. Just two respondents chose the Nuggets to win the 2026 title, while the other 18 stuck with Oklahoma City.

Here are more odds and ends from around the NBA:

After being let go by the Pelicans in April, former WNBA star and veteran NBA executive Swin Cash is joining Amazon Prime Video for the 2025/26 season, according to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic. Cash will have the role of “front office insider” on Prime Video’s NBA studio show, then will become a studio analyst for Amazon’s WNBA coverage.
Thomas Bryant, Precious Achiuwa, Alec Burks, and Delon Wright are among the unsigned players identified by Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report as bargain free agents who are capable of helping any NBA team.
John Hollinger of The Athletic views the Thunder (62.5 wins), Clippers (48.5), Warriors (45.5), Bulls (32.5), and Jazz (18.5) as the five teams who are the best bets to exceed the over/under win projections set by oddsmakers for the 2025/26 season.

Southeast Notes: Bane, Hawks, Leonsis, George

September 18th, 2025 at 8:42pm CST by Earnest Marshall

Magic fans are embracing Desmond Bane following Orlando’s blockbuster acquisition of the scoring guard early this offseason, The Athletic’s Josh Robbins writes. Bane is feeling the love in the city.

“I haven’t been to the grocery store yet, honestly,” Bane said. “But my car broke down on the side of the road today on the highway. There was a decent amount of people screaming my name outside the window. So I think that it’s safe to say that Orlando fans are excited.”

The excitement surrounding Bane reflects the expectations fans have for the team. Orlando with Bane in tow looks poised to be an Eastern Conference contender this season. Bane joins Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs as cornerstones of a rapidly improving roster.

As Robbins writes, the East is wide open next season. Cleveland and New York will almost certainly enter the year as favorites to win the conference, but major injuries to Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton have created some uncertainty at the top. The Magic are hoping to take advantage.

“I don’t think that there is any limit to put on what this team can do,” Bane said. “I mean, we are a new team, adding some new pieces and things like that. But we have a very good roster in place, a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things. So it’s very exciting from that standpoint. I just want to come in and be the glue, the guy that brings his whole thing together, kind of rounds out some of the gaps that they may have had in their team.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Another team that could make some noise in the Eastern Conference, the Hawks, kept busy this week when they moved Kobe Bufkin to the Nets. As Yossi Gozlan of the Third Apron writes (Substack subscriber link), the Hawks have done well to make moves that simultaneously keep them competitive now with an eye toward the future. The Bufkin deal gives Atlanta some added flexibility to extend Dyson Daniels and/or Kristaps Porzingis next year, Gozlan adds.
Ted Leonsis, CEO of Monumental Sports which owns the Wizards and Capitals, said he wants to own MLB’s Nationals and the MLS’ D.C. United, per Greg Rosenstein of NBC (Twitter link). Leonsis said he has a good relationship with Nationals owner Mark Lerner, but that the Nationals aren’t yet ready to sell.
Wizards sophomore guard Kyshawn George got an opportunity to suit up for Canada at the AmeriCup this summer, serving as a primary scorer for the team and averaging 13.5 points per game. According to Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network, George believes the experience will benefit him as he rejoins the Wizards. “I think just my confidence in general [was helped], how aggressive I was with the ball whether it was creating for myself or for my teammates. It’s just up to me to keep doing that, keep getting better at it and transfer it now to the Wizards organization,” George said.

And-Ones: G League Trade, Offseason Moves, Spending, Draft Capital

September 18th, 2025 at 7:26pm CST by Earnest Marshall

The Heat‘s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, acquired the returning player rights to Alex Fudge from the South Bay Lakers, Los Angeles’s developmental team, the Skyforce announced in a release. The move was a three-team deal, with the Skyforce obtaining a 2026 first-round pick from the College Park Skyhawks (the Hawks‘ affiliate) while sending them Malik Williams. South Bay also obtained Caleb Daniels from Sioux Falls and Michael Devoe from College Park.

Fudge went undrafted in 2023 out of Florida but signed with the Lakers on a two-way contract that summer. He was later waived and then signed a two-way deal with Dallas before being cut last offseason. He spent all of last season with South Bay, averaging 5.5 points in 15 regular season games. The 22-year-old has appeared in six NBA games.

The other player in the deal with NBA experience is Williams, who suited up in seven games (two starts) with Toronto on a 10-day contract in 2023/24. He averaged 14.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game in the G League last year with Sioux Falls.

Daniels previously signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Miami before averaging 10.8 PPG with the Skyforce last season. Devoe signed Exhibit 10 deals with the Clippers in 2022 and Jazz in 2023. He last played in the G League in 2023/24.

G League trades can often indicate a team is gearing up to sign one or more of the players involved to an Exhibit 10 contract. When teams sign players to Exhibit 10 deals, those players are eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if they spend at least 60 days with that organization’s G League affiliate.

Devoe played last year in Germany, so this trade doesn’t necessarily mean he will for sure suit up in the G League. But if he does, the South Bay Lakers currently controls his returning rights.

We have more from around the basketball world:

The Spurs signing Luke Kornet is one of the NBA’s most underrated moves of the offseason, John Hollinger of The Athletic opines. San Antonio got a big that pairs nicely with Victor Wembanyama or can play when he’s off the floor without breaking the bank. In an article evaluating some of the most overlooked moves of the summer, Hollinger credits the Bulls for re-signing Josh Giddey at a decent price point and the Heat for trading for Norman Powell, while applauding various other moves.
On the other hand, several teams made deals Hollinger was not a fan of. The Heat salary-dumping Haywood Highsmith is one such move, while the Pelicans acquiring Jordan Poole is another.
With free agency largely over, pending the conclusion of restricted free agency for Quentin Grimes and Jonathan Kuminga, Keith Smith of Spotrac took a look at how teams spent their money this offseason. Small-market teams mostly led the way in total spending, signing players to big extensions. The Thunder, for example, led the league in new extension money at $776.3MM spread out between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Jaylin Williams.
The Thunder laid the blueprint for teams building through draft capital, winning a title with drafted players Holmgren and Williams leading the charge alongside Gilgeous-Alexander, who was himself acquired alongside draft assets. Bobby Marks and Jeremy Woo of ESPN rank the top teams in the league by their draft capital, with the Thunder still leading the way with 13 incoming future first-round picks. Two rebuilding teams, the Nets and the Jazz, round out the top three.

Eastern Notes: Bufkin, NAW, Tanenbaum, Nets, Wiggins

September 16th, 2025 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

After rebuffing trade interest in former first-round pick Kobe Bufkin earlier in the offseason, the Hawks became more open to the idea of moving him after the Las Vegas Summer League concluded, according to Grant Afseth of RG.org.

While Bufkin posted strong averages of 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game in four Vegas outings, he struggled to score efficiently, making just 35.5% of his shots from the floor, including 25.9% of his three-point attempts. The Hawks, who are hoping to contend in what looks like a wide-open Eastern Conference, are focused on players who can help them win right now and weren’t sure Bufkin fit that bill, as Afseth explains.

Bufkin was ultimately sent to Brooklyn, though the Pacers also registered some interest, sources tell RG.org.

As for the Hawks, they intend to lean on Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard for ball-handling duties behind star point guard Trae Young, according to Afseth, who says the team envisions Alexander-Walker taking on a more significant offensive role than he had in Minnesota — he has been working closely with Atlanta’s coaching staff to prepare for those increased responsibilities, Afseth adds.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Raptors governor and NBA Board of Governors chairman Larry Tanenbaum is obligated to begin the process of selling his 20% stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (the Raptors’ parent company) to Rogers Communications by July 7, 2026, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. There are “rumblings” that process could begin sooner, Grange says, but either way, it sounds like it’s just a matter of time until Rogers – which already controls 75% of MLSE – owns nearly the entire company. Rogers increased its stake in MLSE from 37.5% to 75% a year ago.
Which Nets players are the most and least likely to be part of the team’s long-term plans? Brian Lewis of The New York Post explores that question in a subscriber-only article, suggesting that Cam Thomas seems unlikely to remain in Brooklyn beyond 2025/26, whereas Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, and whoever the Nets draft with their 2026 lottery pick seem destined to be cornerstones going forward.
Addressing the recent trade rumors linking Heat forward Andrew Wiggins to the Lakers, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel explains why he thinks Miami would be better off keeping Wiggins than trading him for a return of Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht.

Hawks Trade Kobe Bufkin To Nets

September 16th, 2025 at 12:51pm CST by Luke Adams

September 16: The trade is official, according to announcements from both teams. The Nets waived big man David Muoka in order to open up a spot on the 21-man roster for Bufkin.

September 15: The Hawks and Nets have agreed to a trade that will send former first-round pick Kobe Bufkin from Atlanta to Brooklyn in exchange for cash considerations, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The Hawks will acquire $110K in cash, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

The 15th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Bufkin has battled injuries since entering the NBA. He missed a significant chunk of his rookie year due to a fractured left thumb and a sprained toe, then underwent season-ending shoulder surgery into December 2024, less than two months into his second season.

In total, the 6’4″ guard made just 27 appearances for the Hawks, averaging 5.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 11.9 minutes per night, with a .374/.220/.654 shooting line. Bufkin – who will turn 22 on Sunday – has more upside than he’s been able to show so far, so the Nets will take a chance on him in the hopes that he’ll have better health luck going forward.

Brooklyn has more than enough cap room to take on Bufkin’s $4.5MM salary for this season, which will push the team over the minimum salary floor, at least for now. His rookie scale contract also includes a $6.9MM team option for 2026/27 — the Nets will have to make a decision on that option by October 31.

While the Nets are in a good position to roll the dice on Bufkin from a salary cap perspective, adding him to the mix will exacerbate a looming roster crunch. Once the deal is official, Brooklyn will be carrying 15 players on guaranteed salaries and four on partially guaranteed or non-guaranteed salaries. The team also intends to add Ricky Council IV to the latter group. A number of those players will have to be waived or traded in order for the Nets to set their 15-man regular season roster next month.

Brooklyn still has roughly $11.6MM in cap room for now, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, though the club could increase that figure by waiving some of those players with non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts. The Nets would be in danger of falling back below the minimum salary floor in that scenario and will want to make sure they’re above that threshold by opening night.

The Hawks, meanwhile, will generate a $4.5MM trade exception as a result of the deal, generating a little extra financial flexibility below the luxury tax line and opening up another roster spot for one of their camp invitees to compete for.

With Bufkin no longer in the mix, Atlanta will have just 10 players on fully guaranteed salaries, plus Vit Krejci and N’Faly Dante on partial guarantees, Mouhamed Gueye on a non-guaranteed contract, and Caleb Houstan, Charles Bassey, and Kobe Johnson on Exhibit 10 deals.

Celtics Notes: Brown, Chisholm, Boucher, Hauser

September 13th, 2025 at 8:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics appear likely to take a step backward in 2025/26 due to Jayson Tatum‘s Achilles injury and the loss of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, who were both shipped out in cost-cutting moves. However, Jaylen Brown expressed optimism about the upcoming season in an interview this week on V-103 FM in Atlanta, relays Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe.

“I know Boston, it looks gloomy right now, obviously with JT being out and us kind of ending the year, but it’s a lot to look forward to,” Brown said. “I want the city to feel excited about that. This is not the end, so I’m looking forward to what’s next.”

Being in his hometown, Brown received a question about possibly joining the Hawks someday. With four years left on his $304MM super-max extension, it’s not a realistic possibility anytime soon, but Brown left the door open. When host Darian Morgan said he’d like to see Brown in a Hawks uniform, the Celtics star replied, “I feel you. I think my grandma would too.”

There’s more on the Celtics:

New majority owner William Chisholm shares Brown’s outlook about the team’s prospects, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Chisholm believes other players will seize the opportunity to replace the stars who are no longer available. “I think they’re going to surprise some people,” Chisholm said. “I think this is a good team and I think we have a really good coach and a really good president of basketball operations. I think Payton Pritchard said it in an interview, that we’re going to surprise some people, and I think there’s real talent here that hasn’t been fully realized.”
Newly acquired Chris Boucher may be the favorite going into camp to win the starting job at power forward, Brian Robb of MassLive states in a mailbag column. Coach Joe Mazzulla’s handling of the four spot should provide an indication of how he plans to approach the season, Robb adds. Using the 6’9″ Boucher alongside Neemias Queta would give the team more size on defense and better rebounding. Another option is to start shooting specialist Sam Hauser, which would satisfy Mazzulla’s tactical reliance on a three-point barrage but would leave the Celtics vulnerable in other areas. Robb mentions Josh Minott as a potential wild card who could wind up earning regular minutes.
Second apron concerns mean Holiday and Porzingis would likely have been traded even if Tatum hadn’t gotten injured, but some other moves might have played out differently, Robb adds in the same piece. He believes Al Horford or Luke Kornet would have been re-signed if Tatum had been healthy, and the Celtics might have made a stronger effort to add low-cost veteran free agent depth.

Hawks Sign Kobe Johnson To Exhibit 10 Deal

September 11th, 2025 at 1:24pm CST by Eli Cohen

September 11: Two-and-a-half months after his agreement was first reported, Johnson has officially signed with the Hawks, the team announced in a press release. It’s an Exhibit 10 deal, confirms Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).

June 27: The Hawks have agreed to a deal with UCLA forward Kobe Johnson, Jonathon Givony reports for ESPN (via Twitter).

Johnson played for three years at USC, emerging as a starter and a defensive force after averaging just 7.5 minutes per game as a freshman. He subsequently transferred to UCLA for his senior year.

In his lone year as a Bruin, Johnson averaged 7.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.6 steals while shooting 36.2% from three and earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Defensive team, his third consecutive selection to his conference’s All-Defensive team. While his three-point shot has been up-and-down, Johnson is a career 76.7% free-throw shooter, which offers some hope for him finding eventual shooting consistency.

While Givony doesn’t specify the terms of the agreement, it will likely be a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract for Johnson. Exhibit 10 deals can be converted into two-way contracts, though the Hawks have already reached two-way agreements with Eli John Ndiaye and Kentucky’s Lamont Butler to two-way contracts.

An Exhibit 10 deal would also put Johnson on track to join the College Park Skyhawks, the Hawks’ G League team, as an affiliate player once the season begins.