Hawks Rumors

NBA 2025 Offseason Check-In: Atlanta Hawks

August 13th, 2025 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is checking in on the 2025 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, recapping the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll take a look at each team’s offseason moves and consider what might still be coming before the regular season begins. Today, we’re focusing on the Atlanta Hawks.

Free agent signings

Nickeil Alexander-Walker: Four years, $60,647,200. Fourth-year player option. Trade kicker (7.5%). Signed using Bird rights and acquired via sign-and-trade from Timberwolves.
Luke Kennard: One year, $11,000,000. Signed using non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

Trades

Acquired the draft rights to Asa Newell (No. 23 pick) and either the Pelicans’ or Bucks’ 2026 first-round pick (whichever is more favorable) from the Pelicans in exchange for the draft rights to Derik Queen (No. 13 pick).
Acquired David Roddy (two-way; from Rockets), the right to swap their own 2031 second-round pick for the Rockets’ 2031 second-round pick (56-60 protected; from Rockets), and cash ($85,300; from Rockets) in a seven-team trade in exchange for Clint Capela (sign-and-trade; to Rockets) and Daeqwon Plowden (two-way; to Suns).
- Note: Roddy was subsequently waived.
Acquired Nickeil Alexander-Walker (sign-and-trade) from the Timberwolves in exchange for the Cavaliers’ 2027 second-round pick and cash ($1.5MM).
Acquired Kristaps Porzingis (from Celtics) and a 2026 second-round pick (from Celtics) in a three-team trade in exchange for Terance Mann (to Nets), Georges Niang (to Celtics), the draft rights to Drake Powell (No. 22 pick; to Nets), and the Cavaliers’ 2031 second-round pick (to Celtics).

Draft picks

1-23: Asa Newell
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $16,240,653).

Two-way signings

Eli Ndiaye
- One year, $85,300 partial guarantee (will increase to $318,218 at start of regular season).
Jacob Toppin
- One year, $85,300 partial guarantee.
Keaton Wallace
- One year, $85,300 partial guarantee (will increase to $318,218 at start of regular season).

Departed/unsigned free agents

Clint Capela (Rockets)
Caris LeVert (Pistons)
Garrison Mathews (unsigned)
Larry Nance Jr. (Cavaliers)

Other roster moves

Signed 2024 second-round pick Nikola Djurisic to a three-year, $5,949,688 contract. Second year non-guaranteed. Third-year team option. Signed using second round pick exception.

Salary cap situation

Operating over the cap ($154.6MM) and below the luxury tax line ($187.9MM).
Carrying approximately $182.3MM in salary.
Hard-capped at $195,945,000.
Portion of non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($3,104,000) available.
Full bi-annual exception ($5,134,000) available.
Three traded player exceptions available (largest worth $13,101,561).

The offseason so far

After the Hawks lost Jalen Johnson to a season-ending shoulder injury in January and traded away veteran role players like De’Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic a couple weeks later, it looked like they might be ready to throw in the towel on the 2024/25 season. But led by Trae Young, new starting center Onyeka Okongwu, Defensive Player of the Year runner-up Dyson Daniels, and rapidly improving No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta went 17-14 after the trade deadline, earning a play-in berth.

The Hawks failed to clinch a playoff spot in the play-in tournament, but given what their young core showed in the second half, it came as no surprise that the front office – headed by newly promoted general manager Onsi Saleh, who replaced Landry Fields – took an aggressive approach to upgrading its roster this offseason.

The Hawks entered the summer with the 13th and 22nd overall picks in the draft, but ultimately used neither of them, trading the No. 22 pick to Brooklyn as part of a three-team trade for Kristaps Porzingis and moving down from No. 13 to No. 23 to select Asa Newell while acquiring an unprotected 2026 first-rounder in the process.

The Porzingis trade will have the greater on-court impact for Atlanta in 2025/26, with the former Celtics forward/center set to complement Okongwu in the frontcourt and help make up for the departures of big men Clint Capela and Larry Nance Jr. But the Hawks’ new-look front office might’ve received more kudos for its other draft-pick deal, which saw the team move down 10 spots this year and net the more favorable of the Bucks’ and Pelicans’ 2026 first-round picks.

While that 2026 first-rounder doesn’t look quite as tantalizing now as it did back in June when a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade seemed more viable, it could still end up being an extremely valuable asset, given that the Pelicans are coming off a 21-win season and have several key players still recovering from major injuries. The 2024 offseason trade between the two teams that centered around Daniels and Dejounte Murray has turned into a big win for the Hawks, who now have a chance to reap the rewards of a deal with New Orleans for a second consecutive year.

Porzingis should be an upgrade on Capela and Nance up front as long as he’s healthy, but the Hawks had a handful of other holes to fill this offseason, as they lost three key reserves. Terance Mann and Georges Niang were sent out in the Porzingis deal, while Caris LeVert signed with Detroit as a free agent.

With plenty of spending flexibility below the luxury tax line to operate, the Hawks addressed those holes by adding a pair of veterans for mid-level type deals. Veteran sharpshooter Luke Kennard was signed to a one-year, $11MM contract using Atlanta’s actual mid-level exception, while three-and-D guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker was acquired via sign-and-trade using a trade exception created as a result of last year’s Murray deal.

All of the newcomers look like great fits. Despite Daniels’ excellence, the Hawks ranked just 18th last season in defensive rating, so adding a rim protector like Porzingis and another talented point-of-attack weapon like Alexander-Walker should put the club in position to improve that ranking in 2025/26.

Atlanta was also in the middle of the pack in terms of three-point attempts (15th) and three-point percentage (18th), making it a logical move to sign one of the NBA’s very best three-point shooters. Kennard hasn’t made fewer than 43.3% of his outside attempts in any of the past five seasons and should get his fair share of open looks with Young, the NBA’s reigning assist leader, setting him up.

The Hawks’ level of success in 2025/26 will ultimately come down to what they get from Young and their growing young core, including Risacher, Daniels, Okongwu, and a healthy Johnson. But they did well this summer to get role players who should nicely complement those long-term building blocks.

Up next

The Hawks are technically only carrying 13 players on standard contracts at the moment and are operating about $5.5MM below the luxury tax line. That gives them enough room to bring in two more players on minimum-salary contracts to carry a full 15-man roster into the season without becoming a taxpayer.

Whether they go that route or leave their 15th spot open remains to be seen, but they’ll at least have to add a 14th man. It seems like former Magic wing Caleb Houstan will probably be that player, but the two sides have yet to officially finalize the one-year deal they reportedly agreed to on July 17.

Assuming that contract eventually gets signed and it’s fully (or at least mostly) guaranteed, count on Houstan opening the season on the roster. But if the agreement falls through or if Houstan gets a non-guaranteed deal, that 14th spot will be more wide open.

Reports in the wake of June’s draft indicated that undrafted rookie Lamont Butler would be signing a two-way contract with Atlanta, but the Hawks have since signed three different players to two-way deals. There’s still plenty of time between now and opening night for the club to make changes to its two-way slots, but it looks at this point that if Butler comes to camp, it would be on an Exhibit 10 contract rather than a two-way. We’ll have to wait for more clarity on that subject.

Besides filling out the back of their roster, the Hawks have some bigger-picture decisions to make regarding contract extensions for key players before the season begins. Daniels, for instance, is eligible for a rookie scale extension and would reach restricted free agency in 2026 if he doesn’t sign a new contract in 2025.

When Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report projected rookie scale extensions in May, he estimated a four-year, $94MM deal for Daniels. I think his next contract will probably come in higher than that, given how defensive aces like Jaden McDaniels (five years, $131MM) and Jalen Suggs (five years, $150MM) got paid on their extensions in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Still, the Hawks are probably taking notice of how RFA negotiations are playing out this summer and wondering if they can convince Daniels to accept something a little more team-friendly than those McDaniels and Suggs contracts this fall.

In addition to Daniels, Young and Porzingis are also eligible to sign contract extensions. Unlike Daniels, those two veterans will remain extension-eligible all season long if they don’t work out new deals before opening night.

Still, recent reporting has suggested there’s nothing doing between Young and the Hawks at the moment, and there have been no indications that the team is seriously exploring an extension with Porzingis either. I’ll be curious to see whether Atlanta is willing to go all the way into next offseason without extending either player or whether the team shows more urgency to get something done this fall or even during the season.

It’s worth noting that Porzingis’ maximum extension for now would be about $116MM over three years, whereas he could get up to $192.7MM over four years as of January 7, six months after the trade. But I don’t think the Hawks would go as high as the former number, let alone the latter, so that’s probably a moot point.

As for Young, his maximum-salary extension right now is worth about $222.4MM over four years. He could qualify for a five-year, $335MM contract if he makes an All-NBA team in 2025/26, but again, I’m not sure Atlanta is willing to go up to his current max, let alone to that higher number, so it might just further complicate their contract talks if Young earns super-max eligibility.

And-Ones: Dynasties, Wolves, Concern-O-Meter, Traded Picks

August 11th, 2025 at 5:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

It may seem like the Thunder have the makings of dynasty, but ESPN’s Tim Bontemps details why it’s tougher than ever to build a dominant team. He outlines how the tax aprons make it more difficult for teams to run it back with the same core of players and that roster mistakes can haunt contenders for several years.

“You have to be right on every decision,” one Western Conference scout told Bontemps. “Now, you have to look at things in not a one-year window, but a three-year window. You literally can’t mess anything up. It puts pressure on the organization to think differently and smartly to make sure you are best-positioned to make the right decisions.”

We have more from around the league:

Point guard Mike Conley will turn 38 before opening night and finding a suitable replacement could be difficult for the Timberwolves. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report gets creative in an effort to solve that problem, proposing a four-team trade in which Minnesota winds up with Magic guard Anthony Black.
The Athletic’s Zach Harper provides his ratings for the ‘concern-o-meter’ regarding 10 potential red flags that have popped up around the league this offseason. Rating high on the ‘concern-o-meter’ is the demise of free agency, the moves made by the Pelicans and the continued health issues for the Sixers.
Speaking of the Pelicans, Sam Quinn of CBS Sports takes a look at every future traded first-rounder, ranking them from least valuable to most valuable. New Orleans’ unprotected 2026 pick, which its new front office dealt to the Hawks in a draft-night trade, is considered the most valuable among those picks. The Bucks‘ 2029 pick, which could go to either the Trail Blazers or Wizards, is ranked No. 2, followed by the 2027, ’29 and ’31 first-rounders the Suns dealt away.

Trae Young, Hawks Not Expected To Discuss Extension During Offseason

August 10th, 2025 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

There are no plans for extension talks between Trae Young and the Hawks this summer, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (subscriber link).

As Fischer indicated during a Bleacher Report live stream on Thursday, Young and his camp have been resigned for a while to the idea that he’ll have to play out the final guaranteed year on his current deal. He’ll face a decision on a $49MM player option next summer.

Fischer reports that when Young was represented by Klutch Sports, Rich Paul viewed him as a potential partner for Victor Wembanyama. At the time, Paul was hoping to get one of his points guards to the Spurs, whether it was Young, De’Aaron Fox or Darius Garland.

Fischer states that Fox’s contract expiring a year before Young’s brought a sense of urgency to his future, along with Fox’s desire to relocate to Texas. San Antonio acquired him from Sacramento in a three-team deal in February and gave him a four-year max extension last week.

Young is now represented by CAA, and Fischer makes it clear that he’s not looking to force his way out of Atlanta. The Hawks appear to be a legitimate contender after upgrading their roster over the summer, and Fischer states that Kristaps Porzingis may be the best scoring forward Young has ever teamed up with.

Fischer notes that Atlanta’s improvement could boost Young’s chances of earning All-NBA honors this season, which would increase the maximum value of a five-year contract into the $335MM range.

Sources tell Fischer that Young is disappointed that the Hawks haven’t reached out to him about an extension. However, that could change if he pushes them back toward the playoffs. If it doesn’t happen, he may wind up as one of the top free agents in next year’s market.

Fischer adds that Young’s strong relationship with coach Quin Snyder adds to the optimism that a new deal will eventually get worked out.

Look Ahead At Potential 2026 Free Agents

August 8th, 2025 at 9:59pm CST by Eli Cohen

Free agency is not the headline event it once was in the NBA, as a large portion of the top players on the market tend to extend, like Luka Doncic did last weekend with the Lakers, or move in trades rather than signing with new teams. However, there are still likely to be talented players available and ready to contribute to new situations, as Zach Harper details for The Athletic.

Teams like the Lakers, Clippers, and Heat have made an effort to keep their flexibility for next year, write Tim Bontemps and Kevin Pelton for ESPN. However, those teams are also expected to try to maintain cap space for 2027, a summer in which multiple MVPs – Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic – could potentially reach the market, though of course neither is guaranteed to be available.

The Celtics will also likely look to retool their roster next summer after trading away key contributors in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis for salary cap relief, as they seek to rebuild their roster into a contender around Tatum once he has recovered from his Achilles tear.

Trae Young, with a $48.9MM player option for the 2026/27 season, has the potential to be one of the top names on the board, and while Harper expresses confidence that an extension with the Hawks will get done, there have been rumors that it’s far from a certainty, and that next season could serve as an evaluation period for the Hawks’ core under a new head of basketball operations.

Other high-end veterans with player options for ’26/27 include James Harden (Clippers), Zach LaVine (Kings), Draymond Green (Warriors), Austin Reaves (Lakers), Andrew Wiggins (Heat), Fred VanVleet (Rockets), and Bradley Beal (Clippers). Harper considers Harden, Green, and Reaves very likely to remain with their current teams, and VanVleet also relatively likely to stay, though the Rockets have some level of flexibility in regard to the future of their roster.

Then there are the unrestricted free agents. As of this moment, LeBron James (Lakers) and Kevin Durant (Rockets) represent the cream of the crop, but there are other talented players such as Porzingis (Hawks), Anfernee Simons (Celtics), Coby White (Bulls), and others who are sure to garner suitors.

For what it’s worth, Durant has been widely expected to extend with Houston, but James is ineligible to be extended prior to free agency and White’s salary is so modest relative to his value that he’s considered likely to wait until he can get a bigger payday on the free agent market.

One interesting inflection point will be players on team options, such as Isaiah Hartenstein and Luguentz Dort on the Thunder, and Bogdan Bogdanovic and Brook Lopez on the Clippers. The Thunder, particularly, could have some tough decisions to make on their role players soon as lucrative extensions take effect for stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams.

Fischer’s Latest: RFAs, Warriors, White, Young, Celtics

August 7th, 2025 at 7:02pm CST by Rory Maher

During Thursday’s Bleacher Report live stream (YouTube link), NBA insider Jake Fischer reiterated multiple times that he expects the four primary restricted free agents — Jonathan Kuminga (Warriors), Josh Giddey (Bulls), Quentin Grimes (Sixers) and Cam Thomas (Nets) — to continue to be in contract standoffs with their respective teams for some time.

“Again, we are still in a holding pattern with all these restricted free agents, and we are — at this juncture — expecting all those situations to linger deeper into August and get into September as well,” Fischer said. “Don’t expect a resolution for Jonathan Kuminga, for Josh Giddey, for Quentin Grimes, for Cam Thomas, anytime soon.”

According to Fischer, the Warriors haven’t shown any interest in what the Kings and Suns have offered in sign-and-trade scenarios for Kuminga. But they also don’t want to lose the former lottery pick for nothing in return.

“Jonathan Kuminga’s side, I believe, right now, would be willing to take a two-plus-one with a player option three-year deal,” Fischer said. “I think that Jonathan Kuminga’s side would take this one-plus-one situation with Golden State — this two-year, $45MM offer that’s been on the table — if he were to get a player option in year two.

“But I was told yesterday from various sources that Golden State is going to be holding firm … that second year is going to be a team option. And that’s kinda where this staring contest is at.”

Here’s more from Fischer:

The Warriors currently have only nine players signed to standard contracts, with the Kuminga stalemate continuing to hold up their other offseason business. Fischer suggested that Al Horford, De’Anthony Melton, and Gary Payton II are likely to be signed after Kuminga’s situation is resolved. Malcolm Brogdon and Seth Curry remain on Golden State’s radar as well, according to Fischer, with Javonte Green another player mentioned.
The Bulls are monitoring Coby White‘s upcoming free agency, Fischer said. White will be an unrestricted free agent in 2026, and Fischer noted that there has been talk of White wanting a contract that exceeds $30MM annually. That expectation may be factoring into the calculation of Chicago playing a level of hardball with Giddey’s restricted free agency.
Thomas looks the most likely of the four RFAs to accept his qualifying offer, Fischer confirmed. The high-scoring guard views himself as a $30MM+ per year player, but the Nets haven’t approached that figure and have only offered him short-term deals to this point, Fischer said.
While Fischer confirmed the latest reports on Trae Young‘s disappointment at the lack of an extension offer from the Hawks, he said that it was also somewhat expected by Young’s camp. Fischer called this season an opportunity for Young to maximize a roster built to complement his game, as well as an opportunity for the new front office to evaluate the players on the roster. If Young is able to maximize the team’s potential and earn All-NBA honors, he’d be eligible for a much more lucrative extension, and he also has a 2026/27 player option he could decline to enter free agency next year as possibly the top free agent on the board.
Prior to dealing him to the Jazz, the Celtics had talks with the Grizzlies during Summer League about a deal that would send Georges Niang to Memphis, according to Fischer, who said a rumored framework of Anfernee Simons for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was never discussed. Fischer noted that before RJ Luis signed a two-way deal with the Jazz, he was considering signing with the Celtics. The Jazz are expected to keep Niang as a veteran leader. Fischer also said that he’s not as confident that Simons gets traded before the season starts as he was that Niang would be dealt.
Fischer confirmed that Bennedict Mathurin is on track to receive a bigger role this season with the Pacers due to Tyrese Haliburton‘s injury, and that Mathurin is also hoping to secure a deal that would pay him $20-30MM per year. Fischer added that many of the unsigned rookie scale extension candidates likely won’t finalize new deals until the October deadline.

Eli Cohen contributed to this post.

Latest On Trae Young

August 7th, 2025 at 9:11am CST by Luke Adams

Within the last week, a pair of star point guards have finalized maximum-salary extensions with their respective NBA teams: Luka Doncic signed a three-year deal with the Lakers, while De’Aaron Fox completed a four-year contract with the Spurs.

Hawks guard Trae Young has been eligible since the start of July for the same extensions that Doncic and Fox just signed (up to $222.4MM over four years), and while his NBA résumé doesn’t quite stack up to Doncic’s, it compares favorably to Fox’s.

Young has made four All-Star teams (Fox has one All-Star nod) and led Atlanta to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. He has a career scoring average of 25.3 points per game and led the NBA with a career-high 11.6 assists per game in 2024/25.

Still, there have been no indications that the Hawks and Young are engaged in serious discussions about a new deal or that an extension agreement is imminent, as an ESPN panel discussed during Tuesday’s episode of NBA Today (YouTube link; hat tip to RealGM).

“Trae has done a lot to show that he’s invested in the Hawks,” ESPN’s Marc J. Spears said. “Nickeil Alexander-Walker, (Luke) Kennard, he convince them to sign with the Hawks. Instead of going to the Jordan (Brand event in Greece) this summer, he came to Summer League and he got to meet with (new senior VP of basketball operations) Bryson Graham… (and) some other new front office guys. There’s a new front office in Atlanta that’s trying to make decisions.”

In addition to adding Alexander-Walker and Kennard in free agency, the Hawks made a trade for big man Kristaps Porzingis and will get forward Jalen Johnson back after a shoulder injury ended his 2024/25 season early. Atlanta has been lauded for its offseason work and is viewed as a strong playoff contender in the East after being eliminated in the play-in tournament this past spring.

While it remains possible that the Hawks and Young will work out a new multiyear deal at some point in the next couple months, Spears believes the season may begin without an extension in place for the star point guard.

“What I’m hearing now at this point – and you can tell by Trae’s tweet and I saw him during the Finals – I think he’s disappointed that it hasn’t come, it hasn’t been offered,” Spears said of a potential extension. “So don’t be surprised if he plays this out and sees what happens next summer.”

The tweet Spears was referring to was posted by Young last week in response to star NFL pass rusher Micah Parsons, who submitted a trade request to the Dallas Cowboys in the midst of a public contract standoff.

“This why you pay the man early,” Young wrote. “When someone will take less early to stay in a place he wanted to be forever, you do it… the price only goes up now! Get what you deserve bro!”

We don’t know for sure whether Young’s remarks about Parsons’ situation can be applied to his own contract negotiations with the Hawks or whether he’s willing to accept less than his max to finalize an agreement this summer. Still, the fact that Young chose to post that comment publicly raised some eyebrows.

As talented a scorer and passer as Young is, the Hawks also have to weigh the fact that his 41.1% field goal percentage in 2024/25 was a career low and he has never been an especially strong defender. The new-look front office, led by general manager Onsi Saleh, may also want to evaluate his fit with the team’s new players before making a massive long-term investment in the 26-year-old.

Young will earn about $46MM in 2025/26 and holds a player option worth just shy of $49MM for the ’26/27 season. He would remain extension-eligible during the coming season as long as he declines that player option as part of an extension agreement.

Signed Second-Round Picks Now Count Against Cap

July 31st, 2025 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

Between July 1 and July 30 of each NBA league year, a player signed using the second-round pick exception doesn’t count toward his team’s cap, but that changes as of July 31. Beginning on Thursday, each of the second-rounders signed using that exception will begin carrying 2025/26 cap hits.

[RELATED: 2025 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

The effect this will have on teams around the league is negligible. The only club still operating below the cap is Brooklyn, but the Nets didn’t make any second-round picks in this year’s draft and haven’t signed any second-rounders that were stashed from previous drafts, so this change won’t reduce their cap room at all.

The Nets are far from the only NBA team that hasn’t signed a second-round pick to a standard contract this offseason. In fact, only 11 of the league’s 30 clubs have done so.

The Suns, Magic, Hornets (two picks), Sixers, Lakers, Pistons, and Pacers made the top eight selections of the 2025 second round and have signed those players to standard deals, while the Pelicans (No. 40 pick Micah Peavy), Kings (No. 42 pick Maxime Raynaud), Cavaliers (No. 49 pick Tyrese Proctor), and Hawks (2024’s No. 43 pick Nikola Djurisic) have joined them. The rest of this year’s second-rounders are either still unsigned, will play overseas, or agreed to two-way contracts.

None of those 11 teams surpassed an apron threshold as a result of their second-rounders’ new cap hits. For example, the Cavs would be well over the second apron with or without Proctor on their books.

Since none of those teams will see their ability to make other roster moves affected by the new cap charges, this is really more of a housekeeping note than anything.

Hawks’ Kristaps Porzingis Feels ‘Fantastic’ After Recovering From Illness

July 29th, 2025 at 4:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kristaps Porzingis is feeling refreshed and ready to play again, he said in an interview with Latvia’s Sports Studija (YouTube link).

Porzingis struggled mightily in the playoffs with the Celtics due to the lingering effects of a mysterious illness he contracted in February. It was later described as post-viral syndrome. He was dealt to the Hawks this summer.

“I feel fantastic, to be honest,” Porzingis said, per BasketNews.com. “I took time to rest after the season. Something was lingering during the playoffs—I had fatigue, dizziness, even moments where I felt like I might faint. It wasn’t great.”

Porzingis will play for Latvia’s national team in the EuroBasket tournament before joining Atlanta for training camp.

“In June, I fully rested and lowered the intensity. All of that has gone away,” he said. “I haven’t felt any of the playoff symptoms anymore. I feel great and ready to join the national team. Super happy.”

Porzingis has a $30.7MM expiring contract, so his stay in Atlanta could be a short one, though he’s eligible to sign a contract extension. The Hawks hope he can make them a true playoff contender. Atlanta also upgraded its roster by adding Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard this offseason.

“I think expectations are high. Atlanta’s been on the edge of the playoffs the last few years, sometimes getting through the first round,” Porzingis said. “It’s a great situation for me to come in and contribute. Maybe even better than Boston, where it was championship or bust.”

Boston”s front office was motivated to shed salary after Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles during the playoffs. Porzingis anticipated he could be moved, though not necessarily to the Hawks.

“After the season, I spoke to my agent and kind of expected that one or more of us would be traded,” he said. “For a while, I thought I might end up with the Spurs, but then Atlanta came in—and that was a nice surprise. It was out of my hands.”

Porzingis believes he’ll mesh quickly with his new teammates.

“I’ve always been a player who can fit into any system, but now I adapt faster,” he said. “I read defenses better and make quicker decisions. That comes with experience.”

The veteran big man produced at a high level when he was available last season, averaging 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 28.8 minutes per game across 42 starts for the Celtics in 2024/25, with a shooting line of .483/.412/.809.

Southeast Notes: D. Smith, Heat, Wizards, Djurisic

July 29th, 2025 at 12:46pm CST by Luke Adams

While Dru Smith had been considered the favorite to claim the Heat‘s final two-way slot, that can’t actually happen, notes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, since a CBA rule prohibits a player from being on a two-way contract with the same team for four seasons.

Smith hasn’t spent the entirety of the past three years on two-way deals with Miami, but he has been on a two-way contract for at least part of each of the past three seasons since 2022/23, making him ineligible to do so again in ’25/26.

The Heat did tender Smith a qualifying offer in June, but that offer is for a one-year, minimum-salary contract with a small partial guarantee (approximately $102K), rather than another two-way deal. Miami has just 14 players on standard contracts for now, so Smith could be the club’s 15th man, but team salary is already over the luxury tax threshold, so it’s unclear whether or not the front office plans to carry a full 15-man roster into the regular season.

Meanwhile, there’s still a two-way spot open on the Heat’s roster alongside Vladislav Goldin and Myron Gardner.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

It hasn’t been an especially eventful offseason for the Heat — they’ve made modest additions like Norman Powell, Kasparas Jakucionis, and Simone Fontecchio, but will bring back a roster pretty similar to last year’s group. With that in mind, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel suggests that internal improvement represents Miami’s best hope of taking a step forward and identifies Andrew Wiggins, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Terry Rozier, and Nikola Jovic as a few of the top candidates to give the team more in 2025/26 than they did in ’24/25.
Khris Middleton and CJ McCollum are the only two players on the Wizards‘ roster who are older than 26 or earning more than $14MM in 2025/26, according to Varun Shankar of The Washington Post, who says the front office views the two veterans as positive influences and potential role models for the team’s younger players. Acquiring Middleton and McCollum also put Washington in position to create significant 2026 cap room, since both players are on expiring deals.
Nikola Djurisic, a 2024 second-round pick who signed his first NBA contract earlier this month with the Hawks, was left off Serbia’s roster for the upcoming EuroBasket tournament. As Kevin Chouinard of Hawks.com relays (via Twitter), Serbian head coach Svetislav Pesic referred to the 21-year-old forward as part of “the future of Serbian basketball” in explaining that decision. “There was a thought to include him (on the roster) as well, but we have a lot of experienced players in that position,” Pesic said. “Let him take a break from everything now. He spent a whole year in America.”

Latest From Stein, Fischer: Paul, Smart, Thomas, Kuminga

July 28th, 2025 at 9:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Chris Paul returned to Los Angeles and signed with the Clippers on a one-year deal last week. Paul showed strong interest in playing for one of his other former teams before making his decision, according to the latest Substack article from Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.

The other team that Paul considered rejoining was the Suns. The team’s star, Devin Booker, was intrigued by the potential reunion, given how they meshed during Phoenix’s run to the 2021 NBA Finals. There was also seemingly a spot for Paul at the point, since Tyus Jones chose to sign with Orlando.

The Suns’ front office decided to go in another direction. Phoenix was much more interested in defensive stalwart Marcus Smart, who chose to sign with the Lakers after reaching a buyout with Washington. Phoenix’s brass also had some concerns how the future Hall of Famer’s presence might create some awkward situations for first-year head coach Jordan Ott.

The Suns wound up claiming Jordan Goodwin off waivers and signing Jared Butler to a non-guaranteed contract. Paul also drew interest from the Hornets, Mavericks and Bucks, as previously reported.

Citing a source, Stein said Dallas had D’Angelo Russell higher on its wish list than Paul. The Mavs’ brass believed Russell would be more comfortable in a complementary role once Kyrie Irving returns from his knee ailment. They also felt Russell was a better fit with Anthony Davis, considering they had played together with the Lakers. Russell signed a two-year deal with the Mavs.

Here’s more nuggets from The Stein Line:

The Hawks considered absorbing Smart’s contract into its $25MM traded player exception prior to his buyout. Atlanta opted instead to acquire Kristaps Porziņgis and make a sign-and-trade transaction for Nickeil Alexander-Walker. The Bucks explored potential trades for Smart and the Heat‘s Andrew Wiggins with the aid of Pat Connaughton‘s expiring $9.4MM contract. They instead dealt him to Charlotte for two future second-round picks.
Fischer reiterates that the Nets’ offers to restricted free agent Cam Thomas have yet to exceed two-year proposals featuring an annual average value in the range of the league’s $14.1MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Those offers also include a team option for the second year. Brooklyn appears to be in no rush to ramp up negotiations with Thomas’ representation, given Thomas’ lack of leverage.
Regarding another prominent restricted free agent, Jonathan Kuminga has not gotten an offer from the Warriors close to his reported $30MM annual asking price. The Warriors’ best offers to Kuminga have topped out in the two-year, $40MM range, per Stein. As previously reported, the Kings and Suns are regarded as the top suitors but Golden State wants a first-round pick in any sign-and-trade deal. Phoenix is unable to offer a first-rounder.

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