Atlanta Hawks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Scouts, Execs View Cavs As Favorites To Win East Next Season

July 5th, 2025 at 8:36am CST by Rory Maher

The Cavaliers claimed the top seed in the Eastern Conference last season by going 64-18. In part due to injuries, Cleveland had a rocky playoff showing, losing its second-round series vs. Indiana in five games.

Due to the Achilles tears of Jayson Tatum (Celtics) and Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers), the East is viewed as being up for grabs in 2025/26. But in an anonymous poll of eight NBA scouts and executives, seven selected the Cavaliers to win the conference (one picked them to finish second), according to Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

The Knicks were the only other team to receive a first-place vote and appear on all eight ballots. They finished second in the poll, with the Hawks and Magic rounding out the top four.

Thus far this offseason, the Cavs agreed to a trade with the Bulls that will send Lonzo Ball to Cleveland and Isaac Okoro to Chicago. On his What An Experience podcast (YouTube link), Ball said he’s excited to be joining a contending team.

“Just playing, competing for a ring. I feel like that should be the goal, I feel like that is the goal,” said Ball (hat tip to Benedetto Vitale of Clutch Points). “So, happy to get over there and get started. To meet everybody, get familiar with everything, and take it as far as we can.

“I feel like it’s just a blessing, bro. To be honest, I mean, everybody keeps asking me how I feel about the trade. I’m like, s—, I’m happy to still be playing anywhere, let alone a team that has a real chance to win a ring. My whole life, I feel like I’ve been playing the right brand of basketball, and that’s to win games, so I feel like I’m going to a great situation and I just want to play my role and do what I can to help.”

In other offseason moves, Cleveland lost Sixth Man of the Year finalist Ty Jerome to the Grizzlies in free agency, declined its team option on Chuma Okeke, agreed to re-sign sharpshooter Sam Merrill and bring back former big man Larry Nance Jr., and signed second-round pick Tyrese Proctor to a standard contract. The Cavs’ other second-rounder, Saliou Niang, will reportedly play for EuroLeague club Virtus Bologna next season.

The Cavaliers seem prepared to bring back their “core four” of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, though Garland’s name has popped up in some trade talks. All four players have All-Star nods on their résumés and are on lucrative long-term contracts.

Cleveland will be operating over the second tax apron next season, limiting the team’s roster-building flexibility.

Cap Observations: KD Trade, Valanciunas, Kings, H. Gonzalez

July 4th, 2025 at 9:51am CST by Luke Adams

As we catch our breath on the Fourth of July and await updates on the top remaining free agents - including an intriguing group of restricted free agents and veteran unrestricted free agents like Al Horford, Chris Paul, and Russell Westbrook - we're taking a look back at a few of the intriguing stories from the past few days.

In the space below, we're exploring what the seven-team Kevin Durant figures to look like, why the Nuggets and Kings are still moving forward with their Jonas Valanciunas/Dario Saric swap amid rumors about Valanciunas wanting to play in Greece, what the rumors about Sacramento's interest in Jonathan Kuminga suggest, and more.

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Hawks Sign Asa Newell To Rookie Scale Contract

July 3rd, 2025 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have officially signed first-round pick Asa Newell to his rookie scale contract, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

Atlanta selected Newell at No. 23 after reaching a trade agreement with New Orleans to trade down from No. 13. Reporting on draft night indicated that the Hawks considered the Atlanta native with that 13th overall pick, so they were thrilled when he was still on the board 10 spots later.

Newell, meanwhile, was excited to land with his hometown team, telling reporters after the draft that he “knew deep in my heart that I really wanted to go to the Hawks.”

A 6’10” forward/center, Newell played his first and only college season at Georgia, averaging 15.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.0 steal, and 1.0 block in 29.0 minutes per game while making 54.3% of his field goal attempts.

Assuming he signs for the maximum allowable 120% of his rookie scale amount, which nearly every first-rounder does, Newell will earn $3.24MM in his first NBA season and a total of $16.24MM across the course of his four-year deal.

Eastern Notes: Giannis, Nets, Hawks, Pistons

July 2nd, 2025 at 10:42pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

In the wake of Tuesday reports stating that Giannis Antetokounmpo is looking forward to teaming up with Myles Turner while not being “pleased” about how Damian Lillard‘s release was handled, Shams Charnaia of ESPN (YouTube link) stressed that the Bucks star won’t be making any decisions on his future simply based on what happened on July 1.

“I’m told Giannis Antetokounmpo will continue to evaluate everything. The entire offseason,” Charania said. “He took notice of this move, no doubt, but sources tell me he will evaluate more than just one day. And at the end of the offseason, my understanding is Giannis Antetokounmpo will ask himself, he’ll look in the mirror, he’ll look around him, and ask the question, ‘Can I win a championship – a second championship – with this team as currently constructed?'”

While Antetokounmpo may take some time to make a final decision on what his future holds – ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne (Twitter video link) speculates that it might not happen until August or September – Tuesday’s activity will significantly limit the Bucks’ ability to continue being active in free agency.

As John Hollinger and Eric Nehm of The Athletic detail, Milwaukee had to make a series of moves beyond waiving and stretching Lillard’s contract just to create the cap space necessary to land Turner and is subsequently expected to use its room exception to re-sign Kevin Porter and Gary Trent. That would leave the Bucks only able to make minimum-salary signings, though the team does still have one movable first-round pick (either 2031 or 2032) that could be dangled in trade talks.

There’s more out of the Eastern Conference:

The Nets made NBA history when they selected five players in the first round of the 2025 draft. Now, Brooklyn faces a unique challenge when it comes to finding a way to develop everyone in the short term alongside the club’s already-youthful roster, observes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “They’re going to have to earn it,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said. “That’s how it should be. They’ll put the work in. They’ve already shown who they are. That’s why we drafted them… Then it’s going to be my decision to go and put five guys on the court, to have a 10-man rotation and go through the process.”
Nets general manager Sean Marks registered his excitement about the additions of rookies Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf to the fold. “To be able to draft all of them in a draft class we just saw, that was unique,” Marks said, per Lewis. “That was something we want to take advantage of, especially in our build, where we see these young men fitting into our group and into our roster. So, it was about us capitalizing on the hand we were dealt.”
Looking to vault up the East standings, the Hawks made a flurry of tactical offseason moves to lift up its current core of All-Star guard Trae Young, rising forward Jalen Johnson, All-Defensive guard Dyson Daniels and 2024 No. 1 draft pick Zaccharie Risacher. Jared Weiss of The Athletic wonders if the additions of center Kristaps Porzingis, wing Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and sharpshooting guard Luke Kennard can help maximize Young as an offensive focal point — or if they’ve also been brought in place to elevate the younger group, led by the 23-year-old Johnson, 22-year-old Daniels, and 20-year-old Risacher. Young, who holds a player option for 2026/27, will become eligible this weekend for an extension worth up to $222MM over four years.
The Pistons made a pair of key moves along the wing in free agency, agreeing to deals with former Miami sharpshooter Duncan Robinson and ex-Atlanta reserve Caris LeVert. Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (subscriber link) takes a look at the fits of both new additions to a growing young Detroit club. LeVert is an above-average play-maker at his position and can theoretically help spell All-Star Cade Cunningham off the bench, while Robinson elevates the team’s long range shooting.

Luke Adams contributed to this story.

Durant Trade Expected To Be Completed As Seven-Team Deal

July 2nd, 2025 at 9:56pm CST by Luke Adams

When the Suns and Rockets agreed a week-and-a-half ago to a deal that will send Kevin Durant to Houston, they negotiated it as a two-team trade. However, after the July moratorium lifts on Sunday and that trade can be officially completed, it’s expected to be finalized as a seven-team mega-deal, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (YouTube link).

Marks specifically mentions the Hawks, Timberwolves, and Nets as teams who will be involved, referencing the Rockets’ sign-and-trade deal for Clint Capela and Atlanta’s sign-and-trade for Nickeil Alexander-Walker as agreements that may be looped into this trade. Brooklyn made a minor draft-night deal with the Suns that includes a couple picks Phoenix is acquiring from Houston as part of the package for Durant.

While Marks didn’t name all seven teams, Fred Katz of The Athletic says the Warriors and Lakers are expected to play a part in the deal too.

The No. 59 overall pick (Jahmai Mashack) that was originally sent from Houston to Phoenix in the Durant agreement got rerouted by Phoenix to Golden State (who later sent it to Memphis), while No. 36 pick Adou Thiero will end up with the Lakers following a series of swaps involving the Nets, Suns, and Timberwolves.

There may also be a pathway to turning Dorian Finney-Smith‘s four-year, $53MM agreement with Houston into a sign-and-trade from the Lakers, though Katz’s report suggests Finney-Smith (and Alexander-Walker) aren’t being discussed in the current framework.

Theoretically, other previous trade agreements involving some of these teams could be roped in to expand the deal even further if it proves advantageous (or if it just streamlines the process of finalizing trades). We also still have more than 72 hours before the moratorium lifts on Sunday at 11:00 am Central time, so if more deals are reached in the coming days, it’s possible they could be attached to this one too.

To be clear, while putting together these swaps as a single mega-trade could result in minor additional pieces such as cash, a draft-rights player, or a two-way player (Katz mentions Daeqwon Plowden of the Hawks) being involved, it won’t meaningfully alter the players and picks changing hands.

It simply means that several trade agreements previously reported separately will be combined into one move to get them all done at once. That should make life easier for the league, which won’t have to process a bunch of separate trades that include certain players or draft picks.

It also means the trade will likely set a new NBA record for most teams involved in a single deal. That record was last set a year ago when six teams got together to complete the transaction that sent Klay Thompson to Dallas, Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield to Golden State, and Josh Green to Charlotte.

Our breakdown of 2025 offseason trades can be found right here if you want to try to figure out how to get eight, nine, 10, or all 30 teams somehow involved in this deal.

And-Ones: Kokoskov, Luxury Tax Payments, 2026 Mock, Injuries, NBA TV

July 2nd, 2025 at 10:00am CST by Dana Gauruder

Hawks assistant Igor Kokoskov is leaving his position to become head coach of Turkish League team Anadolu Efes, according to Eurohoops.net. Kokoskov has signed a three-year contract.

Kokoskov has been an assistant in the NBA for 19 years, along with a stint as the head coach of the Suns during the 2018/19 season. He was also a head coach in the EuroLeague with Fenerbahce during the 2020/21 season.

Here’s more from around the international basketball world:

How much did NBA teams who stayed below the luxury tax get rewarded for keeping their salaries below the line? Non-tax teams collected $11,530,235 from the taxpaying clubs, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report tweets.
Is it too early to talk about the 2026 draft class? Not for draft experts like The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie. He’s posted his first 2026 mock with Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Duke forward Cameron Boozer and BYU wing A.J. Dybantsa occupying the top three spots.
Thunder executive Sam Presti believes there’s a direct correlation between the number of games played and injuries. Presti mentioned the NBA’s 65-game rule to qualify for certain awards, the condensed schedule due to the in-season tournament and the recent uptick in physicality allowed by the league, according to an ESPN story.“I think the one thing we have to do is get away from the defensive nature of trying to convince people, players and teams that there’s no connection between the loads and the injuries,” Presti said. “I think it’s — we’re kind of bordering on a level of like, it’s almost insulting.”
TNT Sports will cease production efforts on NBA TV at the end of the league’s calendar year in September, according to the Sports Business Journal’s Austin Karp. The league will begin operating the network starting Oct. 1. It will continue to carry some regular-season games during the 2025/26 season, plus WNBA, G League and other games from international leagues. One key element is that there will be far fewer live games on NBA TV once the new media-rights deal kicks in this fall with ESPN/ABC, NBC Sports and Prime Video, Karp adds.

Hawks Sign Luke Kennard On One-Year Contract

June 30th, 2025 at 8:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

July 8: The Hawks have made it official with Kennard, the team announced in a press release.

“We’re excited to add Luke to our group,” Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh said in a statement. “Luke is a great connector. He’s an elite shooter and proven play-maker with a high basketball IQ and team-first mentality. He fills multiple needs for us, and we believe he’s going to make our team better.”

June 30: The Hawks are signing free agent wing Luke Kennard on a one-year, $11MM contract, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (via Twitter).

Quite a few teams were rumored to be interested in Kennard and he chose to go to the Hawks, who also agreed to a sign-and-trade on Monday to acquire another prominent wing, Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

The Hawks will use a majority of their mid-level exception to sign Kennard. The 29-year-old has long been regarded as one of the top 3-point shooters in the league. He has knocked down 43.8 percent of his 3s during his 460-game career.

Kennard appeared in 65 games with the Grizzlies this past season, the most action he’s seen since he played 70 games with the Clippers in 2021/22. He averaged 8.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists while making 43.3 percent of his long-range shots in 2024/25.

Kennard will provide guard/forward depth to a Hawks team that’s clearly looking to move up in what appears to be a wide-open Eastern Conference.

Give Trae Young an assist: He helped recruit Kennard to Atlanta, Charania adds in another tweet.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker Heads To Hawks In Sign-And-Trade

June 30th, 2025 at 7:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

July 6: The sign-and-trade deal sending Alexander-Walker to Atlanta is complete, according to press releases from the Hawks and Timberwolves.

June 30: Free agent guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker has agreed to a four-year, $62MM deal with the Hawks, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (via Twitter).

The contract includes a fourth-year player option and a trade kicker, according to Charania (Twitter link).

The Hawks will acquire Alexander-Walker via a sign-and-trade using the $25MM trade exception created by last year’s Dejounte Murray trade, according to cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). This will generate a trade exception for the Timberwolves worth half of Alexander-Walker’s starting salary.

The Timberwolves are also receiving cash considerations and a future second-rounder, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets. The pick is the Cavaliers’ 2027 second-rounder, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).

By going the sign-and-trade route, Atlanta will be able to preserve its non-taxpayer mid-level exception and still has room under the luxury tax line to make use of it.

The Hawks were considered the frontrunners to acquire Alexander-Walker after the Timberwolves reached agreements with two of their other prominent players, Naz Reid and Julius Randle. According to insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link), Trae Young was instrumental in recruiting NAW to Atlanta.

Alexander-Walker emerged as one of the biggest names on the free agent market due to his three-and-D skills. He had a 23-point, six-assist outing against OKC in the Western Conference Finals.

The 26-year-old appeared in every regular season game this season, including 10 starts, averaging 9.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He made 38.1 percent of his threes and has knocked down 36 percent of them in his career. He now slots in as the Hawks’ sixth man, backing up Dyson Daniels at shooting guard.

Clint Capela Agrees To Three-Year Contract With Rockets

June 30th, 2025 at 7:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

9:12pm: The Rockets are acquiring Capela in a sign-and-trade with the Hawks, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link), who reports that Houston is giving Atlanta a second-round pick swap in 2031 and cash to complete the deal.

7:03pm: The Rockets continued to retool their frontcourt by agreeing to a three-year, $21.5MM contract with Hawks free agent Clint Capela, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. The contract is fully guaranteed, Charania adds (Twitter link).

It’s no surprise that Capela, who lost his starting job in the second half of this past season, was leaving Atlanta. The Hawks are acquiring Kristaps Porzingis from the Celtics to be their starting big man, at least for next season.

Going to the Rockets, where he started his career, is somewhat of a surprise, given they already have one of the league’s top young big men in Alperen Sengun.

Houston also signed Steven Adams to a three-year extension in mid-June. Where Capela fits on the depth chart remains to be seen.

As for the contract terms, how they’ll acquire Capela is another mystery. Houston also agreed to a four-year deal with forward Dorian Finney-Smith on Monday, apparently via their non-taxpayer mid-level exception. That would mean the Rockets would have to work out a sign-and-trade to bring in Capela.

This past season, Capela started 41 of 55 games and averaged 8.9 points and 8.5 rebounds in 21.4 minutes. That was the first time in eight seasons Capela didn’t average a double-double. He was the Hawks’ regular starting center the previous four seasons after a six-year stay with Houston.

Stein/Fischer’s Latest: Jerome, Kennard, Capela, Lakers, Bulls, More

June 30th, 2025 at 2:42pm CST by Luke Adams

In their latest round-up of scuttlebutt ahead of the start of free agency on Monday, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) reiterate or confirm a few of the rumors that have been percolating in recent days, writing that Dennis Schröder appears to be on track to join the Kings on a two-year deal worth the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, while D’Angelo Russell is widely expected to join the Mavericks on a two-year deal that utilizes the taxpayer mid-level.

Stein and Fischer also stress that the Grizzlies are increasingly regarded as the favorites to land free agent guard Ty Jerome, with rival teams expecting him to sign for a deal in the neighborhood of $9-10MM annually (Twitter link).

Additionally, Stein and Fischer confirm that the Rockets are now eyeing Luke Kennard in addition to Dorian Finney-Smith. Besides Houston, the Hawks and Nuggets are considered potential suitors for Kennard, one of the league’s best outside shooters, according to The Stein Line duo.

Here are a few more fresh pieces of intel from Stein and Fischer:

The Clippers are viewed as a viable candidate to land free agent center Clint Capela. Los Angeles is known to be in the market for an Ivica Zubac backup, with Drew Eubanks not expected to return.
If the Lakers end up losing Finney-Smith in free agency, they’re expected to express interest in another talented perimeter defender, De’Anthony Melton, Stein and Fischer report. Dan Woike of The Athletic (Twitter link) has also heard that there’s mutual interest between Melton and the Lakers. The veteran guard signed for the full non-taxpayer mid-level a year ago, but seems unlikely to land another deal in that range after missing nearly the entire season with a torn ACL.
There’s a “strong expectation” that free agent point guard Tre Jones will remain with the Bulls, Stein and Fischer say. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network previously reported that the odds of a reunion between the two sides were rising following the team’s Lonzo Ball trade.
The Bucks are working on potential Pat Connaughton trade scenarios and have a couple possible pathways to a deal, per Stein and Fischer. Milwaukee would likely have to attach a sweetener to move Connaughton, but perhaps could acquire a player in return who would upgrade the rotation.
The Wizards have been gauging the trade market for a pair of veterans on expiring contracts, guard Marcus Smart and big man Kelly Olynyk, Stein and Fischer write. Olynyk technically isn’t even a Wizard yet, as the deal sending him from New Orleans to Washington will become official after the July moratorium — it sounds like there’s a chance he’s flipped to another team.
DeMarre Carroll and former Wizards assistant Brian Randle are expected to have two of the front-of-bench spots on Jordan Ott‘s coaching staff, but the new Suns coach is still seeking a lead assistant who has previous head coaching experience, according to Stein and Fischer.