Details On Qualifying Offers For Remaining RFAs
When we’ve talked about restricted free agency in recent weeks, we’ve focused primarily on the four 2021 first-round picks who remain unsigned: Josh Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga, Quentin Grimes, and Cam Thomas.
However, there are technically several more restricted free agents on the market. Those players are coming off two-way contracts though, so their free agencies typically play out without much fanfare. Two-way restricted free agents essentially never sign offer sheets or change teams, and many of them just end up accepting their qualifying offers and playing on another two-way deal.
Restricted free agents have until October 1 to decide whether or not to accept their qualifying offers, assuming their teams don’t agree to push back that deadline. Here are the qualifying offers on the table for this year’s RFAs:
- Josh Giddey (Bulls): $11,142,058
- Quentin Grimes (Sixers): $8,741,210
- Jonathan Kuminga (Warriors): $7,976,830
- Cam Thomas (Nets): $5,993,172
- Dru Smith (Heat): $2,378,870 *
- Taran Armstrong (Warriors): Two-way ^
- N’Faly Dante (Rockets): Two-way ^
- Kevin McCullar Jr. (Knicks): Two-way ^
- Oscar Tshiebwe (Jazz): Two-way ^
Note: Qualifying offers marked with an asterisk (*) are partially guaranteed for $102,300; QOs marked with a caret (^) are partially guaranteed for $85,300.
For former first-round picks, qualifying offer amounts are generally based on their draft position, but they can fluctuate depending on whether or not a player met the starter criteria. That’s why Grimes, 2021’s No. 25 overall pick, has a higher qualifying offer than No. 7 pick Kuminga. All four of those players have fully guaranteed qualifying offers and would reach unrestricted free agency in 2026 if they were to accept their QOs.
Smith, meanwhile, is coming off a two-way contract, but is no longer eligible to sign another two-way deal with the Heat because he has spent parts of three separate seasons on two-way contracts with the team. So his qualifying offer is worth his minimum salary, with a small partial guarantee.
While it’s very common for two-way players to accept their qualifying offers, it happens far less frequently with former first-round picks.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN observed earlier this offseason (via Twitter), just five former first-round picks have signed their qualifying offers as restricted free agents since 2017. Here are how those five players fared in unrestricted free agency a year after signing their QOs:
- Alex Len: Accepted $4.19MM qualifying offer in 2017; signed two-year, $8.51MM contract in 2018.
- Nerlens Noel: Accepted $4.19MM qualifying offer in 2017; signed two-year, minimum-salary contract in 2018.
- Rodney Hood: Accepted $3.47MM qualifying offer in 2018; signed two-year, $11.72MM contract in 2019.
- Denzel Valentine: Accepted $4.64MM qualifying offer in 2020; signed two-year, minimum-salary contract in 2021 (partial guarantee in year one, non-guaranteed in year two).
- Miles Bridges: Accepted $7.92MM qualifying offer in 2023 (after sitting out all of 2022/23); signed three-year, $75MM contract in 2024.
Bridges was a unique case, since he faced charges of domestic violence just as he was about to hit restricted free agency for the first time in 2022. If not for his off-court legal issues, he almost certainly wouldn’t have had to settle for his qualifying offer — his eventual three-year, $75MM deal was a more accurate reflection of his on-court value.
As for the other players on this list, Len, Noel, Hood, and Valentine weren’t exactly marquee free agents when they finished up their rookie contracts, so it’s not a huge surprise that they weren’t able to secure the sort of lucrative multiyear deals they hoped for, nor is it a shock that they didn’t end up getting big paydays in unrestricted free agency a year later.
Giddey, Kuminga, Grimes, and Thomas have shown enough in their first four seasons to warrant multiyear investments worth at least the full mid-level exception (or well above that, in at least one or two cases), and players of that caliber generally don’t accept qualifying offers. So I think we’re still headed toward these four guys eventually working out new deals.
But if one or more of them does accept a qualifying offer, it will be a fascinating storyline to track going forward. Recent history shows a handful of underwhelming follow-up deals for former first-rounders who signed their qualifying offers, so an RFA who accepts his QO this season would be looking to buck that trend.
Killian Hayes Focused On Remaining In NBA
Former lottery pick Killian Hayes has drawn interest from teams in Europe this offseason, but is focused on earning another NBA opportunity, according to a report from Gabriel Pantel-Jouve of BeBasket (hat tip to Eurohoops).
ASVEL Basket in France made Hayes a strong offer, per Pantel-Jouve, who says Real Madrid in Spain and Anadolu Efes in Turkey also registered some interest in the free agent point guard. All three clubs compete in the EuroLeague.
However, Hayes is hoping to stick in the NBA after appearing in 216 regular season games across the past five seasons. The seventh overall pick in the 2020 draft, he struggled to adjust to the NBA game in Detroit, where he made just 38.2% of his field goal attempts and 27.7% of his outside shots across four seasons from 2020-24.
Still, Hayes is just 24 years old and played well in a very small sample with Brooklyn last season, averaging 9.0 points, 5.2 assists, and 3.0 rebounds in 27.0 minutes per game and making 38.1% of his three-point tries in six appearances (five starts). The 6’5″ Frenchman spent most of 2024/25 playing for the Long Island Nets in the G League, where he put up 17.3 PPG, 7.4 APG, and 5.4 RPG on .463/.371/.689 shooting in 33 outings (32.9 MPG).
Hayes is no longer eligible for a two-way contract, so if he hopes to make an NBA roster this fall, he’d have to do it by earning a standard 15-man spot.
Heat Sign Ethan Thompson To Exhibit 10 Contract
The Heat have signed free agent guard Ethan Thompson to an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel (subscription required).
While Thompson has yet to appear in an NBA regular season game, he has now signed five NBA contracts since going undrafted out of Oregon State in 2021 and spent the last two-plus months of the 2024/25 season on a two-way deal with the Magic.
A G League veteran, the 6’5″ shooting guard has played in between 43 and 49 NBAGL games in each of the past four seasons, spending time with the Windy City Bulls, Mexico City Capitanes, and Osceola Magic. In 47 outings for Orlando’s G League team last season, he averaged 17.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.1 steals in 33.4 minutes per game, posting a shooting line of .415/.396/.805. He knocked down a career-high 3.3 three-pointers per contest.
An Exhibit 10 contract can be converted to a two-way deal before the regular season begins, and Miami does have an open two-way slot. However, it appears likely that the Heat are signing Thompson with an eye toward having him join their G League affiliate as a returning rights player — the Sioux Falls Skyforce made a trade with Osceola on Wednesday to acquire Thompson’s rights (Twitter link).
If Thompson is waived before the regular season begins and then spends at least 60 days with the Skyforce, he’d earn an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $85,300 on top of his standard NBAGL salary.
The Heat now have 17 players officially under contract, including 14 on fully or partially guaranteed standard deals, one on an Exhibit 10, and a pair on two-ways. They also still have a qualifying offer on the table for restricted free agent Dru Smith.
Lakers Notes: LeBron, Hachimura, Thiero, Trade Prospects
LeBron James may have been offering a hint about his future, or he could have been trolling fans, the media and Lakers management. Either way, it seems newsworthy that he and former teammate Anthony Davis both posted the same message to their Instagram accounts on Tuesday (hat tip to Ricky O’Donnell of Yahoo Sports).
It’s a quote from entrepreneur and life coach Jay Shetty that reads, “Becoming the best version of yourself comes with a lot of goodbyes.”
James’ future with the Lakers has been up in the air since he picked up his $52.6MM player option in late June. The online message could mean he’s contemplating saying goodbye to Los Angeles, either at some point this season or when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer.
The Mavericks have been mentioned as a possible next team for James, so Davis’ involvement could be significant. Going to Dallas would also reunite James with former Cleveland teammate Kyrie Irving and possibly turn the Mavs into legitimate title contenders again.
There’s more on the Lakers:
- Rui Hachimura is also a year away from free agency and has the chance to earn a long-term deal with L.A. by putting together another strong season, Dan Woike of The Athletic writes in a mailbag column. Even though the Lakers are preserving cap space for the summer of 2027, they may decide Hachimura is worth the investment. He has shot better than 50% from the field and 40% from three-point range in both of his full seasons in L.A., and he showed improvement on defense last season. Woike also views him as a player who’ll benefit from spending a full season with Luka Doncic.
- Second-round pick Adou Thiero, who missed all of Summer League while recovering from a knee injury he suffered in college, has been working out in the Lakers’ facility and is expected to be ready for training camp, Woike states in the same piece. The 21-year-old power forward was selected with the 36th pick in this year’s draft and was part of the seven-team deal that sent Kevin Durant from Phoenix to Houston. Woike notes that Thiero faces a crowded path to get playing time, but adds that he has the defensive skills to give himself a chance.
- With 14 players holding standard contracts, Woike doesn’t expect the Lakers to make any more trades before the start of the season. They have an available first-rounder, a second-rounder and some swaps to offer, but Woike believes it’s more likely they’ll save those assets for a potential deal later on.
Michael Porter Jr. Warns Of Risks Associated With Increased Gambling
Appearing this week on the “One Night With Steiny” podcast (YouTube link), Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. warned that the growth of sports gambling is changing the experience of watching games for NBA fans, relays David Purdum of ESPN.
“The enjoyment of the game isn’t for the game anymore,” Porter told the hosts. “It’s so that people can make money. In reality, way more people are losing money than making money.”
Porter’s younger brother, Jontay Porter, made headlines last year for his participation in a gambling scheme. He was banned from the NBA in April 2024 after admitting in court testimony that he took himself out of two games during the 2023/24 season so associates who took the under on prop bets could cash in. He added that the arrangement was his way of paying off gambling debts.
Michael Porter Jr. alluded to his brother’s case on the podcast, saying he understands how players who “come from nothing” could be tempted by the opportunity to make big money for themselves and their friends by manipulating the gambling process.
“Think about it, if you could get all your homies rich by telling them, ‘Yo, bet $10,000 on my under this one game. I’m going to act like I’ve got an injury, and I’m going sit out. I’m going to come out after three minutes,'” Porter said. “And they all get a little bag because you did it one game. That is so not OK, but some people probably think like that. They come from nothing, and all their homies have nothing.”
Porter also stated that players are constantly the target of anger from bettors because they’re always “messing up” either the over or under on prop bets, which allow gamblers to predict whether they’ll have more or less than a certain number of points, rebounds, assists and other statistics.
“We really do get death threats,” Porter said, bringing up the topic of how the league would react if an irate bettor ever decided to physically attack a player.
Porter also decried the growth of online gambling, saying sports in general would be better off if bets could only be placed in person at Las Vegas casinos.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Still Awaiting Bucks’ Approval For EuroBasket
Giannis Antetokounmpo hasn’t taken part in any team activities as Greece prepares for EuroBasket because he’s still waiting for the Bucks to provide written permission for him to participate, according to Aris Barkas and Stavros Barbarousis of Eurohoops.
While most players don’t need permission from their NBA clubs to play in international tournaments, Antetokounmpo is an exception due to the size of his contract, sources tell the authors. They explain that the FIBA insurance policy, which is covered by the Greek federation, doesn’t pay enough to cover Antetokounmpo’s NBA contract in case he suffers a serious injury. Because there’s a cap on the insurance payout, he can’t proceed without authorization from the Bucks.
Barkas and Barbarousis note that Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Lakers guard Luka Doncic are also affected by that stipulation, but they are both practicing and participating in exhibition games with their EuroBasket teams.
The FIBA-NBA agreement permits NBA players to join their national team’s training camp 28 days before the start of a major FIBA competition. Greece’s first EuroBasket game will take place on August 28, so Antetokounmpo would have been permitted to start training at the beginning of the month if not for the insurance snag.
Antetokounmpo has already missed three Greek exhibition contests, and he isn’t expected to play against Montenegro on Thursday. The authors state that Greece will participate in the Acropolis tournament before wrapping up exhibition play August 24 against France, but it’s still uncertain whether Antetokounmpo will be cleared to suit up for any of those contests.
The issue comes amid continuing uncertainty over Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee. Trade speculation was rekindled earlier this month when Shams Charania of ESPN reported that the two-time MVP remains uncertain that he can achieve his goal of winning at least one more NBA title while playing for the Bucks.
Jaren Jackson Jr. Changing Number As Part Of ‘Fresh Start’
Looking for a “fresh start” as he enters his eighth NBA season, Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. announced recently that he’s changing his uniform number, writes Rohan Nadkarni of NBC News. Jackson will give up his familiar number 13, which he has worn since his rookie season of 2018/19, in favor of number 8, which his father wore for part of his NBA career.
“It’s super personal to me. It’s super personal to my family,” Jackson said of the switch. “I’m connected with 8 in a real way. It reaches into the territory of new beginnings. It’s infinite. It’s just a good place to draw energy from.”
Jackson’s new number won’t be the only change as Memphis tries to rebound after being swept out of the playoffs by Oklahoma City. New head coach Tuomas Iisalo will lead the team into training camp after replacing Taylor Jenkins late last season, and the Grizzlies will have to adjust to the loss of Desmond Bane, Jackson’s teammate for the past five seasons, who was traded to Orlando in June.
“I wasn’t too much surprised,” Jackson said of the Bane deal. “I mean, when your brothers leave, you are still going to hurt, just because you’re a human being. But at the end of the day, it’s a business. And we’re grown.”
Some of the savings from unloading Bane were used to renegotiate and extend Jackson’s contract, giving him a five-year, $240MM deal that solidifies his status as one of the cornerstones of the franchise. With Bane gone, Jackson has taken on more of a leadership role to ensure the team’s younger players aren’t shaken by the personnel moves happening around them.
“You’re going to get closer to your prime, and things are going to change for you,” he said. “I feel like this is a good starting point for a whole new journey of stuff. I’m approaching this year with that spearheaded, disciplined mindset of trying to get us to the promised land.”
Jackson is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, averaging 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 74 games while shooting 48.8% from the field and 37.5% from three-point range. He became an All-Star for the second time and was a second-team All-Defensive selection.
The Grizzlies may need even more production from him this season to contend in a tough Western Conference, and Jackson believes he’s ready to provide it while setting a strong example for his teammates.
“Whoever’s in the locker room is in your foxhole, and that’s where you’re going to war with,” he said. “What are your habits? What are your techniques? Are you willing to share? Are you willing to talk? Who are the leaders? It’s simple, but it’s not easy.”
Board Of Governors Unanimously Approves Sale Of Celtics
The sale of the Celtics to an investor group led by William Chisholm has received unanimous approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors, the league announced (via Twitter).
The results of the vote were never really in doubt, but it’s significant that there was no opposition to Chisholm’s purchase. The league states that the deal is expected to be finalized soon.
Chisholm, a Massachusetts native and lifelong Celtics fan, reached a tentative agreement in March to purchase the franchise for a $6.1 billion valuation, which set a record at the time as the largest amount ever paid for a North American sports team. That number has since been exceeded by the sale of the Lakers for a $10 billion valuation.
Chisholm submitted the highest offer among four groups that were bidding for the team. According to Brian Robb of MassLive, his other stakeholders include Aditya Mittal, Robert Hale and Bruce A. Beal Jr., along with Sixth Street, a private investment firm.
When the sale was first announced, Wyc Grousbeck intended to remain in his role as the team’s governor through the 2027/28 season. However, a report on Tuesday indicates that’s no longer possible because Grousbeck will control less than the 15% minimum stake that the NBA requires for the person who holds that position.
Instead, Chisholm will become lead governor as soon as the sale is official with Grousbeck serving as alternate governor and CEO through the 2027/28 season. Chisholm is buying majority control of the franchise now and will purchase control of the rest of the team in 2028 at a reported valuation of $7.3 billion.
Chisholm will take over the Celtics during a time of transition after years of being one of the NBA’s elite teams. Jayson Tatum‘s Achilles injury coupled with a second-round playoff exit have placed an emphasis on cost-cutting measures to lower the team’s tax bill and escape second apron restrictions. Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet are already gone from last year’s roster, and more money-saving moves may take place before the new season begins.
Pelicans’ Missi, Rockets’ Okogie Playing In AfroBasket
While it lacks the star power of the upcoming EuroBasket tournament, FIBA’s 2025 AfroBasket event, which tipped off on Tuesday, features a pair of NBA players. Second-year Pelicans center Yves Missi is suiting up for Cameroon, while veteran Rockets wing Josh Okogie is representing Nigeria.
Both players got off to strong starts on Wednesday in their teams’ first AfroBasket games. Missi contributed 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists in 24 minutes to help lead Cameroon to an 86-65 win over Tunisia, while Okogie had five points, five assists, four rebounds, and a +12 on/off mark in 27 minutes of action during Nigeria’s 77-59 victory over Madagascar.
Jonathan Kuminga was listed on the preliminary roster for the Democratic Republic of Congo, but isn’t suiting up for the team as his restricted free agent standoff with the Warriors extends well into the offseason.
Still, there are several other former NBA players taking part in the tournament, as the full list of rosters shows.
Bruno Fernando (Angola), Edy Tavares (Cape Verde), Matt Costello (Côte d’Ivoire), Christian Eyenga (Democratic Republic of Congo), Mamadi Diakite (Guinea), Ibou Badji (Senegal), Karim Mané (Senegal), and Wenyen Gabriel (South Sudan) are among the names that may be familiar to NBA fans, with Tavares (14 points, 19 rebounds) and Costello (12 points, 11 rebounds, six assists) submitting big performances en route to victories in their first group play games.
A handful of notable former NBA players are also on the sidelines as coaches for the event, including Luol Deng for South Sudan, DeSagana Diop for Senegal, and Sam Vincent for Libya, observes Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
AfroBasket’s field is made up of 16 national teams divided into four groups of four teams apiece. Each squad faces the other clubs in its group once during the preliminary round; the top-ranked team in each group after those three games advances directly to the quarterfinals, while the eight second- and third-place teams square off in “play-in” games to earn quarterfinal berths.
Group play will continue through Sunday, with the play-in games for the knockout round held next Monday and Tuesday. The quarterfinals will take place on August 20 and 21, with the semifinals played on Aug. 23 and the final (and third-place game) on Aug. 24.
NBA 2025 Offseason Check-In: Atlanta Hawks
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.