Pacers Notes: Nesmith, Haliburton, Canadians
Aaron Nesmith didn’t miss any games after spraining his right ankle in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals vs. New York, but playing through the injury wasn’t easy, according to the Pacers wing, who was limited to 16 minutes in Game 5 and just under 20 in Game 6, his two lowest totals of the postseason (he also had some foul trouble in Game 6).
“It took a lot (to return for Game 4),” Nesmith said on Wednesday, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “It was pretty much rehab every minute of that day. It was cold tub, game-ready, hyperbaric chambers, it was red light therapy. It was manual wave, it was shock wave. Anything you could name we kinda threw it at the ankle, but there was no chance I was missing that game.”
Although the Pacers haven’t had as much rest between the conference finals and the start of the NBA Finals as the Thunder, Indiana still had four full days off prior to Thursday’s Game 1. Few Pacers appreciated those off-days more than Nesmith.
“I needed ’em,” he said. “I was looking forward to these days off. I took ’em, and I’ll be ready.”
Here’s more on the Pacers:
- Given the challenges the NBA has faced over the years trying to find a way to stop teams from tanking, the league should be rejoicing that Indiana has made it to this year’s NBA Finals, writes Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. As Lloyd details, team owner Herb Simon has long had an aversion to tanking, so the Pacers have never really done it — the club was stuck in the middle at times, but has won fewer than 32 games in a season just once in the past 35 years.
- Following an on-court altercation with Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo at the end of the Pacers’ first-round series win, Tyrese Haliburton‘s father John Haliburton was effectively banned from attending games. However, that ban was lifted for Pacers home games midway through the Eastern Conference Finals as long as the elder Haliburton watched from a suite. For the NBA Finals, he won’t be prohibited from attending games at either arena, Dopirak writes for The Indianapolis Star. “I think the commentary around my dad got a little ridiculous,” Tyrese said. “Of course, I’m going to say that. I’m his son. It got a little over the top. He was wrong. That is what it is. I don’t think any of us want to be defined by our worst moments. That’s just sports media. Sometimes we just take a super good thing or a super bad thing and overblow it. It is what it is. He’s learned from it. It won’t happen again. Love my pops dearly. Really thankful he’s going to be in the building along with me on this journey.”
- Both teams competing in the NBA Finals have multiple Canadians on their rosters, with Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin representing the Pacers and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort competing for the Thunder. Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca takes a look at the shared history among those players, three of whom represented Canada in last year’s Olympics, while Julian McKenzie of The Athletic specifically examines the bond between Montreal natives Mathurin and Dort, who grew up minutes from one another and each describes the other as being like “a brother.”
Eastern Notes: Giannis, Nets, Raptors, Spoelstra, Pistons, Magic
Team personnel around the NBA who have spoken recently to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required) are expressing less confidence that Giannis Antetokounmpo will ask the Bucks to trade him this summer.
“He’s not that guy (to cause trouble),” one source told Lewis. “He’s going to complain, but he isn’t going to actually burn it to the ground and be the bad guy to leave.”
As Lewis details, it’s perhaps no coincidence that rumors about the Nets‘ interest in pursuing a second lottery pick have gained some traction lately, since that’s viewed as a more realistic move for Brooklyn than landing Antetokounmpo. Even if the Bucks star does become available, the Nets have fallen behind teams like San Antonio, Houston, and Toronto as betting favorites to land him, Lewis notes.
“Toronto has more than anyone to offer for Giannis,” one league source told The Post. “But I don’t think he’s being moved.”
If Giannis were available, the Raptors could make a strong bid for him by including former Rookie of the Year and All-Star Scottie Barnes in their package. Still, it’s debatable whether such a move would make sense for Toronto, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic, who notes that paying a significant price (Barnes, plus other players and picks) for Antetokounmpo wouldn’t necessarily put the Raptors in a better position to contend than recent iterations of the Bucks.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Since we published our most recent list of the NBA’s longest-tenured head coaches last August, four of the top six names on that list (Gregg Popovich, Michael Malone, Taylor Jenkins, and Tom Thibodeau) have been let go or, in Popovich’s case, stepped down. That leaves Erik Spoelstra of the Heat as the league’s longest-tenured head coach by a significant margin, and he doesn’t take that longevity for granted, as Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald details. “You have to have great ownership and stability from the front office,” Spoelstra said during the season. “… I’m truly grateful for that, because we’ve been able to work through some tough losses and tough seasons and I think we’ve gotten better from that.”
- Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (subscription required) considers how the Pistons might be able to leverage certain teams’ cap and apron positions this offseason by pursuing players from those clubs. Sankofa identifies Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Grayson Allen, Isaac Okoro, and Sam Hauser as four wings whom Detroit could target in free agency or trades. Minnesota, Phoenix, and Boston are coming off second-apron seasons, while Cleveland is on track to exceed the second apron in 2025/26.
- The Magic unveiled a new logo and three new uniforms earlier this week, per a team press release. Orlando’s updated look can be found here.
And-Ones: All-Star Game, Rubio, Draft Sleepers, Broadcasters
Asked during an appearance on FS1’s Breakfast Ball (Twitter video link) whether a U.S. vs. the World format for the All-Star Game is something the NBA could implement as soon as 2026, league commissioner Adam Silver replied, “Yes.”
Silver cautioned that nothing has been set in stone yet, but that plan has been set in motion, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, and the NBA believes the timing makes sense. There was significant interest in the men’s basketball event at the 2024 Paris Olympics that featured a star-studded Team USA taking on NBA stars from other countries, and the 2026 All-Star Game will air on NBC while the network is also broadcasting the Winter Olympics.
“What better time to feature some form of USA against the world?” Silver said on FS1. “I’m not exactly sure what the format will be yet. I obviously paid a lot of attention to what the NHL did (with its ‘4 Nations Face Off’ All-Star event earlier this year), which was a huge success. … But also, going back, last summer, our Olympic competition was a huge success.”
As Reynolds writes, the biggest sticking point for the NBA is that approximately 70% of the NBA’s players are American, with just 30% from other countries. So even though some of the game’s biggest stars – including Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Luka Doncic – could represent the “world” team, a format that requires 12 non-U.S. players to be named All-Stars would likely result in some glaring snubs among U.S. players.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Veteran point guard Ricky Rubio, who announced his retirement from the NBA in January 2024, played for Barcelona at the end of the 2023/24 season before taking ’24/25 off. The 34-year-old Spaniard published a message on social media on Thursday that could be interpreted as either a hint at his retirement as a player or a signal that he isn’t done yet. “I took this year to reflect on my career and my life, and I’ve realized that if I’ve gotten to where I am today, it’s not because of the assists I’ve given, but because of the assists I’ve received,” Rubio wrote (via Twitter). “This isn’t a goodbye, it’s a thank you to all the people who have helped me along the way.”
- Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports identifies seven of his favorite “sleepers” in this year’s draft, naming UNC’s Drake Powell, Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard, Kentucky’s Koby Brea, and four others as prospects capable of outperforming their probable draft slots.
- Richard Deitsch and Andrew Marchand of The Athletic dig into the NBA’s media landscape, with Marchand noting that the league’s new partners, Amazon and NBC, will be keeping an eye on players nearing the end of their respective careers who might be interested in transitioning to broadcasting. That group includes Draymond Green, Stephen Curry, and LeBron James, according to Marchand, who adds that Steve Kerr would qualify too if he moves on from coaching in the coming years.
Poll: Who Will Win 2025 NBA Finals?
The 2025 NBA Finals will tip off on Thursday, as the Thunder host the Pacers for Game 1 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
For all the hand-wringing leading up to the series about market size and TV ratings, this year’s Finals matchup features two highly entertaining teams led by All-NBA point guards who have established themselves as NBA superstars.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, this season’s Most Valuable Player, leads the way for the Thunder, who submitted one of the most dominant regular season performances in NBA history in 2024/25. Only four teams have compiled more wins in a single season than Oklahoma City’s 68 in ’24/25, and the Thunder’s +12.7 net rating ranks second all-time, behind only the 1995/96 Bulls.
While Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the NBA with 32.7 points per game, is the engine of an offense that ranked third in the NBA this season, he gets plenty of help from a strong supporting cast. Jalen Williams (21.6 PPG) and Chet Holmgren (15.0 PPG) headline the group of six more Thunder players who averaged double-digit points per game this year, along with Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Hartenstein, Isaiah Joe, and Luguentz Dort.
Many of those same players, with the help of reserves like Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace, were responsible for making the Thunder’s defense the NBA’s best by a comfortable margin. The gap between Oklahoma City’s league-leading 106.6 defensive rating and Orlando’s 109.1 second-place mark was bigger than the gap between the Magic and the seventh-place Warriors (111.0).
Dort and Williams both earned All-Defensive spots and Caruso and/or Wallace would’ve been legitimate candidates to join them if they’d played enough minutes to qualify for consideration.
The Thunder had the league’s lowest turnover percentage (11.6%) and generated the highest opponent turnover percentage (16.9%), resulting in a ton of transition opportunities and a significant edge in the possession battle. Oklahoma City’s average of 92.1 field goal attempts per game was easily the top mark in the NBA, well ahead of second-place Milwaukee (87.8). The Thunder also ranked in the top five in free throw attempts per game.
While the Thunder’s formula will be tough to crack, the Pacers have been one of the NBA’s best teams in their own right since January 1. After a shaky start to the season, Indiana caught fire in 2025, finishing the season on a 34-14 run and then going 12-4 in the first three rounds of the postseason.
Led by All-NBA third-teamer Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana – like Oklahoma City – was one of the league’s best teams at moving and taking care of the ball despite playing an up-tempo style. From January 1 onward, no team had a better assist-to-turnover ratio than the Pacers’ 2.44-to-1 mark, and only the Thunder had a lower turnover rate than Indiana’s 12.2%.
Although Haliburton leads the Pacers’ offensive attack, he’s not the scorer Gilgeous-Alexander is, having averaged a relatively modest 18.6 PPG during the regular season. It was actually star forward Pascal Siakam who led the team in scoring during the regular season (20.2 PPG) and has done so again in the playoffs (21.1 PPG).
But the club has a deep, balanced offense that also features contributions from Bennedict Mathurin (16.1 PPG during the regular season), Myles Turner (15.6 PPG), Aaron Nesmith (12.0 PPG), Obi Toppin (10.5 PPG), Andrew Nembhard (10.0 PPG), and T.J. McConnell (9.1 PPG).
While the game typically slows down in the playoffs, the Thunder and Pacers have continued to play fast well into the spring — only the Grizzlies, who faced Oklahoma City in the first round, rank ahead of Oklahoma City and Indiana in postseason pace.
Given those numbers, the Pacers will need to do all they can to keep the Thunder from dominating the boards. Indiana ranked 28th in the NBA in rebounding rate during the regular season, including 29th in offensive rebounding rate. With the two teams likely to be racing up and down the court and the Thunder’s ability to generate turnovers typically giving them the possession edge, getting consistently out-rebounded would compound that issue for the Pacers.
Whichever franchise wins the series won’t technically be getting its first title. The Pacers won three ABA championships in the 1970s and the Thunder claimed an NBA title back in 1979 as the Seattle SuperSonics, long before relocating to Oklahoma City. But fans in Indiana and Oklahoma City haven’t seen their respective teams win an NBA Finals.
With Game 1 set to tip off in less than 12 hours, we want to know what you think. Will the heavily favored Thunder make it a quick series? Will it go to six or seven games? Can the Pacers pull off the upset?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to weigh in with your predictions!
Who will win the NBA Finals?
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Oklahoma City Thunder in 4 or 5 games 43% (387)
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Oklahoma City Thunder in 6 or 7 games 34% (305)
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Indiana Pacers in 6 or 7 games 22% (199)
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Indiana Pacers in 4 or 5 games 2% (15)
Total votes: 906
NBA Finals Notes: Pacers, OKC, CBA, Sonics, Wallace
The Thunder and Pacers, this year’s NBA Finals squads, have provided a new roadmap for winning teams in the league, writes Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports.
O’Connor argues that the three-and-D role player may not be enough anymore for the highest levels of basketball. As perhaps a next evolutionary step, both of these thoroughly modern clubs have built rosters loaded with handling ability and fast decision-making among role players — in addition to the long range shooting and defense. O’Connor opines that Boston employed that formula to win it all last spring as well.
O’Connor notes that most of Oklahoma City’s top players have the ability to dribble, move the ball expediently, shoot at a high level, and defend. Even Thunder big man Isaiah Hartenstein, though not a long range shooter, is a solid distributor from the post. O’Connor observes that all of the Pacers’ top players are similarly equipped to thrive on both sides of the ball with versatile skill sets.
There’s more from the NBA Finals:
- At 24.7 years old, the Thunder have the youngest average age of any Finals team since 1977, notes Lev Akabas of Sportico (subscriber link). The Pacers’ average age of 26.2 years old would make Indiana the youngest for a champ since 1980 if the club beat Oklahoma City. Akabas adds that 2025 marks the first time since the introduction of the league’s luxury tax that neither NBA Finals participant has been a taxpayer. Indiana’s $169.1MM team payroll ranked 18th in the league this year, and was below the $170.8MM tax threshold. Oklahoma City’s $165.6MM payroll ranked just 25th. The two teams’ youth is a feature, not a bug, as both boast multiple young talents — including 2022 lottery picks Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Bennedict Mathurin — still on their rookie-scale contracts, making their deals all extremely valuable in the league’s punitive CBA.
- Devout fans of the now-defunct Seattle SuperSonics are all-in on the Pacers in this year’s Finals, writes Andrew Destin of The Associated Press. Under then-new owner Clay Bennett, the SuperSonics abandoned Seattle for Oklahoma City in 2008, and rebranded themselves as the Thunder. “A lot of Sonics fans that I know I’m sure never got over the wounds of what happened here 17 years ago with them leaving (for) Oklahoma City,” SuperSonics fan Eric Phan said. “All of the Sonics fanbase (is) rooting for the Indiana Pacers.”
- While fans in Seattle may be rooting against the Thunder, OKC has emerged as the heavy favorites to win this year’s impending Finals clash, which tips off on Thursday. 29 of 32 ESPN experts have picked Oklahoma City to best Indiana.
- Alongside All-Defensive wings Luguentz Dort and Alex Caruso, second-year Thunder guard Cason Wallace is embracing his own role as a reserve perimeter stopper, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Although Wallace was the No. 10 pick out of Kentucky in 2023, he has accepted his current place in Oklahoma City’s hierarchy. “Being a guard and the guy your whole life and then coming in and having to be a role player, you have to change your mindset,” Wallace told Slater. “But once you come in every day and you see everybody buys into their role, you find out that being a role player isn’t bad. You can be a high-level player, but as long as you do your job, then that’s what it takes to win.”
Suns Notes: Ott, Expectations, Ishbia
The Suns hired their fourth head coach in as many years on Wednesday, bringing aboard former Cavaliers assistant coach Jordan Ott on a four-year deal.
According to John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Phoenix (Twitter link), Phoenix was particularly impressed with Ott’s elaborate offensive plans and his committed work ethic. Current All-Star guard Devin Booker and franchise legend Steve Nash both approved of the hire, Gambadoro notes.
Ott beat out his former Cleveland colleague Johnnie Bryant, the other reported finalist for the role. It took an intensive four-round interview process to replace one-and-done former head coach Mike Budenholzer. Miami assistant coach Chris Quinn, Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney, Thunder assistant Dave Bliss and Phoenix assistant David Fizdale were among the apparent top contenders, having survived multiple rounds of meetings themselves.
Phoenix has failed to even get past the first round of the playoffs with its pricey All-Star triumvirate of Booker, forward Kevin Durant and guard Bradley Beal. Last year’s iteration finished outside of the play-in tournament. It is anticipated that the Suns will attempt to trade Durant and Beal. Since Beal has a no-trade clause, he would need to be on board with his next destination.
There’s more out of Phoenix:
- Ott, who had also been a finalist for the Hornets’ head coaching role last spring, seems likely to align with the vision Suns majority owner Mat Ishbia and new general manager Brian Gregory have previously laid out, observes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Ishbia spoke about wanting to find a “grinder” during an April presser. During Gregory’s first press conference in his new role this May, he stated that Phoenix was looking for a coach with deep basketball knowledge and an investment in playing a tough, physical brand of basketball.
- Ishbia, who has overseen significant roster and coach turnover since taking over the franchise, plans to get even more hands-on with the team from now on, per Gerald Bourgeut of PHNX Sports. Ott, like Gregory and Ishbia, is a Michigan State alum. Bourgeut notes that, should both Ott and Gregory not meet the moment, Ishbia could receive even more scrutiny for his hiring choices than he has in the past. A source told Bourgeut that Ishbia, himself a former player for the Spartans, emailed his basketball operations team this week, claiming he needed to be more involved in constructing a team culture. Ishbia added that he intends to be “extremely active in the decisions and management,” per Bourgeut’s source.
- In case you missed it, mutual interest reportedly remains between the Spurs and Durant on a potential trade.
Southeast Notes: Sarr, Wizards, LeVert, Hornets
In a new interview with Grant Afseth of RG.org, All-Rookie Wizards big man Alex Sarr indicated that his growth during his debut NBA season extended beyond his stat line.
“I feel like kind of everything,” Sarr said. “Defensively, I think physicality. Offensively, trying to get to the rim more, more drives. So I think that’s how I developed the most, for sure.”
Across 67 contests, the 6’10” forward/center logged averages of 13.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game for Washington. He had a fairly inefficient start as a shooter, Afseth notes, as he connected on just 39.4% of his field goal attempts and 30.8% of his three-point tries.
“They’re holding everybody accountable,” Sarr told Afseth regarding the approach of head coach Brian Keefe and his staff. “Trying to build something here and everybody’s bought into building our identity.”
After an encouraging debut 2024/25 season, Sarr is now gearing up to represent his native France in this summer’s EuroBasket competition.
There’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- In a new Wizards offseason preview, Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) breaks down routes for Washington to add to its $18.4MM in cap space; takes stock of the trade markets for veterans like Khris Middleton, Marcus Smart, and Jordan Poole; and proposes methods for the team to move up in this year’s draft.
- Bringing back free agent Hawks guard Caris LeVert is expected to be a primary goal for Atlanta this summer, reports Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscriber link). LeVert proved critical as a bench scorer, and helped stabilize Atlanta’s minutes when All-Star guard Trae Young sat. After being acquired in a February trade, LeVert posted averages of 14.9 PPG, 3.7 RPG and 2.9 APG while Atlanta finished the season after the deadline on a 17-14 run. The 30-year-old is wrapping up a two-year, $32MM deal. Williams notes that Atlanta possesses LeVert’s Bird rights, meaning the team could re-sign him to a big deal without requiring cap room.
- With the Hornets currently in the midst of the longest active playoff drought in the NBA, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer (subscriber link) examines Charlotte’s roster and considers which players will and will not return. Despite a couple play-in tournament appearances, the Hornets have not played a postseason series since 2016.
Knicks Coaching Notes: Thibodeau, R. Brunson, Udoka, Hurley
Despite enjoying the most successful tenure of any Knicks head coach this century by a mile, Tom Thibodeau was relieved of his duties following a six-game Eastern Conference Finals defeat by Indiana.
According to Ian Begley and Alex Smith of SNY.tv, Thibodeau will not be given a role in president Leon Rose‘s front office going forward. The three-year, $30MM contract extension he inked with the team last summer has yet to kick in, but the team will simply eat that money.
Thibodeau brought the Knicks to four playoff appearances during his five seasons in charge, posting a 226-174 regular season record and a 24-23 playoff record.
There’s more out of New York:
- In another SNY.tv story, Begley says he doesn’t believe the Knicks’ next head coach will be made to hold onto assistant Rick Brunson. However, Begley wonders if firing Brunson – the father of Jalen Brunson – might get the new coach’s relationship with the team’s All-NBA point guard on the wrong foot. The elder Brunson worked under Thibodeau throughout Thibs’ stint with the team.
- Although Rockets head coach Ime Udoka has been floated as a possible next Knicks coach, a team source confirms to The Athletic’s Kelly Iko (via Twitter) that Houston does not intend to make him available. That’s also what Marc Stein reported when he first identified Udoka as someone who would be of interest to the Knicks.
- Two-time champion UConn coach Dan Hurley has indicated he has no interest in taking the Knicks gig, per Dom Amore of The Hartford Courant. “Not another summer of that,” Hurley said, alluding to the Lakers’ 2024 pursuit of his services. Sources tell Dan Burges of The New Haven Register that the Huskies aren’t seriously worried about the possibility that Hurley would leave.
Texas Notes: J. Green, Rockets, Draft, Mavericks
Rockets forward Jeff Green intends to play two more seasons in the league — and he hopes both are with Houston, writes Matt Young of The Houston Chronicle.
Green, 38, is an unrestricted free agent this summer after agreeing to a two-year, $16MM deal with the Rockets upon winning his first title for Denver in 2023.
The 6’8″ pro averaged just 12.4 minutes per game in 2024/25, by far his lowest mark in any of his 17 healthy NBA seasons. Across 32 contests, the Georgetown alum averaged 5.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. He was not a part of head coach Ime Udoka‘s rotations in the playoffs.
There’s more out of the Lone Star State:
- Following an encouraging 2024/25 season that included their first playoff stint since the James Harden days, the Rockets could be in for an intriguing offseason. In a new piece, Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle checks in on the contract situations for each of Houston’s players and considers what’s in store for them.
- The Mavericks reportedly intend to hold on to the No. 1 pick in this month’s draft, but ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Zach Kram, Kevin Pelton and Andre Snellings cook up several trade ideas that could convince Dallas to reconsider. Proposed offers include an asset deal with San Antonio, a four-team blockbuster with Cleveland, the Lakers and Chicago, and a Suns deal that would send Devin Booker to Dallas.
- In a mailbag, Christian Clark of The Athletic expresses a belief that former Duke forward Cooper Flagg, the anticipated top pick in the draft, could be good enough for the Mavericks to make a deep playoff run if they can find a guard capable of filling in for Kyrie Irving in the short term and meshing alongside him if Irving can be back in time for the postseason. Clark believes that, should 2025/26 go south, the team’s front office could look to rebuild around Flagg and ditch aging stars Irving and Anthony Davis. Elsewhere in the mailbag, Clark breaks down the fits of possible offseason targets like Jrue Holiday, Lonzo Ball, and Coby White as lead guards while Irving recovers from his ACL tear.
2025 NBA Offseason Preview: Atlanta Hawks
The 2024 offseason was an eventful one for the Hawks, with its share of ups and downs. The team was forced to admit defeat on its backcourt pairing of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, but got a pretty strong return when it shipped Murray to New Orleans. Atlanta also improbably won the draft lottery with the 10th-best odds, which is typically a huge boon for a franchise, but that lottery win occurred during a year without a consensus No. 1 prospect.
By the end of the summer, the Hawks were entering the 2024/25 season as a borderline playoff contender (oddsmakers projected them to be the ninth-best team in the Eastern Conference) and without control of their own 2025 first-round pick, which they'd sent to San Antonio years earlier in their original deal for Murray.
Being a non-contender that doesn't possess its own draft pick is, in many ways, a worst-case scenario for an NBA franchise. But while the Hawks ultimately did fall short of the playoffs, the path they took to get to that outcome - and the situation they find themselves in entering the 2025 offseason - provides more reasons for optimism than the franchise had a year ago.
Dyson Daniels, acquired from the Pelicans as part of the package for Murray, emerged as one of the NBA's very best perimeter defenders and took a significant step forward offensively at the same time, with new career highs in points (14.1) and assists (4.4) per game, as well as shooting percentage (49.3%) and three-point percentage (34.0%). Daniels nearly won two major end-of-season awards, taking home Most Improved Player honors while finishing as the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up.
Zaccharie Risacher, the prospect the Hawks settled on as their first overall pick last June, played rotation minutes from day one and finished the season strong, averaging 14.9 points per game on .518/.421/.716 shooting after returning from an adductor injury in late January. He was the second-place finisher in Rookie of the Year voting and was named to the All-Rookie First Team.
Onyeka Okongwu, the backup center behind veteran Clint Capela for the last few seasons, finally got the opportunity to take over the starting job in January and made the most of it, averaging a double-double (15.0 PPG, 10.1 RPG) with a .581/.362/.762 shooting line in his final 40 outings.
And while Jalen Johnson's season ended early due to a shoulder injury, the 23-year-old forward showed in the first half why the Hawks were willing to commit $150MM to him on a five-year rookie scale extension that will begin in 2025/26, averaging 18.9 PPG, 10.0 RPG, and 5.0 APG on 50.0% shooting.
It's a promising young core, and Atlanta will have another opportunity to add to it later this month. Although they didn't have their own first-round pick at No. 14, the Hawks received Sacramento's first-rounder one spot higher at No. 13 to close the book on the Kevin Huerter trade the two teams made back in 2022. Atlanta will also control a second first-rounder this summer, having received the Lakers' 2025 pick from New Orleans in last year's Murray deal. That selection landed at No. 22.
Given all that went right during what could have been a demoralizing year in Atlanta, it was a little surprising that the Hawks dismissed general manager Landry Fields shortly after their season ended. The search for a new head of basketball operations is ongoing, though there have been rumors that the team may simply bring in a senior advisor to work with newly promoted GM Onsi Saleh, rather than hiring a president of basketball operations who would be above him in the front office hierarchy.
The Hawks' Offseason Plan
Whether it's Saleh or a new hire who ultimately has the final say on roster decisions, the Hawks will have a fair share of them to make this offseason, including what the future holds for Young.
