Dyson Daniels is having a breakout season. He had the fourth-best odds to win Defensive Player of the Year entering play on February 24, per DraftKings via Fox Sports. He is still a long shot at +1800 even after Victor Wembanyama’s season-ending blood clot issue emerged.
However, Daniels has set the stage for a lucrative contract, the likes of which could make the Hawks rather uncomfortable.
Spotrac’s Keith Smith speculated that $18-$20 million could be too low of an estimate.
“I can’t wait to see what Dyson Daniels’ extension comes in at this summer,” Smith posted on X on February 24, sparking the dollar value suggestion from a follower. “He’s been the perfect backcourt mate for Trae Young.”
Daniels had 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 steals in the Hawks’ skid-snapping win over the Miami Heat on Monday.
Ice Dys 🧬 pic.twitter.com/RP8k149Nil
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 25, 2025
“Daniels won’t turn 22 until March,” Jake Fischer wrote for The Stein Line in December. “His own upcoming payday — yes, that’s coming — looks as though it will be well-deserved.”
Daniels is averaging 3.1 steals per game to lead the league.
He is on track to be the 17th player in league history to average at least 3.0 SPG across an entire campaign and would be the first Hawks player to do so. The last player to do it and play in more than one game is ex-Hawks head coach Nate McMillan with the Seattle Supersonics.
Dyson Daniels on track for significant payday
Daniels is in Year 3 of a four-year, $25 million contract this season, and he is on the books for $7.7 million in 2025-26.
His next deal could see him average his total salary from his current contract annually.
Daniels would vault into the top 100 players in average salary, pending other deals for his peers. Winning an award – be it DPOY, an All-Defensive Team, or even an All-NBA nod would bolster Daniels’ case for a hefty sum on his next deal.
While there is valid skepticism about the Hawks’ willingness to go into the luxury tax, Clint Capela’s expiring $22 million salary gives the Hawks wiggle room.
Ditto (potentially) for Caris LeVert ($16.6 million) and Larry Nance Jr. ($11.2 million).
The Hawks have gotten deals done with their promising young players almost routinely, and Daniels should be no different. Both Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu – the two most recent examples – signed extensions just before the regular season started.
Daniels could be on a similar timeline in an offseason that will likely feature plenty of speculation around him and the rest of the Hawks’ roster.
Young remains the Hawks’ biggest looming question.
The four-time All-Star is in Year 3 of a five-year, $215.1 million pact. But he has a player option for the final season that puts both he and the Hawks on a shorter timeline that they might otherwise have.
A complementary piece like Daniels makes evaluating Young and the Hawks’ future an easier task.