CJ McCollum has proven without a shadow of a doubt that he fits like a glove with the Atlanta Hawks. Between his postseason heroics and strong post-deadline run in Atlanta during the regular season, McCollum brought unavoidable positive value to the team.
Unfortunately, the 34-year-old scoring guard has become an unrestricted free agent following the Hawks' elimination from the 2026 NBA Playoffs. As such, a question beckons: What should his next contract look like?
McCollum reserves the right to sign with any team he chooses as an unrestricted free agent. As such, there's a realistic possibility that another franchise could swoop in and make an offer that he chooses to accept, regardless of what the Hawks slide across the negotiating table.
With this in mind, Atlanta must be aware of the need to make a competitive offer for a player who has already developed intriguing chemistry with their core contributors.
Doing so, however, carries a degree of risk. McCollum will turn 35 in September and thus faces the inevitable concern of an age-related decline that could take hold at any point during his upcoming contract. Along with that comes the question: How many years should his new contract include?
Following an excellent postseason that helped restore his reputation as a high-level player, McCollum may be looking for one last long-term deal. The question is: How long can the Hawks realistically commit to?
How much would be too much for Hawks to re-sign CJ McCollum?
It'd be easy to justify Atlanta re-signing McCollum to a one-year deal or even a two-year contract. Even at 35, he'd be coming off of a strong season during which he proved capable of thriving in both regular season and postseason settings.
McCollum finished the 2025-26 regular season averaging 18.7 points and 3.9 assists per game on .455/.375/.772 shooting and could realistically sustain that production into 2026-27.
For as true as that may be, the Hawks have the luxury of financial flexibility—a luxury that can be compromised by lackluster contract decisions. Dyson Daniels has become a polarizing figure at $25 million per season, but even that's an amount that can be overcome.
Jalen Johnson, after all, is underpaid at a flat $30 million per season, Nickeil Alexander-Walker will make just $14,403,710 in 2026-27, and Onyeka Okongwu is owed a team-friendly $16.1 million.
Jonathan Kuminga's $24.3 million club option is a key talking point, but Atlanta is truly in an ideal financial position. The quickest way to compromise that flexibility, however, is to overpay a veteran who may be closer to a decline than one might like to think.
Atlanta should make a concerted effort to re-sign McCollum during the 2026 offseason, but it must be careful with the amount of money and years it offers him.
Add us as a preferred source on Google