The Atlanta Hawks’ offseason was widely praised after turning a play-in team into potential championship contenders. When the Hawks traded the 13th pick for the 23rd pick and the rights to the Pelicans’ 2026 first, the trade was applauded primarily for acquiring a valuable pick, not necessarily for who they selected at 23: Asa Newell.
After three summer league games, however, Newell looks like a steal of a late-first round selection. He is averaging 13.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, shooting 51.9% from the field and an impressive 50% from deep.
What made Newell a less-safe prospect was his combination of a power forward’s frame and center’s skillset. In the modern NBA, all non-centers are expected to space the floor with effective three-point shooting. Draft analysts suggested that Newell could play center, but at 6’9 and 224 pounds he would have to bulk up and improve his defensive intangibles to make up for his height disadvantage. To be an NBA forward he would have to improve his three-point shot, a task many players fail to accomplish.
Newell was expected to have a developmental arc similar to former Hawks first rounder Onyeka Okongwu. Okongwu had a slow start to his NBA career but possessed the tools to develop into an athletic floor-spacing center. Newell has a skinny build for his position and shot a questionable 29.8% from deep in college, leading many to believe Newell would struggle until he improved upon these two aspects of his game.
Newell’s hot start has quelled the questions around his game
Newell is a hometown hero, growing up in Atlanta and Athens, Georgia before moving to Florida when he was 10. He went home to the University of Georgia for college, where he skyrocketed to late-lottery draft projections after averaging 15.4 points, 6.9 boards, 1 block, and 1 steal per game while showing impressive two-point efficiency.
With his hot summer league start, Newell has indicated that he has improved upon his three-point shooting. This development will serve Newell well in the future, as being a dangerous deep threat leads to rushed close-outs from defenders and easier driving opportunities. This combination would be particularly lethal for Newell given his elite athleticism and the Hawks’ other slashing threats.
An underrated aspect of the Newell selection is how he fits the identity the Hawks’ GM Onsi Saleh has built in his short tenure. Saleh shipped Clint Capela to the Rockets and added stretch five Kristaps Porzingis to replace him. The Hawks also added Nickel Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard, leaving a roster that has no non-shooters and is littered with athleticism, length, and defensive ability.
This identity seems to be the ideal roster construction in the NBA, mimicking the 2024 championship-winning Boston Celtics and 2025 runner-up Indiana Pacers. With Newell at the 4/5, they have added yet another piece that fits this identity who can fill Porzingis’s role as the two big men age.
While it has only been three games, and summer league is not the most representative competition, Newell has shown flashes of becoming the dynamic two-way threat that enticed Atlanta into selecting the hometown prospect.