The Atlanta Hawks have done well to maintain their flexibility while checking off key needs for their roster, and the offseason has barely just begun. Still, with what they have already accomplished, it is clear now more than ever that the Hawks must secure a backup point guard.
This is an issue the Hawks have dealt with for years.
And while their decision to address their frontcourt over PG is good news for 2023 first-round pick Kobe Bufkin, the Hawks cannot feel too confident in that being their only plan.
The question, then, is who do the Hawks turn to, and the most intriguing answer is arguably Minnesota Timberwolves free agent Nickeil Alexander-Walker. He could be a casualty of the Timberwolves’ plans for their roster, which could benefit the Hawks.
Atlanta has a $25.3 million traded player exception that expires on July 7.
That is the result of trading Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans, and gives the Hawks a trump card should Alexander-Walker price out of the non-taxpayers mid-level exception.
A sign-and-trade would allow the Hawks to give Alexander-Walker more money, and guarantee him at least a three-year contract, per league rules. Alexander-Walker’s two-way ability is expected to have him among the most priced targets in unrestricted free agency this summer.
The Hawks are expected to at least kick the tires.
Hawks expected to explore guard market this offseason
“The Stein Line reported last week that the Hawks were determined to make use of their $25 million trade exception,” The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer wrote on June 24.
“Word is that the Hawks, at roughly $30 million below the luxury-tax line, are expected to register interest in a sign-and-trade deal with Minnesota to try to acquire Nickeil Alexander-Walker — among various options that Atlanta is exploring with its trade and financial flexibility — in the event that the Timberwolves, in their quests to re-sign Julius Randle and Naz Reid, run out of the flexibility needed to re-sign Alexander-Walker.”
The Hawks traded Terance Mann to the Brooklyn Nets as part of the trade for Porzingis, leaving Bufkin as their only safety net behind four-time All-Star point guard Trae Young on the roster. It will be nigh impossible for the Hawks to ever replace Young’s production with a reserve.
However, Alexander-Walker’s two-way ability would be a good hedge on both ends of the floor.
Among the other options that could fit, Atlanta native Malcolm Brogdon, the always polarizing D’Angelo Russell and even former Hawk Dennis Schroeder.
From there, and even including Russell, who is perpetually streaky, the Hawks would be making significant concessions on one side of the floor. Alexander-Walker, while not a traditional point guard himself, gives the most encouraging blend of offense and defense for the Hawks.
They just have to hope they can make that ideal scenario a reality.