The Atlanta Hawks will gladly acquire your role player who you can no longer afford to pay in fear of going over the second apron. Just look at their current roster! Kristaps Porzingis is on the team because the Celtics were suddenly in a money (and health) crunch heading into 2025-26 and needed to part with some key players. The Minnesota Timberwolves faced the same dilemma with Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who is now a member of the Hawks as well and will likely be a superpowered sixth man for head coach Quin Snyder. Even N'Faly Dante, the Hawks' new 23 year-old center, was a restricted free agent in Houston, but the Hawks gave him an offer sheet the Rockets couldn't match after their busy summer.
There's a clear formula emerging from the Hawks front office; if you can't pay your guys, we will. I love it!
Hawks have been smart between the margins this offseason
In 2025, Kristaps Porgzingis' reputation around the league has slipped a little bit after injuries hampered his second and final season in Boston. But I believe the pendulum has swung much too far in the other direction, to the point where Porzingis has become a little underrated in NBA circles. So the Hawks acquiring their starting center for Georges Niang and Terance Mann — two serviceable role players, but not a huge haul — feels like a coup by GM Onsi Saleh.
The NBA moves so fast that you can't be blamed for forgetting things soon after they happen, but Porzingis was in the starting frontcourt of an NBA title team two years ago. That's not very long! He has some deficiencies in his game, I understand that, but he is talented enough that, if a team can add him without sacrificing any core pieces, they should. And the Hawks did!
Alexander-Walker, meanwhile, was acquired via sign-and-trade with the Timberwolves, meaning the Hawks had to give up just a future second-round pick and cash for NAW, one of the better perimeter defenders in the league and a reliable 3-point shooter, too.
This. Is. How. Teams. Go. From. Good. To. Great. With moves like these! Think back to 2021, when James Harden was sent from Houston to Brooklyn. The Cavaliers hopped in as a third team and basically got Jarrett Allen for free, and now Allen has been a key piece of their rise in the Eastern Conference. Think back a few years further, when the Clippers added Ivica Zubac for the expiring contract of Mike Muscala just because the Lakers wanted to clear some money.
Not every move in the NBA is a star trade. Those are great, of course, and they're the quickest way to elevate a team. But trades and sneaky additions of both established NBA veterans and young guys with high ceilings is how teams separate themselves from the pack, and the Hawks are trying to do that this offseason.