The Atlanta Hawks officially ended the Nikola Djurisic experiment on Wednesday, waiving the sophomore after a disappointing G League stint to clear room for Caleb Houstan on the full-time NBA squad.
Djurisic, 21, was drafted 43rd overall in 2024 by the Miami Heat as a potential project, but was traded to Atlanta in the deal that sent AJ Griffin to the Rockets. Djurisic was retained on the big league roster for two seasons but was never called upon for minutes in the NBA (meaning he is still technically a rookie who has yet to make his debut).
Houstan, 23, has indeed played this season, but he’s logged just 49 minutes across 10 games. He is an old-school shooting specialist, shooting upwards of 40% from deep over the past two seasons. Houstan also claims a strange title, one that rival fans might call a “fun fact” but Hawks fans may not find so fun.
Houstan is the tallest player in the NBA who has never dunked. If you watch him play, you’ll quickly realize why. Houstan simply doesn’t shoot two pointers – he’s taken just 3 all season, and only took 13 the year prior in an elevated role. He isn’t exactly an athletic threat either, which shows in his poor impact on the glass and on defense.
This move is low-impact but quite confusing
All things considered, this move has a marginal impact on the franchise. Neither player is in the rotation; both have played the vast majority (or, in Djurisic’s case, all) of their minutes this season in the G League; neither is a huge part of Onsi Saleh’s long-term vision for the franchise.
Still, shrewd moves on the margins can be the difference between a mediocre franchise and an elite one. The Miami Heat, for example, consistently turn G Leaguers into contributing players. Atlanta could advance the franchise by nailing moves like this player swap, even if the impact appears small at first.
I have a hard time wrapping my head around this move. Houstan, a former two-way player, had plenty of NBA eligibility remaining to finish off the season. He is also quite a flawed player who realistically doesn’t warrant NBA minutes.
I’m not exactly a believer in Djurisic, who has started in just five G League games through two seasons, but he is an asset Atlanta didn’t have to discard quite yet.
Perhaps this was a show of good faith from the franchise. Djurisic clearly isn’t ready to make an NBA impact anytime soon, and Houstan has balled out in the G League (15.5 points on 40.3% from deep). By making this swap, Houstan stands to receive a significant pay raise, and Djurisic can try to find his footing in a new system.
Or perhaps the front office has faith in Houstan. If Nicolas Batum was an impactful player in his prime despite similar athletic limitations, why can’t the sharpshooting Houstan be one too?
Whatever the reasoning, this move has a marginal impact on the season. Houstan sits in last place among a crowded forward lineup, sitting as a fourth-stringer (Risacher, Johnson; Kuminga, Newell; Hield, Gueye). Time will tell if this move elevates him into a rotation spot or if this is destined to simply be a footnote in a tumultuous season.