The 2026-27 NBA season is quickly approaching, and as it currently stands, the Atlanta Hawks are loaded.
In both a positive and a negative way, of course. The former is obvious; they've got depth for days. The latter, however, comes nontraditionally. Roster-wise, they're fine, except for the fact that not everyone currently on the squad can enter the season with them. Bummer.
Many teams who remain active throughout the entire free agency period have to face critical roster cuts towards the end of it. It's part of the reason two-way slots exist. In Atlanta's situation, though, those three spots won't help. They've got too many NBA-ready point guards.
Of all the potential cuts, two point guards have the likeliest chance
It's not going to be CJ McCollum, and it's not going to be Kingston Flemings. Obviously. That leaves Devin Carter and Ryan Nembhard's future in Atlanta up in the air.
They're not going to get rid of both, at least. One of the two will absolutely be with the main ball club next season, it's just a matter of who.
This could all be avoided if Atlanta chooses to cut ties with veteran Buddy Hield and his $9 million contract, as well as one of the forwards buried in the depth chart, but there's too much trade incentive that could come with each of them.
There's going to be limited value for both Carter and Nembhard in the open market, alluding to the fact that one of them will simply be released. It's a business, after all.
When it comes down to choosing between the two, one of the most important factors will be age. Nembhard is 23, while Carter is 24. Such a difference, right?
Nembhard, however, became a sure thing earlier than Carter, leading to the belief that he'll be a more serviceable weapon down the line.
As it currently stands, Nembhard is more likely to remain on the roster
If they could keep all of them, they would. An eventual parting of ways with Devin Carter would hurt, but if it means they get to keep the younger, more offensively-creative guard in Ryan Nembhard, maybe it won't be so bad.
Maybe, they'll take the aforementioned route and keep both, but with both players being decently-similar archetypes with less than ideal positional size, it would probably make the most sense to just eliminate one.
They can't really go wrong with whatever they do here, as both young point guards possess a decent bit of potential and will be placed in a prime spot to grow.
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