Even in the offseason, the Atlanta Hawks' injury report is far from clean.
Mouhamed Gueye - the 23-year-old forward who's been used in a variety of roles in his young career with the Hawks - is expected to miss the next three-to-four months after undergoing surgery on his left foot.
A valuable defensive contributor, if Gueye ends up missing the first month of the season, Atlanta will have a serious void to fill in the second unit. Luckily for them, they have a second-year forward just waiting for an opportunity to shine. Asa Newell must take advantage of his untimely anticipated absence.
Newell has used summer league to prove his candidacy
While it hasn't been a perfect offseason campaign for the versatile forward, he's shown just enough to warrant them being confident in his upcoming year.
Even though he has the size necessary to compete for a center spot, he didn't show many signs of excelling at that position in his rookie season, alluding to his likely permanent placement at forward.
They haven't been burning him out in summer play, either. In each of his last two games - before sitting on Monday evening against the Celtics - he played just under 25 minutes, yet still made his mark in the stat sheet.
Beyond the numbers, Newell has been able to advance his impact in whatever action he gets. Teams aren't looking for their second-year players to dominate the box score. It would be nice if they did, of course, but the little things are more important for determining trajectory and immediate rotation positioning.
If Newell can improve his defensive tendencies heading into the 2026-27 season, he will have no problem transitioning into the bigger role. It's incredibly difficult to replicate Gueye's impact on that end, but if he matches it in any sense, he'll lock in a permanent backup forward spot.
Atlanta's forward room is more loaded than many realize
If it ends up not being Newell to begin the season - which would be a very unlikely scenario, barring any late-offseason addition - it could be Zuby Ejiofor, the summer standout rookie out of St. John's.
Also, while it would be out of his standard position, Aaron Wiggins is more than capable of suiting up at power forward. Oklahoma City used him in a variety of roles, and his adaptability helped him carve out a role for a championship squad.
It was already going to be a big sophomore season for Asa Newell, and now that Mo Gueye is expected to miss the first month - maybe more - he'll have an even bigger opportunity to shine.
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