The Atlanta Hawks made a big swing this past summer, investing their resources in low-usage wing Nickeil Alexander-Walker and letting Caris LeVert walk in free agency. Nine months later, the Hawks are definitively vindicated as the two players go in opposite directions.
At the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline, the Hawks sold high on DeAndre Hunter, who was having a hot shooting season that was masking his defensive issues. For a player drafted to be an All-Defense level of player, the Hawks were smart to move on when they did -- and the Cleveland Cavaliers almost immediately regretted the deal as Hunter struggled in the playoffs and the following year.
The return for Hunter brought draft picks and two players, Georges Niang and Caris LeVert. Niang had some big moments down the stretch of last season for the Hawks, but was included in the Kristaps Porzingis trade. LeVert, on the other hand, was a major piece of Atlanta's close to last season but was hitting unrestricted free agency.
The Hawks could have re-signed Caris LeVert
Bringing back LeVert was assumed to be in the cards for Atlanta; they traded for him, after all, and he played well for the franchise. He had a proven track record as both a smaller-usage role player on a good team and a larger-usage combo guard on a bad one. His ability to play off of Trae Young and also run the second-team offense seemed like an excellent fit for what Atlanta needed.
And yet, the Hawks didn't bring him back. They let him walk in free agency and sign with the Detroit Pistons. They instead signed Nickeil Alexander-Walker away from the Minnesota Timberwolves, a lanky wing who had some flashes as a defender and off-ball shooter for a good team, but didn't seem like he was holding untapped potential.
That decision, picking Alexander-Walker over LeVert, was a questionable one at the time. One season later, it was the ultimate success for the Hawks.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker has been awesome
Alexander-Walker has taken off in Atlanta, more than doubling his scoring average to 20.6 points per game. He is shooting a whopping eight 3-pointers per game, many of them self-created, and banging 39.4 percent of them. He has been a part of the Hawks running offense by committee between "NAW" and Jalen Johnson, and the result has been magical.
When you add a legitimately good offensive player to one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, you get an exceptional player who is an absolute steal on his contract, which will pay him just $29.5 million combined over the next two seasons; he would make at least that in one season if he hit the market this summer.
Caris LeVert has struggled
LeVert, on the other hand, is not thriving in Detroit, despite joining the best team in the Eastern Conference. His scoring average has been halved, and he is shooting just 33 percent from deep on only 3.1 attempts per game, and his turnover percentage has gone up significantly.
He is playing hard on defense, completely buying into the culture in Detroit, but he is taking away more on offense than he is giving back on defense. As such, he is playing a small rotational role for the Pistons when they are at full strength.
The Hawks made the right call - they aced the test. They are the hottest team in the NBA and it's thanks in large part to signing Alexander-Walker and bidding farewell to LeVert. If they needed vindication, they now have it in full.