Nickeil Alexander-Walker is one of the newest members of the Atlanta Hawks, and his talent is going to provide a significant lift for this group. With the way Atlanta's roster is currently set up, it's likely he comes in and shakes up the team's depth chart pretty much from day one.
The case of Nickeil Alexander-Walker and his career is an interesting one. For the first three and a half seasons of his career, he was seen as an asset but not an overwhelmingly positive one. Just when he was starting to get into a heavy minutes role with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2021-22, he was traded to a Utah Jazz team that was seeking a sense of direction.
In trading him away to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the 2023 trade deadline, the Jazz gave NAW just the situation he needed to thrive. Settling in as a key role off the bench and earning the trust of Chris Finch, Alexander-Walker became a reliable stopper on defense and a guy the team could rely on to hit his open shots as well.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker creates some good problems for the Hawks
This turned him into something of the ideal three-and-D guy for a Timberwolves team that found themselves climbing to the top of the Western Conference standings in 2023-24 and contending for a championship. As such, there became a lot of eyes fixed on Alexander-Walker, and league-wide interest in him grew rather rapidly.
People quickly figured out that NAW was playing way above his contract value, and it became obvious that he was going to get a much greater payday in short order. That became an issue for Minnesota, whose payroll began to increase with rapidity. They knew that the downside of seeing Alexander-Walker become so productive on their watch meant that he was likely going to be worth more than they could pay him.
Now, the Hawks become the beneficiaries of that situation. NAW enters Atlanta's guard room alongside Zaccharie Risacher and Dyson Daniels, where he'll almost certainly make an immediate impact. Still, it will be something of a challenge for Quin Snyder to figure out how best to use him. Do you pencil him in for 30 minutes a game, or closer to 20? Do you want him handling the ball at any point, or purely as an off-ball guy offensively?
Regardless of the answers to the aforementioned questions, it's a good problem to have. Nickeil Alexander-Walker has proven the kind of value he brings to any team on the hardwood, and the Hawks are going to be a much better team for having him around.