NBA Expansion Draft: 3 Hawks players to protect, 2 to make available

Hawks should expose Onyeka Okongwu to expansion draft

While it is unlikely the Hawks would expose Okongwu if a draft happened today, he is one of the few Hawks who will be under contract when ESPN’s NBA insiders believe an expansion draft would take place.

He will notably be in the final year of his four-year, $61.9 million contract and just hitting his prime at 27 years old. The problem the Hawks could face is if his size proves to be a hindrance to him being a starting-level center.

Okongwu has improved his jumpshot to the point of being a viable option at 4.

It would be a stretch to say that he could be a starter at power forward, which is also the same position that Johnson fits best.

The Hawks – and several other outlets – list Okongwu at 6-foot-10. But those in the know challenge that listing. He has previously been listed at 6-foot-8 and the new height would put him on par with Capela.

Capela is still undersized, but only against the top bigs in the league in the modern NBA.

If the Hawks feel Okongwu’s 7-foot-2 wingspan will make up for the (potential) height deficiency, then it makes sense to re-up with Okongwu.

Otherwise, they could expose him to the draft – again, a seemingly unlikely scenario at this juncture – and let one of the new franchises take him off their hands. That new team would be getting an active and versatile frontcourt player, even if he lacks a true positional home.