Hawks: Insider raises red flags over Jalen Johnson's rumored contract demands

The Atlanta Hawks are entering a critical season. They are halfway between two timelines, armed with experienced veterans and intriguing youngsters. One of the players who has some overlap is fourth-year forward Jalen Johnson.

Johnson enters a contract year coming off an injury-shortened season. 

His injury history was among the several red flags Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer raised when discussing Johnson’s outlook for an extension and the max deal he supposedly seeks.

“[A max contract extension], according to my information, is what Jalen Johnson is hoping for with the Hawks in his extension, and what Klutch Sports should be asking for as well. That's just what good agenting is,” Fischer said on the “No Cap Room” podcast on August 7.

“The Hawks made basically everyone available for trade since February besides him. So of course you're going to be thinking, ‘Well, then pay me that way.’ But the guy has had his own injury history, hasn't put together a full season yet. For all the promise that made me want to fly down to Atlanta and profile him … it's going to be a prove-it year in terms of dollar figure for him as well.”

Johnson will be a restricted free agency after 2024-25 if the two sides cannot agree on an extension.

The Hawks would also have to extend Johnson to make him a restricted free agent, and going that route would expose him to other teams. That is a very risky proposition even if they would match.

“The Hawks have serious budgetary decisions that could include moving a high-paid point guard like Trae Young,” Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus wrote in March. “With that in mind, Johnson could fight for$25-30 million per year.”

Can Hawks be 'succsessful' with Jalen Johnson?

Johnson is coming off a Most Improved Player-caliber season. But he fell short of the minimum games requirement. 

He averaged 16.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists while shooting 51.1% from the field and 35.5% from beyond the arc. Atlanta had a minus-1.8 net rating with Johnson on the floor, per Cleaning the Glass.

“Can Atlanta figure out an identity that is successful?” Fischer said. 

“How much of that Jalen Johnson is responsible for will absolutely directly result in his dollar figure that he comes to.”

They were also 27-29 with him in the lineup in 2023-24. The eye test tells a story of what Johnson can become. The numbers tell the story of what he was last season. Finding a common ground could be a key for the Hawks.

They have had a recent run of paying players and then trading them or at least exploring.

Johnson’s potential is as high as any, even with the valid concerns that Fischer raises, specifically when it comes to availability.

New-look Hawks still have plenty of question marks

Fischer pointed to the Hawks’ offseason changes, noting the presence of 21-year-old Dyson Daniels and rookie No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher as key variables. But they are just two of the many roster questions the Hawks still face. 

They still have a logjam in the frontcourt and several players have come up in trade rumors in recent months. 

Winning solves everything, even contract impasses.

The noise and speculation around the Hawks will dissipate if they get off to a hot start. Their roster still features key bones of the 2020-21 run to the Eastern Conference Finals. How fast the new guys can blend in with the incumbents will be the key.