Offseason trade pickup named Atlanta Hawks' 'best kept secret'

The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics have been significant for the Atlanta Hawks.

They have a pair of participants on the roster in Bogdan Bogdanovic and newcomer Dyson Daniels, who was acquired in the return package from the New Orleans Pelicans in the Dejounte Murray trade.

While the display Bogdanovic showed en route to bronze at the summer games is nothing new to Hawks fans, Daniels is far less familiar.

What Daniels showed in Paris should serve as an encouraging baseline.

“The Atlanta Hawks hope they'll get something similar from Dyson Daniels, the crown jewel of the return package for Dejounte Murray,” Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes wrote on August 10.

“Just 21 years old, the 6'8" point guard is a willing passer with the size to find angles others can't. On the other end, Daniels is a sneaky bet to lead the league in steals if he can carve out 30 minutes per night. Elite rebounding for his position, particularly on the offensive glass, will also give Daniels a shot to stuff the stat sheet.”

Hughes notes Daniels is “an absolute terror” defensively but a “non-threat” shooting the ball, adding that the latter hindered him in the Pelicans’ setup. Hughes believes the Hawks are better suited to mitigate Daniels’ lack of a consistent jump shot, calling him their "best kept secret."

“And if his jumper comes around, look out,” Hughes wrote. 

That is exactly where the Olympics may have been eye-opening regarding Daniels, even for the Hawks front office.

Hawks need Dyson Daniels to keep up Olympic momentum

Daniels averaged career highs with 5.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.4 steals in 2023-24. However, the former No. 8 pick of the 2022 NBA Draft shot 44.7% from the floor, including a 31.1% clip from beyond the arc.

The 6-foot-8 Aussie shot 48.1% overall in Paris, hitting 38.5% from downtown.

Daniels is slated for a key role with the Hawks in 2024-25 and narrowly missed on being the team’s “best new weapon.”

“Dyson Daniels is a worthwhile selection here, if only because he has two years under his belt and wears-opponents'-skin-on-defense calling card,” Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale wrote on August 7. “The Atlanta Hawks are also (currently) set up to give him more run as a second-string point guard than the New Orleans Pelicans. That's interesting!”

Rookie Zaccharie Risacher earned the honor, but not in a way that diminishes Daniels.

Both players figure to be significant contributors in their first seasons with the Hawks, who are looking to get back into the postseason after missing it for the first time in three years in 2023-24.