G League trade causes confusion over versatile Hawks veteran

Atlanta Hawks fans – and maybe even some within the organization – may have been caught off guard to see versatile point forward Vit Krejci’s name circulating on social media after the New York Knicks G League affiliate out of Westchester made a trade with the Iowa Wolves.

Iowa, the Minnesota Timberwolves affiliate, acquired the Returning Player Rights to former Hawks guard Skylar Mays from Westchester in exchange for Krejci’s, the Knicks announced in a post.

“The Westchester Knicks agree to trade the Returning Player Rights to Skylar Mays to the Iowa Wolves in exchange for the Returning Player Rights to Vit Krejci and their 2025 NBA G League Draft First Round pick,” Westchester’s social media team posted on X on September 17, causing some confusion for fans.

Here is the official explanation of “Returning Player Rights,” per the G League home site:

“Players who return to the NBA G League are, by rule, re-acquired by the teams that they played for within the last two seasons (Returning Players). Once the NBA G League season begins, players who sign NBA G League contracts are placed into a rotating waiver pool so that teams can claim them.”

Krejci appeared in 22 games for the Hawks, starting a career-best 14 games in 2023-24. He averaged 8.5 points, dished out 2.6 dimes, and snagged 2.6 boards as a starter. 

The Washington Wizards drafted Krejci with the No. 37 overall pick in 2020. The Hawks acquired Krejci from the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2022 and waived him in 2023. He signed with the Timberwolves then but found his way back to the Hawks.

There are more layers, but the bottom line is Krejci has not been traded at the NBA level.

Hawks’ Vit Krejci Ineligible for NBA trade despite G League Rights Swap

Krejci is in Year 1 of a four-year, $10.2 million contract. Krejci also has a $3 million club option for the final season in 2027-28, adding to the value of his contract. The timing of the deal makes him ineligible to be traded until December 15. 

He is coming off a career year with 2.3 assists per game and a 41.2% clip from beyond the arc, adding 6.1 points and 2.4 rebounds to provide solid all-around offensive production.

Entering his fourth NBA season, the 6-foot-8 Krejci is just 24 years old.

It all paints a picture of a player being one of the more versatile pieces on a roster that has prioritized them this offseason. The Hawks also acquired 6-foot-7 guard Dyson Daniels in the Dejounte Murray trade and drafted Zaccharie Risacher No. 1 overall in the 2024 NBA draft.

Krejci also finished with the second-best on-off differential on the team with a plus-5.8 mark, albeit in just over 500 possessions, per Cleaning the Glass.

His playmaking ability could also help the Hawks in lineups without Trae Young.

Vit Krejci projects as key versatile piece for Hawks

Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale suggested a lineup that featured Krejci alongside Daniels, Risacher, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu with the idea of solving one of the Hawks’ most enduring issues.

“Trae Young isn't here, but that's because we're trying to figure out the minutes without him on this side of the Dejounte Murray trade,” Favale wrote on September 11. “Sign me up for a lineup in which the 6'7" Daniels is its shortest member. He also profiles as the primary playmaker, though part of the appeal for this group is its bandwidth to experiment on-ball with Johnson, Krejčí and Risacher.

“Granted, the offense overall could be choppy. You need to trust in the spacing from Krejčí, Risacher and Johnson to optimize the usage of Daniels and Okongwu. That's risky. But this quintet has the defensive size and talent to switch everything—or just guard however they want.”

The more one looks into what Krejci provides and his untapped potential, the raised eyebrows over the “trade” are understandable.