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The Atlanta Hawks have been in a roster crunch over the past couple of weeks, and that did not change with the big trade for Thunder forward Luguentz Dort. The Hawks not only traded for Dort, but also acquired Ryan Nembhard from the Dallas Mavericks, putting them at 17 players on their roster.
NBA teams are only allowed to have 15 players on their roster during the regular season, but can carry up to 21 during the offseason. This is a roster cruch that has to be solved in the coming weeks and months before the Hawks can finalize their roster.
After trading for Dort and Nembhard, what moves could be coming next from Onsi Saleh and the Hawks front office?
Cutting the roster down
I think the next move for the Hawks is going to be trimming the roster down to 15, but how are they going to do it?
One aspect of the Hawks' roster building this summer that has to be accounted for is Jonathan Kuminga. After Atlanta declined his $24.3 million team option earlier this offseason, Kuminga has been an unrestricted free agent. The Hawks have not been completely ruled out when it comes to Kuminga's decision, but the Lakers, Cavaliers, and Bucks have also been mentioned as possible teams.
If Kuminga comes back to Atlanta on a standard contract, they would need to move at least three players from the roster. That would be difficult, but not impossible.
If Kuminga does leave and Atlanta and does not take a below market value deal, he would have to be signed-and-traded. That would mean that more players are coming back to Atlanta, though the Hawks could also send out players in that deal. Kuminga's free agency is going to impact the rest of the Hawks offseason.
If the Hawks make moves before Kuminga makes a decision on his next team, there are certain candidates to be moved.
Buddy Hield, Corey Kispert, Devin Carter, Mouhamed Gueye, and Nembhard are five players whom the Hawks could move to trim down their roster. Carter cannot be traded before August 30th, and Nembhard cannot be traded before September 19th.
Ideally, I think the Hawks would love to move Hield and Kispert. Carter, Nembhard, and Gueye all provide value and potential on low salary contracts, while Hield and Kispert's contracts are not viewed as positive value around the NBA, though Hield is more or less on an expiring contract (his contract is only partially-guaranteed for next season, becomes full guaranteed one day after the 2027 NBA Draft).
Without knowing how Kumimga's situation is going to play out, I think the Hawks next move is going to be moving Kispert and Hield from their team and getting the roster down to 15. Depending on what they get back in a Kuminga sign-and-trade, more moves may have to be made, but Atlanta should be searching around for teams to take these players and save the Hawks over $20 million in financial space for the upcoming season.
While this won't be the Hawks next move, it should be noted that the Hawks are positioning themselves as a contender when the next star player gets traded, possibly even during the season. CJ McCollum, Jock Landle, Dort, Gueye, Nembhard, and potentially Carter are all on expiring contracts and added up, the Hawks can get to any salary number in the NBA.
Atlanta has prided itself on creating optionality and flexibility and they have done that with this trade for Dort and Nembhard. I predict the Hawks are going to work night and day to find takers for Hield and Kispert to trim their roster down, but moving both is not a guarantee and won't be easy.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/hawks/onsi as Predicting the Atlanta Hawks Next Move After Trading for Lu Dort and Ryan Nembhard.
