The Atlanta Hawks are experiencing a new level of national attention ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season. After a rather pedestrian 2024-25 campaign marred by the midseason injury to Jalen Johnson and a Play-In exit, the Hawks fired general manager Landry Fields. Atlanta then engaged in a search for a President of Basketball Operations before settling on the internal promotion of Onsi Saleh to the GM role.
Saleh wasted no time leaving his mark, acquiring a pair of starting-caliber players in Kristaps Porziņģis and Nickeil Alexander-Walker over a period of two weeks. The Hawks also bolstered their depth with additions like Luke Kennard and Caleb Houstan, on top of a much-ballyhooed NBA Draft trade that won't impact the 2025-26 season but provides optimism for the future.
Long story short, the Hawks have clearly improved their projected standing in the Eastern Conference, and they've done so in a season in which the pecking order is wide open behind the Cleveland Cavaliers at the top. With that improvement comes more scrutiny, however, and head coach Quin Snyder will have some interesting decisions to make when it comes to lineup construction and rotation composition this season.
To that end, we will take a look at Atlanta's current depth chart (in two different ways) before highlighting some of those prominent coaching decisions.
The Atlanta Hawks traditional depth chart
Position | Player | Player | Player | Player |
|---|---|---|---|---|
PG | Trae Young | Luke Kennard | Kobe Bufkin | Keaton Wallace (TW) |
SG | Dyson Daniels | Nickeil Alexander-Walker | Vit Krejci | Nikola Durisic |
SF | Zaccharie Risacher | Caleb Houstan | Jacob Toppin (TW) | |
PF | Jalen Johnson | Mo Gueye | Asa Newell | Eli Ndiaye (TW) |
C | Onyeka Okongwu | Kristaps Porzingis |
Atlanta Hawks modern depth chart
- Guards -- Trae Young, Luke Kennard, Kobe Bufkin, Keaton Wallace, Nikola Durisic
- Wings -- Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Zaccharie Risacher, Vit Krejci, Caleb Houstan
- Power forwards -- Jalen Johnson, Asa Newell, Jacob Toppin, Eli Ndiaye
- Bigs -- Onyeka Okongwu, Kristaps Porziņģis, Mo Gueye
Who comes off the bench for the Hawks?
The Hawks effectively have seven starters. Of course, that is the definition of a good "problem," but Atlanta returned its entire starting lineup — Young, Daniels, Risacher, Johnson, Okongwu — and added to it. For many teams, Porziņģis and Alexander-Walker would be starters, but somebody has to come off the bench in Atlanta. Is that the biggest deal? Absolutely not, but it's a decision that Snyder will need to make if everyone is healthy.
Who are the primary backups to Trae Young and Jalen Johnson?
Traditional depth charts don't fit this team well, leading to the dual depth chart listed above. Part of that is the Hawks don't have a "natural" backup point guard, but they do have a bunch of secondary ball-handling options. Kobe Bufkin is the closest thing to a natural point guard behind Young, but the Hawks will likely use lineups with Kennard, Daniels, Alexander-Walker, or even Krejci in an on-ball capacity.
The same could be true at the "power forward" spot, where the Hawks have a few combo bigs on the roster. Most prominently, 2025 first round pick Asa Newell is now in the mix, and youngster Mo Gueye returns after joining the rotation down the stretch of last season. Could the Hawks use Risacher at the 4? How ready is Newell to play NBA minutes? What about lineups with Okongwu and Porzingis together? We'll see.
Do the Hawks need another center?
The Hawks have the luxury of having two starting centers with Okongwu and Porziņģis. As a bonus, they can play together given the ability for both to shoot, but Porziņģis has an extensive injury history and, at minimum, may need to sit back-to-backs. Right now, Gueye is probably the default as the third center, particularly with Newell coming in as a rookie. Atlanta does have an open roster spot and reported interest in Al Horford, but it remains to be seen if the Hawks view adding another big as a clear priority.