The Atlanta Hawks have been busy this offseason, as they traded for Kristaps Porzingis and then dropped back 10 spots on NBA Draft night in a deal with the Pelicans to add what could be a highly valuable unprotected 2026 draft pick.
The Hawks kept that momentum going on Monday, when they finalized a sign-and-trade deal for Nickeil Alexander-Walker, agreeing to a four-year, $62 million deal with the Timberwolves wing, according to ESPN. The Hawks will add Alexander-Walker by using the trade exception they created last year when they sent Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans, and will send a 2027 Cavaliers second rounder and cash to the Wolves, per Sam Amick and Jon Krawczynski.
Alexander-Walker averaged 9.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game on 43.8/38.1/78.0 shooting splits last season for the Timberwolves. He’s been incredibly reliable for Minnesota, appearing in all 82 regular season games in back-to-back seasons, and played more than 20 minutes per game in both of the Wolves’ playoff runs to the conference finals.
The Hawks are hoping to become a playoff threat in a wide-open Eastern Conference this season, and now have an intriguing roster for Quin Snyder to utilize. With Trae Young starring in the backcourt, they’ve built out an impressive defensive roster around him with Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, Zaccharie Risacher, Onyeka Okongwu and Porzingis.
By fitting Alexander-Walker into the trade exception, the Hawks were able to sign Luke Kennard to a one-year, $11 million deal to add the sharpshooter to that wing rotation. That creates some strong optionality for Snyder in terms of rotations and they will look to mix and match to find the right combinations of talent to strike a balance on both ends of the floor.
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Brad Botkin
For Minnesota, Alexander-Walker is the casualty of a salary cap crunch after they agreed to long-term, big money deals with Naz Reid and Julius Randle prior to free agency opening. Now they’ll have to continue working on the margins to fill out their roster to maintain their position as one of the West’s top contenders.
