The negotiation period for NBA free agency is just days away. It opens the next important transaction period for the Hawks to upgrade their roster after last week’s NBA draft.
The Hawks have already extended veteran guard CJ McCollum to a one-year deal and exercised the fourth-year team option of forward Mouhamed Gueye.
They also agreed to acquire fifth-year wing Aaron Wiggins from the Thunder, and the team pushed back the deadline to guarantee the contract of veteran sharpshooter Buddy Hield to Sunday.
But the Hawks still have other decisions to make.
The team has yet to sign its three draft picks to their contracts. But they have 11 players signed to standard deals and have three available two-way spots.
As of now, their first-round picks, Kingston Flemings and Zuby Ejiofor, should be expected to sign rookie-scale deals, increasing the number of players on guaranteed deals to 13. It remains to be seen how they sign Henri Veesaar, but they could use the second-round pick exception or a two-way deal, which is more common.
The Hawks also could decline the club option, reportedly worth $24.3 million, on forward Jonathan Kuminga. If they don’t decline, Kuminga’s contract remains as is. If they decline, then Kuminga becomes an unrestricted free agent. The Hawks can renegotiate a deal, of course, or let Kuminga walk.
Reports have said the Hawks have shown interest in the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown. Since Kuminga’s contract has one year remaining, the Hawks could opt in to use him as a potential piece of a deal.
Hawks president of basketball operations Onsi Saleh said the team didn’t believe they were only one player away from real contention. He also said the team wouldn’t skip steps.
So, a move to acquire Brown would hasten the team’s retooling timeline.
As of Sunday, the Hawks are projected to be $8 million below the luxury tax threshold and another $16 million below the first apron. Once the deal to acquire Wiggins is finalized July 6, the Hawks will become hard-capped at the first apron.
The Hawks do have two trade exceptions they’ll need to use before the end of September. They have a $6.7 million exception from the deal that sent Clint Capela to Houston last July. They also have a $4.5 million exception from their trade of Kobe Bufkin to the Nets in September.
Also to use are $11 million and $2.3 million exceptions, respectively, from their trades of Luke Kennard and Vit Krejci in February. The Hawks could use those exceptions to acquire another big man to give them even more depth, size and rim protection in the front court.
So, as things move forward, the Hawks and the other 29 teams can agree to trades in principle. They can begin negotiating with free agents beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday. They can begin signing those free agents beginning at 12:01 p.m. July 6.