2024-25 Atlanta Hawks Roster Preview: Dyson Daniels

The former Pelicans guard brings plenty of upside to a team desperately in need of his services, but there are significant questions.

Apr 27, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder Guard Aaron Wiggins (21) handles the ball while defended by New Orleans Pelicans Guard Dyson Daniels (11) during the fourth quarter of game three of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-Imagn Images / Matt Bush-Imagn Images

Age:  21 (3rd season)

Height, Weight: 6'7, 199 lbs

2023-24 Averages:  5.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.4 steals on 44.7%/31.1%/64.2% splits (61 games)

Career Averages: 4.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists on 43.5%/31.2%/64.5% splits

Calling Dyson Daniels a "good" perimeter defender is an incredible understatement. Frankly, he's a force of destruction.

Ever since his rookie season, Daniels has been a positive contributor on defense. At 6'7, he has the length to contest shots on the perimeter. However, his ability as a defender isn't just because he has that length. He uses it very well and has a good sense of defensive timing. He frequently gets into passing lanes and racks up plenty of steals as a result. His 1.4 steals per game was tied for sixth-best in the NBA. It's all the more impressive considering his role as a rotation player for the Pelicans.

His strength as a defender is also impressive. Daniels can hold his own against the No. 1 option on offense. Last season, he held Anthony Edwards, De'Aaron Fox and Luka Doncic to under 25 points. It is fair to say the Hawks have not had a rotation defender of his caliber in a while. Furthermore, they definitely have a need for a player like him. Atlanta allowed the fourth-most threes last seasonand conceded the third-highest percentage from deep. To put it bluntly, anyone that can hold up on the perimeter would be helpful for the Hawks' defense.

It is true that Daniels played next to good defenders in Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III, but his ability as an isolation defender is not just a product of New Orleans' defensive scheme. Barring an unforeseen jump from someone else, he should be the Hawks' best perimeter defender.

His elite defense comes with a catch. He has not really shown much progression on the offensive end through two seasons. Daniels is neither a particularly strong FT shooter (career 64.5% from the charity stripe) or a respectable three-point shooter. Interestingly, he hit39.2% of his attempts from the corners, which is a little better than league average, but not enough to establish himself as a legitimate threat from deep.

His handle needs work, which takes away from his legitimately solid passing chops. Being the primary playmaker in a lineup might be too tall of a task to consistently execute successfully, but he is capable of finding openings and hitting open teammates. On Atlanta's roster, he does not need to be much of a playmaker. Jalen Johnson and Trae Young should be more than enough to cover playmaking duties.

That being said, his offensive game being so limited might severely limit what he can do on defense. He was able to show what he looked like in a larger offensive role as a member of the Australian national team during the 2024 Olympics. Things were somewhat better, but it's hard to make a 1-1 comparison between Olympics shooting numbers and NBA shooting numbers.

I had this to say about his Olympics after the tournament:

"The biggest thing that I was hoping to see from Daniels is growth as a shooter. Throughout most of the tournament, his three-point shot was effective. He shot 38.5% on 3.3 attempts a game and showed a quick trigger."

In a nutshell, the success of Dyson's tenure in Atlanta will be his development as a shooter. If he can progress to being a league-average shooter, he can stay on the court enough to really make an impact as one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. If he cannot, he will be relegated to a reserve role. He has a legitimate opportunity to start next to Young in the upcoming season. It will be interesting to see if he can meet the challenge.

Best-Case Scenario: Daniels becomes a league-average (35%) shooter from deep on decent volume and continues playing excellent defense. His scoring increases to 10 points per game. He takes hold of the starting shooting guard spot and puts himself in consideration for an extension down the line.

Worst-Case Scenario: Injuries or a lack of ability to fit into Snyder's offense keep Daniels from developing as an offensive player. His defense is good, but it comes in limited action due to the Hawks not being able to give him a heavy dose of minutes. He becomes more of a rotation guard rather than a starter.

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