Which Offseason Acquisition Will Have the Biggest Impact for the Atlanta Hawks in 2024?

There are a few newcomers who could make a big impact for the Hawks in 2024.

Jul 30, 2024; Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France; Canada guard Jamal Murray (4) moves the ball around Australia centre Jock Landale (13) and Australia point guard Dyson Daniels (1) in a men's group stage basketball match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Although the NBA off-season is not finished, it seems likely that the Atlanta Hawks are going to stand pat with what they have. As things currently stand, the Hawks have seven new players on their roster: Larry Nance Jr, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Dominick Barlow, David Roddy, Cody Zeller and Keaton Wallace.

The Hawks acquired Nance, Daniels and Zeller as a part of the Dejounte Murray trade. They also got E.J Liddell in that deal, who they sent to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Roddy. Barlow and Wallace are both players with NBA experience that the Hawks signed onto their roster. Of course, the biggest acquistion that the Hawks made this offseason was using their pick at the top of the draft on French wing Zaccharie Risacher out of JL Bourg.

At this moment, the player that will make the biggest impact for Atlanta in 2024-25 has to be one of Zaccharie Risacher or Dyson Daniels. Barring injury, both of them should be in the starting lineup for Atlanta and have the clearest path to minutes. Even ignoring Okongwu/Capela's presence on the roster, Nance is not capable of being a full-time starting center. Ditto for Zeller.

Wallace is on a two-way contract, so projecting anything more than a 2023-24 Vit Krejci level of impact would be difficult at this stage. That's not to say that Krejci was not impactful for the Hawks, but I do think the Hawks brought in players who project to have a bigger role in 2024-25. To be clear, he showed a lot of nice things in his Summer League stint with Atlanta. Our very own Jackson Caudell had this to say about Wallace's Summer League performance:

Wallace had such a good first game this sumer that he was awarded a two-way contract right after it. Wallace started at point guard right after Durisic went down and he played well. His on-ball defense was very good, his three-point shooting was strong, and he showed good passing ability. Is there a path for him to play this year with Atlanta? If Bufkin can't stay healthy, I would not totally discount it. Either way, Wallace performed well this summer and earned his new two-way contract.

Roddy is a big wing who can get some backup minutes, but I also do not expect a sizable role for him next season. He fell out of Phoenix's rotation last season and the Hawks have a good amount of depth at the wing positions. He's also not a great perimeter defender, which would be a problem for Atlanta.

With that established, here are the three newcomers who I believe will make the biggest impact for the Hawks in 2024-25.

#3 - Dominick Barlow/Larry Nance Jr.

I couldn't decide between Nance or Barlow for this spot because I'm very high on what Barlow brings, but I respect the veteran contributions that Nance brings. He's a good passer with a high basketball IQ. He can also reliably hit open threes, which is an interesting fit with Young as the main ball-handler. I do not think he can be the team's starting center for an extended period of time, but I cannot ignore all the good things that Nance does. He's a very helpful player to have.

That being said, I am very, very intrigued by the upside of Dominick Barlow. It might seem hypocritical to say that Wallace, who is on a two-way contract, probably will have a limited role for Atlanta while Barlow will have a bigger one. However, I believe their skillsets are different and Barlow's happens to align better with Atlanta's deficiencies.

I had this to say about Barlow when the Hawks signed him on a two-way deal:

In his rookie year, he played sparingly and spent most of his time in the G League. As he grew stronger, he started to find his groove and averaged 16.1 points and 8.4 rebounds in 18 games with the Austin Spurs. He then found his way into the Spurs' rotation at the end of the year, capping off a late-season breakout with 21 points and 19 rebounds against the Dallas Mavericks in the final game of the year. For some reference, he would have been the youngest NBA player to ever record a 20-20 statline with one more rebound.

He continued in a similar role in 2023-24, but showed clear signs of improvement. He upped his G League points per game to 23.7 to go along with 7.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. Barlow's production got him more looks at the NBA level, where he showed a good motor and quick feet to keep up with smaller players. Although undersized for a center at 6'9, he's a much better fit as a wing. Atlanta should keep him at that spot and work on developing his offensive game. There's some signs of a three-point shot (made three out of his nine three-point attempts) and he has touch as a shooter. Barlow frequently uses his floater around the rim and found some success with it, albeit limited. Around the rim, he hit 58% of his shots to pair with a shooting percentage of 48.3% from 3-10 feet and 48% from 10-16 feet. Both are better than league average.

The Hawks were overall one of the better rebounding teams in the NBA last season, but struggled to come up with defensive rebounds (21st in the NBA). Their rebounding will also take a dip if they decide to move Okongwu into the starting lineup. Okongwu is an average rebounder, but Capela is a legitimately good one. It's fair to expect a dip in that area and Barlow could mitigate some of that. He's also a good cutter with a sense of where to be - Young can definitely get a great deal out of a player like that. If they play Barlow as a wing, which would definitely be an experiment, I think there's a slim chance he could become the backup to Jalen Johnson. At small-ball center, he could stick as an exciting backup to Onyeka Okongwu. Barlow showed legitimate defensive upside, growing as a rotation and perimeter defender on a lackluster Spurs defense. In Hunter's absence, the young big man could assert himself as a defensive presence on a roster in need of it. I also think there's upside with his shot that Atlanta can tap into. Barlow's youth (21 years old) is definitely going to give the coaching staff some concerns about playing him, but it would be worth giving him some run in the non-essential parts of the regular season to see if he can hold up.

#2 - Dyson Daniels

I actually think the gap between Daniels' impact and Risacher's impact in 2024-25 could be smaller than anticipated, but Risacher projects to be a much better offensive player while still being a solid defender. Although his time in Paris did not end on the best note, Daniels averaged11.3 points, 4.3 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game prior to Australia's elimination at the hands of Serbia. He was one of the main options on the Australian team after barely playing in his previous stint with the team.

I wrote about Daniels' performance in the Olympics in more detail here, but he showed great defense, good passing and confidence in his shot. Those are all good signs for the upcoming season, where he should play a big role as one of Trae Young's main backcourt partners alongside Bogdan Bogdanovic. The Hawks clearly value him as general manager Landry Fields had this to say about him after the Murray trade:

"His defensive versatility is something that really stands out. His shooting has gotten better, it is something that we think can get an uptick in him as time goes on with his development. So, we are able to help him stay the course defensively and then give him some offensive adjustments there."

Look for Daniels to firmly establish himself as either a starter or top rotation piece in the upcoming season.

#1 - Zaccharie Risacher

Drafting a player with the first overall pick and not giving him starting minutes would be very surprising. Even though he's only 19 years old, Risacher played well in his two Summer League games against NBA-level competition. Our very own Jackson Caudell had this to say about Risacher's stint in Las Vegas:

In those two games Risacher averaged 14.5 PPG on 39% shooting from the field and 25% from three. Risacher also averaged 5 rebounds per game. While his shooting efficiency needs to improve, he flashed impressive skills as a passer, his low turnover percentage, and his skills as a defender. It was not a perfect Summer League, but I think Risacher had a solid two games.

The shooting numbers do not look great, but I would be very surprised if they do not improve. Risacher was a good shooter in his final season at JL Bourg (38.7% from three-point range on 3.7 attempts a game). He'll be operating as a connective passer next to Young and Jalen Johnson, will take on challenging defensive assignments on the perimeter and generally be asked to hit on his open looks. Establishing himself as a reliable part of the starting lineup should be the expectation in 2024-25 - no other acquisition has anywhere that level of expectation or guaranteed opportunity.