Three Reasons The Dyson Daniels Extension Is a Massive Win For the Atlanta Hawks

The best way to build a championship contender is by signing promising young players early. While there's some risk baked into the decision if those players decline or get injured, the upside of getting the player to sign early usually pays off. The Hawks showed their belief in this strategy by inking Jalen Johnson to a five-year, $150 million dollar contract last offseason. While he got hurt during the season, he was on pace for his best season as a pro. There's an excellent chance that the Johnson contract turns into a steal for the Hawks as soon as next season.

The Dyson Daniels contract has a chance to be another steal for the Hawks.

Daniels and the Hawks agreed to a five-year, $100 million dollar contract extension today right before the deadline. He will not enter restricted free agency next summer and the Hawks will have him under contract as their starting SG throughout the 2029-30 season. Importantly, Dyson will be only 26 years old by the time this contract expires. If he plays well throughout the duration of this deal, there's no reason why he couldn't earn a third contract with Atlanta or elsewhere.

However, despite the price tag, there are three reasons why this contract should be viewed as a huge success for the Hawks.

Buying Into His Breakout

Dyson Daniels, Daniels, Atlanta Hawks, Hawks, NBA — Oct 11, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama (7) passes the ball as Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) defends during the second quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

In recent years, the Most Improved Player award has become a good predictor of future success. Outside of CJ McCollum (2015-16), every MIP winner since then has made at least one All-Star team. Multiple have gone on to be All-NBA players and the obvious peak outcome is Giannis Antetokounmpo, who won the award in 2016-17.

This isn't to say Dyson is poised for a Giannis-level breakout. However, this contract would be a success if Dyson made one All-Star team on it. Finding All-Star talents on contracts below $30 million per year is getting harder and harder to accomplish. Daniels' deal likely won't exceed $30 million in any of its years.

Daniels' improvement also can't be discounted. He was always a great defender, but he turned into one of the best perimeter defenders in basketball this season. Leading the league in steals (229) and steals per game (3.0) while also taking on the top perimeter option on most nights is a pretty good argument to be considered at the top of that list. Furthermore, his offense took noticeable steps forward. He shot a career-high 34% from deep on 3.1 attempts per game despite starting the season shooting poorly from deep. He shot above 40% from deep for the month of December after settling into his new role and even shot 52.4% from deep amidst a blazing-hot February.

He also had his best season from a health perspective, playing in 76 games after failing to eclipse 65 games in each of the prior two seasons. Improving on both ends of the court and staying healthy are two excellent ways to keep getting paid in the NBA - Daniels seems poised to keep doing that in 2025-26.

$100 Million Isn't What It Used To Be

Atlanta Hawks, Hawks, Dyson Daniels, Daniel — Apr 18, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) dribbles past Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

On paper, $100 million dollars sounds like a lot for a player who was a rotation player before the past season and hasn't sniffed an All-Star team. However, he's made an All-Defensive First Team. That's more than players like Josh Giddey, CJ McCollum, Immanuel Quickley and Jabari Smith Jr can say. All of these players have signed $100+ million dollar extensions in their careers.

Put another way, Daniels' contract will stay under 15% of the cap throughout the entirety of its lifespan. It overlaps nicely with Johnson's deal while also giving the Hawks enough room to consider a Trae Young extension if they let the contracts of Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kennard expire. It also continues a growing trend of not having bad money on their books. While teams like the Philadelphia 76ers have two supermax deals and one max deal without being in a clear contention window, the Hawks have spread out their salary cap on multiple players that have age on their side.

Cap health is something that general manager Onsi Saleh clearly prioritizes and he's not compromising it by signing Daniels. There haven't been any player or team options reported in the deal, so the Hawks won't have to worry about a contract situation with Daniels for at least the next four seasons.

The Hawks Can Push The Eject Button

Dyson Daniels, Daniels, Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, NB — Apr 8, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) shoots the ball over Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) during the second quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

While this is obviously difficult to discuss in the wake of signing a new deal, the cap environment of the NBA forces teams to think about how easy contracts are to escape from if they backfire. Fortunately, Daniels' deal should still be fairly tradeable even if he takes a step back next year or in the future. He's a wing, so his archetype of player will always have some value in the modern NBA. Furthermore, his defense has remained consistently excellent regardless of what context he plays in. A rebuilding team looking to make a jump into competing for the playoffs could easily sell themselves on the idea of Daniels being their lead perimeter defender.

As mentioned above, his contract is only $25 million in APY. That doesn't mean it will come out to exactly $25 million per year, but being under $30 million in yearly salary makes a contract much more tradeable. It's easier to aggregate salaries to get up to Daniels' number because he's making under that threshold and the Hawks could actually get some value from a Daniels trade if it came to that.

There is also a world where the Hawks could get involved in a trade for a star player disgruntled with his situation and use Daniels' contract as part of the trade package. It'd likely have to be for a top-20 player, but the possibility does exist and shouldn't be dismissed considering how frequent NBA player movement is.

Even though there are some possible ways this deal could backfire, the Hawks should largely feel encouraged by their ability to lock up a member of their ascending young core for the foreseable future. There aren't many players who are as good as Dyson at his age - here's hoping Saleh's shrewdness pays off.

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