3 Big Wild Cards for the Atlanta Hawks as Training Camp Grows Closer

The Atlanta Hawks still have to make a couple of moves to get their roster down to the regular season limit of 15, but their work has largely been done this offseason.

The Eastern Conference got deeper and more talented this offseason thanks to some blockbuster trades and players returning from injury. The Atlanta Hawks retained some key members of last season's team (CJ McCollum and Jock Landale) while drafting three rookies and making a couple of trades to improve their depth. Will that result in a return to the postseason and perhaps their first series win since 2021?

For that to happen, they might need a surprise season from a couple of wildcard players on the team.

Devin Carter

Do I think that Carter is going to start or play heavy minutes for the Hawks this season (if he is still on the roster by the time training camp starts)? No, but the defensive ability that he has flashed during his first two seasons in the NBA makes him an intriguing addition to what should be one of the best perimeter defenses in the NBA.

Atlanta already has Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Lu Dort on the perimeter, but if Carter can do enough offensively to stay on the court, he would be another guard that the Hawks could use on another team's top ball-handlers and give them more options on defense.

Henri Veesaar

The Hawks entered the offseason needing to address the center position and add at least 1-2 players to go along with Onyeka Okongwu. Atlanta opted to bring back Jock Landale and then draft Henri Veesaar in the second round of the NBA Draft.

It was an up-and-down Summer League for Veesaar, but he showed why he was considered a first-round talent in this year's draft. He has the size that Hawks fans have been clamoring for at center, and he fits Quin Snyder's offense with his ability to space the floor and rebound.

The wildcard with Veesaar is his defense. Can he guard in space enough to be on the floor during his rookie season?

The Hawks could not replace Landale when he went down with an injury late in the season, but Veesaar gives them an intriguing option to turn to in that scenario or if he shows a lot of growth between training camp and the end of the regular season.

Kingston Flemings

Unlike Veesaar, Flemings is already expected to have a big role with the Hawks as the backup point guard, but his talent and ability could change how good this Hawks team is.

Flemings has a special passing ability and should thrive in the Hawks' system. His ability to create shots and get to the basket in transition could make the Hawks an even more lethal fast-break team than they already were.

All rookies struggle in their first season, but Atlanta did not have a backup point guard with this kind of raw ability to tap into. If Flemings can raise the ceiling of this Hawks bench and give them a legitimate pass-first point guard, something that is missing on this roster- Atlanta could get much better when it comes to shot creation in their half-court offense, something that they struggled with against the Knicks in the postseason.

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