Grading How CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert Fit On The Atlanta Hawks

The Trae Young era is officially over in Atlanta - it's on to the future.

To be clear, the future of the Hawks may not involve either McCollum or Kispert. McCollum is definitely going to be dangled in other trade packages to acquire a big man like Anthony Davis. It's possible that Kispert sticks on the roster as part of the burgeoning young core that the Hawks are trying to build. However, both of these players should be able to help Atlanta's offense for as long as they are on the team.

Let's break down what each of them could bring to the Hawks.

CJ McCollum - PG/SG, 6'3, 190 lbs (13th season - 34 y/o)

Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, NBA, CJ McCollum, McCollu — Jan 6, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard CJ McCollum (3) drives to the basket during the second half against the Orlando Magic at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

Hawks fans will remember this from the NBA Cup Group Stage where McCollum hung 46 points on their heads, but he can really fill it up from deep. He has shot an above-average percentage from deep for every season of his career and he's a career 39.7% shooter from deep on 6.4 attempts a game. Unlike Luke Kennard, he does it on consistent volume. That makes him instantly useful on the court as a piece who can supercharge Atlanta's spacing. The Hawks are already a top-10 team in 3P%, but there's no question McCollum can help them further improve in this area.

Outside of a 26-game heater with the Pelicans immediately after he got traded there, McCollum has never really shot the ball well at the rim due to his size and lack of true athleticism. However, he does have some diversity in his shot profile. 39% of his shots this year come from midrange, which is in the 84th percentile among all guards. Calling him just a catch-and-shoot player is a little reductive considering that he can get to his spot throughout almost any area in the paint. He's also a pretty decent ball-handler who usually dishes out about 3-5 assists a night. McCollum doesn't try very many difficult passes, but he doesn't turn the ball over either. He's had a good TOV% (above the 75th percentile among all guards) since his sophomore season.

In terms of McCollum's impact, he was a stabilizing force for the Wizards' offense. Washington was 6.3 points per 100 possessions better when he was on the court. He helped organize the offense and kept turnovers to a minimum considering that their TOV% dropped by 3.1% in his minutes (98th percentile among all guards).

On defense, it's just not realistic to expect McCollum to be a big contributor. Surprisingly, he's actually been somewhat passable on that end despite slowing down physically. He's not much of a steals threat and the rebounding is non-existent. Still, the Wizards were somehow a slight positive in his minutes on defense. Opponents shot 2.6% from the field worse, 6.6% worse on corner threes and 7.5% worse from midrange with McCollum in the game. Again, that can't all be attributed to him, but it is the best a team has ever performed on defense in his minutes. He can play his role and has the intelligence to be in the right spot, but there are going to be nights where he cools down and gets roasted on defense during the same game.

McCollum gives the Hawks more shooting and better defense than they were getting from Young. His ceiling isn't Young and he doesn't have the flashiest skillset, but he's a great culture player who will certainly be an interesting option to pair alongside Jalen Johnson in the Hawks' offense. Overall, I do like this move because it makes sense on the court and the Hawks aren't owed any long-term money. It also doesn't take the Hawks out of using McCollum's salary in another move down the line.

Grade: B-

Corey Kispert - Wing, 6'6, 224 lbs (6th season, 27 y/o)

Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, NBA, Kispert, Corey Kispert, — Nov 22, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Washington Wizards forward Corey Kispert (24) drives to the basket against the Chicago Bulls during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Kispert is an intriguing case of wing development that stabilized into a passable NBA player rather than any sort of high-end outcome. He was already 22 coming out of Gonzaga and wasn't really expected to be a star. As a result, he's shown signs of being a decent contributing player, but just doesn't do it consistently enough to be a massive part of the Hawks' future.

Like McCollum, he shoots the ball pretty well. He doesn't have CJ's track record, but Kispert is much younger, owns a career 38.3% from deep and can play on the wing in a way that complments his teammates. He is also playing a more valuable position, so that has to be baked into Atlanta's interest in him. Kispert is actually capable of consistently playing the small forward role, so that gives the team some insurance if Risacher struggles in a game and needs to be taken out in favor of someone who can give them a spark.

Kispert isn't just a shot-chucker even if he is getting ample amounts of shots in DC. He's been very efficient this season (62.6 eFG%) and he's actually a decent finisher at the rim too. He's shooting 74% at the rim and 50% from midrange, both of which are around the 80th pecentile among wings. Although his point totals went down from 11.6 last season to 9.2 this year, his TS% skyrocketed from 58.4% last season to 64.9% this season. It's the second-best TS% of his career. Therefore, it's clear the Hawks are still getting a player who can help them in the right context. Specifically, he tends to make the offense overall better as he made the Wizards 9.4 points per 100 possessions better with him on the court last season and also improved their offensive rebounding rate. That hasn't really happened this season, but the potential exists for Kispert to use his skills in transition and quick trigger to put up some big performances.

The defense is a problem with Kispert and it's one of the reasons why the Hawks' defensive flaws probably won't benefit from having him on the court. However, there has been some notable improvements since then. Washington is actually a slight positive (2.5 fewer points per 100 possessions) on defense in his minutes and that suggests he's not a complete defensive liability.

I'm interested to see how head coach Quin Snyder balances his minutes out with Luke Kennard's and how Kispert pairs with Jalen Johnson/Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Kispert is the definition of a catch-and-shoot player, Is that a skillset the Hawks really need? You can never have enough wings who can shoot in order to improve how cohesive everything looks.

Kispert is a fine player, but he doesn't really score well in the halfcourt (-0.5 points per 100 plays in halfcourt, 47th percentile) and that could be a problem. I think this deal is a bit worse for the Hawks because Kispert is on a long-term deal. Taking that money back for someone who doesn't have a promising two-way profile can't be ranked very highly. He does a lot of helpful things from a shooting perspective, but I doubt he will be the pivotal piece if the Hawks are to return to the postseason.

Grade: C+

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