The Atlanta Hawks May Have Quietly Solved a Problem That Haunted Them Last Season

The Hawks had a couple of glaring issues last season, but they may have found a fix for some of them

Apr 18, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder reacts during the first quarter of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Atlanta Hawks have been quietly addressing their team this offseason, while many of their playoff competitors in the Eastern Conference have been making big moves to try to upgrade their teams. Atlanta brought back CJ McCollum, Jock Landale, and Mouhamed Gueye, drafted Kingston Flemings, Zuby Ejiofor, and Henri Veesaar, and made a couple of nice, under-the-radar trades for Aaron Wiggins and Devin Carter.

The Hawks are far from a perfect team, but they may have solved one of their issues that plagued them towards the end of the 2025-2026 season.

Better bench?

Jun 23, 2026; New York, NY, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver greets the eighth pick in the 2026 NBA draft, Houston guard Kingston Flemings after he was selected by the Atlanta Hawks at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Landale was solid as the backup center, until he was taken out by a dirty play from Magic center Goga Bitadze late in the year that forced him to miss the playoff series against the Knicks.

After Kuminga and Landale, though, it was pretty bleak for the Hawks' reserves. Gabe Vincent, Corey Kispert, Zaccharie Risacher, Mouhamed Gueye, Keaton Wallace, Buddy Hield, and Tony Bradley could not give the Hawks the production that they needed. Atlanta ranked 17th in the NBA in bench scoring during the regular season and 9th in bench scoring in the playoffs.

While the Hawks are going to be relying on some of these same players, they are also hoping that some new players will help improve their bench unit.

The two players that they are counting on the most are going to be Wiggins and Flemings.

Flemings could represent a massive upgrade at the backup point guard spot over Vincent. He does lack the experience that Vincent had, but he is quicker and has far more upside as a shot creator and defender. Is it going to take time for Flemings to adjust to the level of the NBA? Certainly, but by January or February, he could become one of the top backup guards in the NBA.

Wiggins was already impactful as a player off the bench for one of the NBA's premier teams in Oklahoma City. Wiggins has the ability to defend multiple positions and is a very good three-point shooter, two skillsets the Hawks really value in all of their players. He can take some of the tough defensive assignments off the bench and play with just about anuy lineup configuration the Hawks throw out there, which was not something they could always do last season.

Landale might not be the rim protecting center that Hawks fans have dreamed of to go along with Onyeka Okongwu, but his ability to stretch the floor, play with physicality, and rebound make him a valuable player off the bench and he has a chance to pick up right where he left off before he got injured.

Atlanta is also hoping that it can get some improvement from other players as well. Can Devin Carter show that he is a rotation level player after an uneven start to his career in Sacramento? Despite the latest injury news, can Gueye take another step in his development in year four? What about young players like Asa Newell, Zuby Ejiofor, or Henri Veesaar? It is probably too much to ask for rookies to make major impacts, but they could.

While any of Zaccharie Risacher, Buddy Hield, or Corey Kispert could be traded before or during the season, Atlanta could use one of them stepping up (preferably Risacher) to improve their team. This could be a make or break season for Risacher.

I think Flemings and Wiggins are going to be huge for the Hawks' second unit, and having Landale back will make things easier as well. If Atlanta could have one or two more players from that next group to step up and be consistent rotation players, this team should have a much better bench unit.

There is a lot of projection to go along with this, but there is a scenario in which the Hawks second unit problems got solved this offseason with these additions.