Updated Salary Cap/Roster Outlook For The Atlanta Hawks After Dorian Finney-Smith Trade

How did the trade for Dorian Finney-Smith affect the Atlanta Hawks salary cap and financial flexibility?

Jan 31, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Dorian Finney-Smith (2) warms up before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In what should be the final piece of business for the Atlanta Hawks before the season officially begins, Atlanta traded Ryan Nembhard and Buddy Hield to the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday and got back veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith. The Hawks are now at 15 players for their 2026-2027 roster and are ready to begin training camp next week. What kind of role Finney-Smith will have is still unclear, but this is the roster the Hawks are going to enter the season with, and we will see where it takes them in a very competitive Eastern Conference.

The Hawks had been in a roster crunch for the past two months following the trade that brought in Nembhard and Lu Dort, but that is now behind them. So what does that mean for the season's financial picture and what about next summer?

Updated look at the Hawks salary cap/financial picture

Apr 23, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder on the sideline against the New York Knicks in the first quarter during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

1. Jalen Johnson-$30,000,000
2. Dyson Daniels- $25,000,000
3. CJ McCollum- $21,000,000
4. Luguentz Dort- $17,722,222
5. Onyeka Okongwu-$16,100,000
6. Nickeil Alexander-Walker- $14,403,710
7. Dorian Finney-Smith- $14,196,974
8. Jock Landale- $14,000,000
9. Corey Kispert- $13,975,000
10. Aaron Wiggins- $9,028,038
11. Kingston Flemings- $7,348,680
12. Zuby Ejiofor- $3,453,360
13. Asa Newell- $3,399,480
14. Mouhamed Gueye- $2,406,205
15. Henri Veesaar-$1,357,763

That is $198,549,512 for the 15 players on the roster, plus the dead money on the books for waiving Devin Carter nearly two weeks ago.

Atlanta is now $1,778,488 away from the luxury tax, $14,327,306 away from the first apron, and $26,998,306 away from the second apron. Because they used a prior season's trade exception to acquire Aaron Wiggins this summer, they are hard-capped at the first apron.

Another thing to know is that while Finney-Smith has three-years and $41 million left on his contract, the final two years are non-guaranteed, meaning he is essentially an expiring contract. The Hawks have CJ McCollum, Dort, Finney-Smith, Landale, and Gueye as expiring salary, totaling more than 60$ in expiring salary, giving the Hawks flexibility to make a trade of some kind if they desire.

It also means the Hawks could have a large amount of cap space to operate with next summer. Right now, Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Corey Kispert, Aaron Wiggins, Kingston Flemings, Zuby Ejiofor, Asa Newell, and Henri Veesaar are the only guaranteed contracts for next season. Atlanta would have around $54 million in cap space next sumer to sign free agents or make trades.

This is the kind of optionality that Hawks President of Basketball Operations Onsi Saleh has been intent on creating from the moment he got the job and Atlanta has the kind of flexibility to keep building their team how they want and striking big when the time is right. The Hawks are in one of the more favorable positions in the league when it comes to financial flexibility and that did not change with the trade for Finney-Smith.

Could any more moves be coming in the future? I think for now, the Hawks are going to ride with the roster they have and adjust if they need to with the amount of expiring contracts they have available to move.