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Who should Atlanta target to fill out their remaining roster spots?
The Atlanta Hawks are one of the hottest stories in the NBA in the wake of
their moves over the last ten days.
Kristaps Porzingis, when healthy, is one of the most
impactful two-way bigs in the NBA. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is a pesky perimeter defender* with a reliable three-point shot off the catch (
42.1% over the past two seasons), and he will be a clean fit in Atlanta’s top seven.
Luke Kennard is known for his
deadly perimeter shooting, but can also shoulder some ball-handling duties too, posting a
3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio** while spending
about half of his minutes at point guard for the Memphis Grizzlies last season. Asa Newell — the 23rd pick in the draft — might be a ways away from making a dent in the rotation, but he projects as a versatile, multi-positional defender down the line.
*Him and Dyson will be a nightmare for opposing ball handlers when they share the floor together
**It’s also good to see that Kennard’s
assist:usage ratio (1.20) ranked in the 89th percentile amongst combo guards last season per cleaningtheglass – showing that he efficient with his touches as a playmaker
After
four consecutive Play-In Tournament appearances, Hawks fans have a lot to be excited about at the moment, and it’s easy to see why. This team, on paper, has a shot to compete.
That being said, Atlanta’s offseason checklist is not yet complete.
Extension talks for Trae Young and Dyson Daniels loom, however the more pressing matter for the Hawks is that they still have a couple more roster spots left to fill and not a lot of time left to fill them – as the free agent watering hole has all but dried up since the negotiating period opened on June 30th. The Hawks have 12 players rostered currently*, and after the Alexander-Walker and Kennard additions, they find themselves sitting about $7.5 million underneath the tax line – which has been an “electric fence” for Atlanta in terms of roster construction for
quite some time.
To fill out their roster while staying below the tax, the Hawks can sign three players to veteran minimum contracts, or – if there is a player they particularly like – use their $5.1 million bi-annual exception on a premium target, sign one player to a veteran minimum, and leave one spot on their roster open as they are only required to fill 14 out of their 15 available roster spots.
In terms of needs, I think the Hawks should definitely be looking to add a wing (specifically, a player that can defend 3s), as well as an adequate third big to soak up minutes if either Porzingis or Okongwu miss time. While I certainly wouldn’t be against the Hawks signing another ball handler, given the money they splashed on Alexander-Walker and Kennard (both of whom primarily play in the backcourt) as well as Kobe Bufkin’s presence on the roster, I’d imagine the front office is prioritizing depth on the wing and in the frontcourt rather than in the backcourt at this point in time.
Without further ado, here are a few free agents whom I would consider signing to fill out Atlanta’s roster.
Caleb Houstan (22) - 6’8”, 205 lbs.
Caleb Houstan is one of the best pure shooters still available on the free agent market, and I’ve been surprised that teams haven’t expressed too much interest in signing the three-year veteran – who is an unrestricted free agent after Orlando
declined to pick up his fourth-year option. He was the 32nd overall pick in the 2022 draft and is still just 22 years old, having
reclassified up a year prior to his senior year of high school.
Houstan is a
37.2% career three-point shooter and has improved his percentage in each season since entering the league, drilling 40% of his three-point looks on impressive volume (
7.6 attempts per 75 possessions) last season. He doesn’t offer much in terms of playmaking or inside the arc scoring, but he would certainly help space the floor for Atlanta’s offense with his
84.6% career three-point attempt rate.
While defense is not exactly his calling card, Houstan has got great size at 6’8” with a 6’11” wingspan, and was part of an Orlando Magic team with a strong defensive culture.
In 2023-24, Orlando posted a 114.7 defensive rating with Houstan on the floor, a mark which ranked in the 60th percentile relative to all players that season per
cleaningtheglass. Last season, Orlando posted a defensive rating of 112.0 with him on the floor, a mark which ranked in the 75th percentile relative to all players. Houstan was far from the primary reason for Orlando’s stifling defense during these minutes, but the reason for including these numbers is that they show that when surrounded by other capable defenders, he can be a part of strong defensive units.
I view Houstan as a solid, rotation-level NBA player (with upside!), and he’d be a strong fit on an Atlanta team with enough playmaking to make the most of his offensive skillset.
Javonte Green (32) - 6’5”, 220 lbs.
A six-year veteran who has suited up for four teams over the course of his career, Javonte Green might be a little long in the tooth, turning 32 on July 23rd, but he is a player who gives his all whenever he takes the floor, and would be a great end of the bench addition for a Hawks team in need of wing defenders.
Green is an absolute nuisance on the less glamorous end of the floor, using his 7’ wingspan to make life difficult for whomever he is matched up against – as evidenced by his career steal and block percentages sitting north of the
2% mark. He is a versatile defender capable of guarding 1-4*, but is typically deployed on opposing teams forwards, making him a strong defensive fit in lineups featuring at least two of Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Zaccharie Risacher, and/or Jalen Johnson. Green’s D-EPM** ranked in the
61st percentile last season, and though he played just nine games in 2023-24, his D-EPM ranked in the
87th percentile in 2022-23, and in the
86th percentile in 2021-22.
*Posting an ‘A-’ or better grade in
BBall-Index’s defensive versatility metric in three out of the last four seasons
**A one-number metric for defense. More on EPM
here.
Green doesn’t offer much on the offensive end as a hit-or-miss, low volume three-point shooter (
33.8% from three on
three attempts per 36 for his career) who gets most of his buckets on spot-up attempts, cuts and putbacks. Still, he is capable of knocking down an open three, is an adequate rim-finisher and an excellent offensive rebounder for his size.
On both ends of the floor, Green can be counted on to do the little things. I think he’d be a great get for Atlanta on a minimum contract.
Lamar Stevens (28) - 6’7”, 230 lbs.
Stevens is another player in the Javonte Green-mold – a no-frills, defense-first wing with a shaky outside shot. He has played for three different teams (Cleveland, Boston, Memphis) since going undrafted back in 2020, and began last season in the G League playing for the Motor City Cruise before the Memphis Grizzlies signed him to their full-time roster in late February.
At 6’7”, 230 pounds, Stevens has the size to guard most forwards and has ranked in the
72nd percentile or better in D-EPM in each of the past three seasons. While he’s rated quite poorly in Bball-Index’s
ball screen navigation metric over this span, he’s ranked in the 69th percentile or better in their
perimeter isolation defense metric, lending credence to his abilities as a capable wing defender.
While he’s played limited minutes over the past two seasons in Memphis (
437 in 2023-24,
155 in 2024-25), his ability to impact the game on the defensive side of the ball has been on full display. In 2023-24, the Grizzlies allowed
nine fewer (!) points per 100 possessions with Stevens on the floor, posting a defensive rating of
108.7 per cleaningtheglass – a mark which ranked in the
93rd percentile relative to all players that season. Last season, the Grizzlies allowed
8.4 fewer points per 100 possessions in Stevens’ minutes, posting a defensive rating of
109.3 with him on the floor which ranked in the
91st percentile relative to all players.
Now these are admittedly small sample sizes against less than stellar competition (particularly last season), but the point stands, Stevens is not someone that you can bully on the defensive end of the floor.
Offensively, Stevens is not a perimeter threat, converting just
28.7% of his three-point looks (
2.8 attempts per 36) over the course of his career, and falls short in the playmaking and ball-handling departments. Still, if Atlanta is looking for an end of the rotation player that can stifle opposing 3s and 4s in a pinch, Stevens is worth a serious look.
Chris Boucher (32) - 6’10”, 200 lbs.
Chris Boucher is a player I would seriously consider using the $5.1 million bi-annual exception on if there is competition for his services (as I anticipate there will be). The 32-year-old has spent the last seven seasons in Toronto, and though he might not be the defender that he once was, I’d still trust him to provide Atlanta with solid minutes at either the 4 or the 5 next season.
The biggest appeal for Boucher is that he is one of the few remaining free agents that is capable of playing the ‘5’ while still providing the Hawks with some juice from beyond the arc, as he converted
36.3% of his three-point attempts last season (
8.2 attempts per 75 possessions (!)). Through the Porzingis addition, as well as the countless hours put into developing Onyeka Okongwu’s three-point shot over the past few seasons, the Hawks have clearly shown that they value floor-spacing bigs, making Boucher an obvious target.
While Boucher won’t be afraid to let it fly from beyond the arc, he is also really impactful on the offensive glass, with his on/off offensive rebounding impact ranking in the
88th percentile or better in four out of the last six seasons per cleaningtheglass, and is an adequate finisher inside the restricted area.
On the defensive end, Boucher makes his presence felt at the basket. He’s posted a
5.1% block rate for his career, and opponents have shot
below league average at the rim in his minutes in five out of the past six seasons per cleaningtheglass. While his defensive impact has waned over the past few seasons, he’s got a lot of NBA experience under his belt, and I think he’d be a great fit alongside Jalen Johnson or Mouhamed Gueye in the Hawks frontcourt.
Given the respective injury histories of Atlanta’s frontcourt players*, Boucher would be a tremendous third big to have on the roster.
*Jalen Johnson has played in
56% of Atlanta’s regular season games over the past two seasons. Kristaps Porzingis has played in just
60% of his regular season games over the past two seasons.
All statistics used are from basketball-reference.com, nba.com/stats, cleaningtheglass.com, dunksandthrees.com and bball-index.com. Salary info is from Spotrac and RealGM.
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