NBA free agency: Hawks continue active offseason with Nickeil Alexander-Walker acquisition in sign-and-trade
The Atlanta Hawks were occupied during the offseason, because they exchanged for Kristaps Porzingis, then fell 10 places in the NBA draft evening in an agreement with the Pélicans to add what could be a very precious choice of repechage unprotected in 2026.
The Hawks kept this momentum on Monday, when they finalized a sign and exchange agreement for Nickeil Alexander-Walker, accepting a contract of $ 62 million over four years with the Timberwolves wing, according to ESPN. The Hawks will add Alexander-Walker using the trade exception they created last year when they sent Dejounte Murray to Pélicans, and will send a second round of the riders in 2027 and species to the Wolves, according to Sam Amick and Jon Krawczynski.
Alexander-Walker collected an average of 9.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game on 43.8 / 38.1 / 78.0 separate last season for the Timberwolves. It was incredibly reliable for Minnesota, appearing in the 82 games of the regular season during the consecutive seasons, and played more than 20 minutes per match in the two series of the Wolves to the conference final.
The Hawks hope to become a threat to the playoffs in an Eastern Conference at great opening this season, and now have an intriguing list for Quin Snyder to use. With Trae Young with the rear area, they built an impressive defensive list around him with Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, Zaccharie Risacher, Onyaka Okongwu and Porzingis.
By adapting Alexander-Walker with the exception of trade, the Hawks were able to sign Luke Kennard to a one-year contract of $ 11 million to add the sniper to this wing rotation. This creates a high optionality for Snyder in terms of rotations and they will seek to mix and correspond to find the right talent combinations to find a balance at both ends of the soil.
2025 NBA Free Agency Tracker: Latest movements, classification of players with Myles Turner, Russell Westbrook on the market
Brad Botkin
For Minnesota, Alexander-Walker is the victim of a wage ceiling crisis after accepting long-term agreements and largely with Naz Reid and Julius Randle before the opening of the Free Agency. Now they will have to continue working on the margins to fill their list to maintain their position as one of the best contenders in the West.
