The Hawks have had a somewhat quiet offseason. The new-look front office has only acquired two notable players in the former of Patty Mills and Wesley Matthews. However, the biggest moves were trading John Collins and Dejounte Murray‘s extension.
Murray choosing to forgo free agency and sign an extremely team-friendly deal was a bit shocking, but it speaks to the impact Quin Snyder has had within the organization. The Hawks have been monitoring Pascal Siakam, but the club is more than willing to enter the 2023-24 campaign with its current roster.
I imagine Siakam is on the back burner and a pair of contract extension-eligible players is on the front of the Hawks’ minds. Onyeka Okongwu and Saddiq Bey are up for new deals, so what would they look like?
Onyeka Okongwu
Jake has already projected what an OO contract could look like — four years, $55 million. However, I think that may be a bit under-market. He used comps such as Wendell Carter and Kevon Looney, so I won’t use those. Instead, Isaiah Stewart‘s four–year, $64 million deal seems like a better mark. Over the past couple of seasons, Stewart averaged 11.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.
Okongwu is one of the most versatile players in the league on the defensive end and has improved dramatically offensively since entering the league. His jump shot is coming along slowly, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he turned into a baby Bam Adebayo if given a full-time role. Needless to say, his next contract won’t be cheap, but if the team moves Clint Capela, it won’t matter.
Saddiq Bey
Bey showed his value in his short stint with the Hawks, rebounding well and shooting the ball effectively from three-point range. After joining Atlanta, Bey knocked down three’s at a 40% clip on 5.0 attempts per game in 25 contests while grabbing nearly five rebounds per game. That’s a good figure for his size and position. For a comp, look no further than his teammate De’Andre Hunter, who signed a four-year, $90 million contract extension.
Bey has better numbers in nearly every metric outside of field goal percentage, but they are eerily similar players. Bey is much more of a three-point threat and rebounds more effectively, but Hunter is the better defender. A lot of people thought the Hawks overpaid for De’Andre Hunter, but that’s just the way of the NBA contracts nowadays.
Contract predictions
Onyeka Okongwu: 4 years, $72-80 million
Saddiq Bey: 4 years, $64-72 million
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