Hawks and Nickeil Alexander-Walker agree to 4-year, $62 million deal

The Hawks have agreed to a four-year, $62 million deal with Nickeil Alexander-Walker on Monday night, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Initially, it seemed the Hawks wouldn’t have to use their $25.3 million traded player exception because NAW’s deal could’ve fit into the mid-level exception if the first year of the deal was worth $14.1 million and escalated from there.

However, per Sam Amick and Jon Krawczynski, the Hawks will use their big trade exception and send a second-rounder, along with some cash, to the Timberwolves.

Regardless, the Hawks got immensely better with Alexander-Walker in the fold. He’s just 26 years old and plays a winning brand of basketball, something the Hawks should welcome with open arms. I’ve talked about what his defense, shooting, and secondary playmaking can provide Atlanta:

Another exciting facet of a prospective deal is that Alexander-Walker has played in all 82 games in each of the last two seasons, while shooting 44% from the field and 39% from beyond the arc. Durability and multiplicity are valuable attributes in today’s NBA, and it all boils down to just playing winning basketball; that’s what NAW does.

He’s not a pull-up shooter, but he’s reliable in catch-and-shoot situations, which should be plentiful with Trae Young generating offense. Alexander-Walker isn’t the kind of playmaker that can carry the load offensively, but he’s a reliable perimeter player that can initiate offense to get primary ball-handlers into different spots.

His defense is most intriguing for the Hawks, though. He and Dyson Daniels would prove to be a menacing duo on that end of the court. He’s got quick hands, an effective closeout, and is quite savvy when it comes to reading offenses.

The Hawks still have their mid-level exception and are  around $17-19 million under the luxury tax. This has the makings of being the best and deepest team of Trae Young’s tenure in Atlanta.