Here is How The Latest Pair of Signings Could Affect The Atlanta Hawks Roster

The Atlanta Hawks have signed forward Javan (JAY-vin) Johnson and guard Dwight Murray Jr., the team announced today.

Johnson owns two seasons of NBA G League experience, suiting up for the Santa Cruz Warriors (2023-25), averaging 11.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 23.9 minutes in 97 games (69 starts), including Tip-Off Tournament and regular season.

The 6-6 forward appeared in three games with the Hawks at the NBA 2K26 Summer League in Las Vegas, averaging 7.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in 18.4 minutes. He also owns two seasons of international playing experience, playing for Gladiadores de Anzoategui of the Venezuelan SLB (2023-25).

The Decatur, Alabama, native appeared in 127 games (96 starts) across five collegiate seasons, suiting up for Troy (2017-19), Iowa State (2020-21) and DePaul (2021-23). He owns collegiate career averages of 9.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 27.3 minutes.

Murray Jr. appeared in 43 games (29 starts) with the College Park Skyhawks during the 2024-25 season (including Tip-Off Tournament and regular season), averaging 9.0 points, 5.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 23.9 minutes of play.

A member of Atlanta’s NBA 2K26 Summer League team, the 6-0 guard appeared in three games, tallying 4.3 points in 13.6 minutes.

Undrafted in 2023, Murray Jr. spent the 2023-24 campaign with KK Mornar (Montenegro), appearing in 28 games (27 starts) across three leagues (Liga ABA, Europe Cup, BLC Qual), tallying 9.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 21.2 minutes.

The Austell, Georgia, native saw action in 145 games (114 starts) across five collegiate seasons, suiting up for Incarnate Word (2018-20) and Rider (2020-23). A 2022-23 All-MAAC First Team selection, Murray Jr. owned collegiate career averages of 12.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 32.0 minutes (.425 FG%, .356 3FG%, .831 FT%).

Could they challenge for roster spots?

While Murray and Johnson provide good skillsets, the other recent signings the Hawks made have a better chance of making the roster. Last month, the Hawks announced they signed former Magic forward Caleb Houstan and Rockets center N'Faly Dante.

Dante and Houstan make more sense on this roster due to the Hawks need for a third center and need for more shooting.

It was reported that Dante's contract was for two years and $4.4 million, but according to ESPN's Bobby Marks, the deal only carries a partial guarantee of $85,300 in year one. Per Luke Adams at Hoops Rumors, "Matching the offer sheet would have been a very low-risk move for the Rockets, who would have only been on the hook for that $85,300 partial guarantee if they had decided to waive Dante before the start of the regular season. But Houston didn’t have enough room below its first-apron hard cap to match the offer without making a corresponding roster move to shed salary."

While it was assumed that Houstan was the 15th man on the roster (and he still might be), he was not signed to a regular contract. According to Keith Smith at Spotrac, Houstan's deal with the Hawks is an Exhibit 10 deal with the Hawks.

What exactly is an Exhibit 10 contract?

Per hoopsrumors, "Exhibit 10 contracts are one-year deals worth the minimum salary. They don’t come with any compensation protection, but can include an optional bonus. Exhibit 10 contracts don’t count against a team’s salary cap during the offseason. However, they would begin to count against the cap if a team decides to keep a player on an Exhibit 10 contract into the regular season, essentially converting his deal to a standard one-year, minimum-salary deal."

If neither Houstan or Dante impresses in training camp, the Hawks will have two spots open if they want to move on, but I doubt that either Johnson or Murray will be the guys that replace them.

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