Nickeil Alexander-Walker Signs Four-Year, $62 Million deal with The Atlanta Hawks

Entering his seventh season, Alexander-Walker is only 26 years old, the golden age range for an athlete's proverbial prime. Only time will tell if the Hawks got a steal entering this period in his career.

Alexander-Walker, alongside his cousin, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, both decided to pursue college basketball careers in the United States for the 2017-2018 season, while SGA chose the high-profile SEC school Kentucky, Alexander-Walker didn't stray far geographically and chose an ACC school located in the Blue Ridge Mountains – Virginia Tech. 

Starting all 67 games over two seasons in the maroon and orange, Alexander-Walker made leaps and bounds entering his sophomore season for the Hokies, increasing his points per game by 5.5 (16.2) while finishing 3% more effectively from the floor (47%).

During the 2018-2019 season, Alexander-Walker helped lead the Hokies to a Sweet 16 contest against the Duke Blue Devils, a game in which he had nine points and five assists, coming up just short with a devastating 75-73 loss. 

His play during his sophomore campaign culminated with a first-round selection in the 2019 NBA draft. After being selected 17th overall, Alexander-Walker was immediately traded to the Atlanta Hawks. Before midnight struck, he was traded once more to the New Orleans Pelicans, with whom he would make his NBA debut. 

A serviceable role player is one of the most coveted free agency markets in the NBA. When many franchises want to keep their spending as low as they can, spending top dollar on a bench player is out of the question for some teams, while front-running contenders see these players as a necessity for churning out deep playoff pushes. 

Alexander-Walker offers that perfectly, contributing to the maximum for any squad he represents. He suited up for every game during his tenure in Blacksburg and has carried that mentality to the pros, averaging at least 23 minutes per game in his last two seasons, while playing in all 82 games for Minnesota during both seasons.

With the Timberwolves having their intentions set on letting Alexander-Walker hit the free agency market, the Atlanta Hawks quickly became a frontrunner to sign the Canadian role player. 

The Hawks look to add talent behind star guard Trae Young with the signing of Alexander-Walker, hoping to get the same serviceability that the Timberwolves were able to extract from him. With his hard work distilled even before venturing south into the States, Atlanta made the right decision in free agency.

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