As we embark on a new Hawks season, it’s time to preview the members that will shape the next nine months or so.
The Hawks have all three of their two-way spots filled, but these contracts don’t count against the salary cap and so these spots are often subject to movement throughout the season. Still, two players are familiar faces to the organization, and a third has a decent amount of NBA experience for young player.
As such all three possess enough tangible upside that they could earn themselves
a full standard contract before the end of this upcoming season.
PG — RayJ Dennis
RayJ Dennis is back after signing a two-way contract with the team last December. He only appeared in four games with the Hawks, but in 31 games with the College Park Skyhawks, he averaged 24.3 points, 10.3 assists, and 2.1 steals per game while shooting 45% from the field and 37% from three.
Had Dennis had enough games to qualify for the G League leaderboard, his points per game and assists per game marks would have ranked sixth and second in the league respectively.
As a 6’1” point guard with no issue getting buckets against G League competition, the real question is how his skillset translates to the NBA level. There’s no doubt that his size is an obstacle to overcome on both ends of the floor, but after waiving Devin Carter and trading away Ryan Nembhard, there could be minutes available for the young point guard.
At media day, Dennis had this to say about how the Hawks are leading his development: “helping me get better and making sure I’m ready for any opportunity and hopefully a bigger role coming this year.”
PG/SG — Keshon Gilbert
The off guard to Dennis’ primacy on the ball, Gilbert is an athletic, downhill scorer who averaged 20.1 points per game in nine games with the Skyhawks.
“Me and RayJ [Dennis], we been knowing each other for a while,” he had to say at media day about his College Park backcourt partnership. “I worked out with him in St. Louis before. Played against him in college. Me and RayJ, we got history, so it was easy. We [are] two unselfish players, and at the end of the day both of us want to win. That’s why we click so good on the court, I feel.”
Gilbert signed a two-way contract with the Hawks just ahead of the deadline to do so on March 3rd. From that date until the end of the Skyhawks’ season, the team went 8-2 largely behind their explosive guard duo.
Can that carry over to the Hawks this season?
The biggest worry is that Gilbert is just a career 24% shooter from three in the G League as a 6’4” guard and often needs the ball in his hands to be most effective. I think he’s slated for another year mainly in the lower league, but his familiarity with the program should give him a leg up in his development journey.
SF/PF — Jalen Wilson
You can never have enough forwards named Jalen.
Wilson was drafted 51st overall to the Nets in 2023 after a standout career at Kansas before spending three seasons with the team — first on a two-way contract then later on a standard contract.
Wilson brings 176 games of NBA experience to Atlanta, all with the Nets. He wasn’t asked to do much with the ball in his hands other than to shoot catch-and-shoot threes (career 36% shooter from deep). Often deployed as a small ball power forward with Brooklyn, at 6’6” he may shift up and defend more opposing wings with the Hawks and Skyhawks going forward.
On why he chose to sign with the Hawks this offseason, Wilson responded at media day, “I just saw the group of guys and saw the work ethic. I saw how hard they played in the playoffs. The type of fit that I can have. A lot of good wings here. Playing around guys like Jalen [Johnson], he’s been able to be in a in a position to make guys better.”
If I had to choose, Wilson would be the player of this trio that has the best path to rotation minutes because of his prior NBA experience as well as his ability to fit into lineups as a 3-and-D wing or forward. Wilson even went so far as to label himself ‘3-and-D’ later on at the same press availability.
New additions like Lu Dort and Dorian Finney-Smith are among the most well-regarded NBA players of that archetype, so there may be no better examples than the ones he’ll be practicing every day against going forward.
