The NBA season is less than two months away, but it’s time to see how each team stacks up against the other and how the conference races might play out. The offseason is at a standstill and no major moves are likely to be made between now and the start of next season, so each team’s rosters are likely to match the ones they’ll start the season with.
One of the most interesting teams to discuss in terms of their future is the Atlanta Hawks. This offseason, Atlanta made the decision to part ways with Dejounte Murray and put more pieces around Trae Young. They acquired Dyson Daniels and Larry Nance in the Murray deal and they selected French forward Zaccharie Risacher with the first overall pick. They tried to improve their defense and size this offseason and it’s safe to say they’ve succeeded. Will that translate into more wins and a return to the NBA Play-In Tournament or the playoffs? We’ll have to wait and see.
Last year, the Hawks had one of the most underrated players in the NBA in Jalen Johnson, who had a breakout season that could have ended with him winning the NBA Most Improved Player award if he could have stayed healthy. Johnson was an easy choice for Most Underrated Player last year, but who is he this year?
I think you could still argue that Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu should be considered, but I’m going in a different direction. The Hawks acquired Dyson Daniels from New Orleans and he has a chance to be one of the most impactful additions in the NBA. If the Hawks want to pull off an upset and compete for a top-six spot in the Eastern Conference, then Daniels is going to have to emerge as an impactful two-way starter for the Hawks.
The Hawks needed to improve their defense and get bigger everywhere and Daniels does both. He’s already one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA and is a legitimate All-Defensive candidate. The questions for Daniels are on the offensive end. Can he make open three-pointers and be a secondary playmaker when playing with Young? Obviously, Trae Young is going to handle the ball most of the time, but one of the reasons they traded for Dejounte Murray back in the day was because of how he got blocked against the Miami Heat in the 2022 playoffs. If teams can put pressure on Young and force the ball out of his hands, can Daniels help the offense? If he can, the Hawks’ ceiling is high.
A 2024 Panini Rising Star, Daniels recorded 1.4 steals per game during the 2023-24 campaign, which ranked 10th in the NBA, and posted a .341 steal percentage last season, which ranked fifth in the league (min. 50 GP). He recorded a career-high six steals at Utah on Nov. 25, becoming the only sophomore to steal at least six steals in a single game last season and one of only two freshmen or sophomores to do so, joining Victor Wembanyama. He recorded all six steals in the first half, tying him for the most steals in a single half in the NBA last season and tying him for the second-most steals in a single half in New Orleans history.
Selected eighth overall in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Pelicans, the 6-foot-1 guard has career averages of 4.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 20.0 minutes in 120 games (including 27 starts). Prior to the Pelicans, he spent the 2021-22 season with NBA G League Ignite, where he was named to the 2022 Clorox Rising Stars roster.
Daniels has been one of the least-discussed additions in the NBA this offseason, but he has a chance to make a real difference for Atlanta. That’s why I think he’s the Hawks’ most underrated player this season.
