Buddy Hield’s future with Hawks takes new turn

The Atlanta Hawks are riding high after a breakout campaign and prosperous start to the offseason, but it is not all smiles in the front office. President of basketball operations Onsi Saleh has some difficult roster choices to make, beginning with Buddy Hield. He is not ready to decide the veteran 3-point specialist’s future quite yet, however.

Atlanta and Hield have agreed to push back the guaranteed deadline on his contract, according to senior NBA insider Chris Haynes. The organization is already committed to paying the 33-year-old sharpshooter $3 million for next season, but that number will increase to $9.7 million once the revised due date passes. He also carries a $10.09 million player option for the 2027-28 campaign.

Hield boasts a 39.5 percentage from deep during his 10-year NBA career, but he only played seven regular season games for the Hawks and logged just 13 total minutes in the playoffs. The former No. 6 overall draft pick has long-range prowess and plenty of experience to offer the squad’s young core, but Saleh may not want to allocate nearly $10 million for an aging talent who plays sparingly and occasionally gets exposed on defense.

Fortunately, the Hield situation is one of the only dilemmas this franchise has faced lately. Few teams have progressed more in the last year than the Hawks have. The San Antonio Spurs’ historic ascension during the 2025-26 season overshadowed the significant headway that Quin Snyder’s group made in the Eastern Conference.

Atlanta won 46 games for the first time in a decade, was the only team to hold a series lead over the NBA championship-winning New York Knicks and just assembled arguably one of the best rookie classes of the 2026 NBA Draft (at least on paper). Considering the ongoing uncertainty in the East, and the roster’s overall potential, a conference finals appearance seems feasible.

The Hawks still have work to do, however. They must thoroughly weigh this impending Buddy Hield decision.

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