Stop Blaming Draft Picks For Hawks’ Unsolved Center Depth Crisis

The Atlanta Hawks moved aggressively this offseason to patch up the roster holes they couldn’t ignore. They drafted Kingston Flemings and Henri Veesaar to inject fresh talent, and they traded for Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Ryan Nembhard to tighten the second unit. CJ McCollum and Jock Landale are back in the fold, with McCollum moving into the starting lineup. Yet, despite all that activity, one massive issue remains unsolved heading into the season. The team still lacks a reliable backup center behind Onyeka Okongwu.

The Knicks Exposed a Fatal Flaw

Size was the killer when the Hawks faced the New York Knicks in the postseason. According to Sports Illustrated, observers immediately questioned how Atlanta would handle the sheer size of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson playing together. The answer came out clear: they couldn’t. The matchup against Towns and Robinson turned into the biggest mismatch of the entire series. Robinson absolutely dominated the Hawks’ second unit with ease, scoring points and grabbing rebounds while Atlanta had no real answer. This happened because the team simply didn’t have a true option behind Okongwu at the center spot.

When Jock Landale went down with an injury, the front office scrambled to sign Tony Bradley and even tried to use Mouhamed Gueye at center. But Gueye doesn’t have the frame or the skill set for that role. The Hawks don’t even view him as a center. That gap leaves the team vulnerable against any squad that runs two big men on the floor.

Why Size Matters in the East

The Eastern Conference is packed with teams that will punish this specific weakness. Several squads have center duos that will give the Hawks serious problems if they get on the court. If a team can put two big men on the floor at once, the Hawks’ second unit will suffer. Robinson proved that a single elite big man can break the backup line. A duo would be even worse. The roster additions of Flemings and Veesaar offer hope, but can they carry the load now? Sports Illustrated suggests that Veesaar might evolve into an excellent or, minimally, a reliable center. Per Sports Illustrated, Flemings possesses the potential to become a star point guard and is expected to handle the reserve role this season.

But development takes time, and the immediate threat is real. The Hawks need a solution now, not in two years. The gap between Okongwu and the next man up is too wide to ignore. Without a true backup, the team cannot survive a long playoff run against elite size. They’ll get run out of the gym if they don’t address this.

The Path Forward for Atlanta

The front office must find a true center who can play minutes without Okongwu on the floor. They cannot rely on Gueye or small-ball lineups forever. The return of Landale helped, but his health is a risk. If he gets hurt again, the team has no plan. The draft picks Flemings and Veesaar are smart steps. They address the long-term need. But the short-term problem is the one that wins or loses games this year. Atlanta needs to stop the bleeding against big men. The Knicks showed the world what happens when the backup center spot is empty. The Hawks must fix this before the next playoff series starts. The rest of the East is waiting to exploit this gap.