Atlanta

Hawks

Youn will be back on the court for the first time since October 29, and he’ll surely face a minutes restriction after such a long layoff. Young’s return may cut into the production of Nickeil Alexander-Walker, but NAW is a hold until Young ramps back up. Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson could see their touches and usage drop as well.

Recalled from the Hawks’ G League affiliate on Wednesday morning, Young’s status for Thursday night has been upgraded. His availability affects multiple players, starting with Nickeil Alexander-Walker. While there will come a point when he returns to a reserve role, NAW will play enough to merit being rostered in standard leagues. Also, Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels will likely see their respective usage rates decrease once Young is a full go.

Young was assigned to the G League for a practice on Tuesday and has now been recalled to Atlanta, with the team set to practice on Wednesday. If Young’s knee responds well to a practice with the team, he could certainly make a return this weekend. They have a back-to-back on Thursday and Friday, so he’d likely only play in one of those games if he’s made available by then. If not, they host the Bulls on Sunday. Young may have his minutes limited in his first game back, but he has never come off the bench in his career, so Nickeil Alexander-Walker will likely return to a reserve role when the time comes. However, NAW saw plenty of usage early on before Young’s injury, so having Trae back in the lineup shouldn’t decimate his value. However, NAW, Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson will all take a slight usage hit when last season’s assists leader returns.

Young has been sidelined since October, and the expectation is that he will return this month. This move lines up with that and could indicate that Young is getting close to returning. Depending on how he responds to practicing with Atlanta’s G League affiliate, he could be back with the Hawks this weekend. They play on Thursday, Friday and Sunday this week, and there isn’t a clear target date at this point, but there is certainly a chance. When he returns, Nickeil Alexander-Walker will likely return to a reserve role when Young returns.

While Krejčí’s production has not been consistent enough to make him a factor in fantasy basketball, he’s had his moments. The 19 points scored on Sunday were the most in a game for Krejčí since November 22, when he dropped 21 on the Pelicans. Rostered in five percent of Yahoo! leagues, he has been close to a top-100 player over the past two weeks. However, with Trae Young (knee) returning to practice next week and the Hawks being off until Thursday, there’s no need to add Krejčí following his showing against the 76ers.

With his most recent triple-double, Johnson made history on Sunday. He’s now up to eight in his career, passing Mookie Blaylock (seven) for the most in franchise history. Also, Johnson’s streak of four straight triple-doubles ties him with Denver’s Nikola Jokić for the longest current run in the NBA. While there is some fear that Trae Young’s eventual return from a knee injury may lower Johnson’s ceiling, fantasy managers should not panic. The Hawks play three games in Week 9, starting with Charlotte on Thursday.

For the first time this season, Daniels has recorded a double-double in consecutive games. And in what was his most productive night of the season, the defensive ace notched a season-high point total while shooting well over 50 percent from the field. The question for Daniels is his ability to produce consistent offense when Trae Young (knee) is available, as the point guard is expected to resume practicing sometime next week. He’ll need to if he’s to get closer to his Yahoo! ADP of 38.

While Okongwu finished Sunday’s victory with his sixth double-double of the season and first since November 30, his field-goal percentage left something to be desired. The Hawks’ center shot 1-of-7 inside the arc while making 50 percent of his three-point attempts. That said, the overall stat line more than compensates for the poor shooting. With Kristaps Porziņģis (illness) out for at least two weeks, now is the time for fantasy managers to go all-in on Okongwu. Atlanta plays three games in the final four days of Week 9, starting on Thursday.

Initially questionable for Sunday’s game with a sprained right ankle, Alexander-Walker’s status has been upgraded. He’ll continue to serve as the starting point guard, as Trae Young is not ready to return from the knee injury that he suffered in late October. Alexander-Walker should be rostered in 12-team leagues.

Porziņģis has missed seven of Atlanta’s last eight games, with most of the absences occurring due to illness. While it’s unknown if this current situation is connected to the illness that short-circuited the end of his 2024-25 season with the Celtics, this is concerning enough that the Hawks have decided to shut Porziņģis down for at least two more weeks. Fantasy managers should continue to stash him in an IL+ slot, and Onyeka Okongwu will remain Atlanta’s starting center. He’s already rostered in most leagues regardless of format.