Hawks, guard Dyson Daniels agree to 4-year, $100 million rookie contract extension: Source
The Atlanta Hawks and Dyson Daniels have agreed to a four-year, $100 million extension, league sources confirm to The Athletic. The extension will kick in for next season and will keep the reigning Most Improved Player in Atlanta through 2030.
Leading into Monday’s 6 p.m. ET deadline for fourth-year players to sign contract extensions, the Hawks had pushed for Daniels to take a five-year deal in the range of $23 million a year, league sources said. In the end, Daniels took one less season on the contract with a slightly higher average annual value.
Atlanta’s intention was always to keep Daniels in town for the long term. According to league sources, the Hawks expressed to Daniels that even if the two sides had failed to agree on an extension, it would not have signaled the end of their relationship. Actually, far from it. The team planned to match any offer sheet if the 22-year-old were to hit restricted free agency in 2026, even if he were to receive one that blew away any number the Hawks were offering over the past few months.
Now, both sides have security.
Daniels is at the center of one of the NBA’s most fascinating squads. The Hawks traded for All-Star big man Kristaps Porziņģis this summer, signed sharpshooter Luke Kennard and signed-and-traded for another defensive-minded guard, Nickeil-Alexander Walker. They bring back four-time All-Star Trae Young, potential All-Star Jalen Johnson, 2024 No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher and promising young big man Onyeka Okongwu. Most projections — whether based on analytics, Las Vegas odds or the views of random fans sitting at home — have the Hawks improving from their 40-42 record a season ago.
The Hawks have lauded Daniels from the time they acquired him as part of a trade that sent All-Star point guard Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans in the summer of 2024. Head coach Quin Snyder raved about Daniels’ defensive abilities after the deal, predicting he could help the 6-foot-8 guard become one of the league’s top stoppers while also helping him come along on offense.
The most extreme version of that prediction occurred. Daniels immediately broke out in his first year with Atlanta, averaging career highs in points (14.1), rebounds (5.9) and assists (4.4) while shooting better from the field and from 3 than ever. He turned into the league’s most sure-handed thief a season ago, leading the NBA in steals at 3.0 a game. His 229 total takeaways were the most in a single season since Hall of Fame point guard Gary Payton went for 231 in 1995-96.
The leap earned Daniels accolades: the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, an appearance on the all-defensive first team and a second-place finish in defensive player of the year voting, trailing only Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley, who won the trophy for the first time.
