We might be getting a little too ahead of ourselves since summer 2026 still has about a month left, and the start of the 2026-27 NBA season is still over two months away. But that hasn't stopped the folks over at ESPN, particularly Bobby Marks, from putting out a preview of the NBA free agency 2027 outlook.
The topic of teams with cap space is Marks' first order of business in the preview (ESPN article link here), as he notes that "nearly a third of the league" is expected to enter the 2027 offseason period with notable cap room. That list of team includes Western Conference teams like the LA Clippers, Golden State Warriors, New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies, and Sacramento Kings, while out East we're looking at a group of the Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, and the subject of this piece: the Atlanta Hawks.
Hawks’ bright 2027 outlook could make them an even greater threat to the Raptors
Marks highlights the Warriors being "the headliners," with Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler potentially entering the open market, but it's the Atlanta Hawks who Marks believes can become the "the wild card from that group."
The Hawks can enter summer 2027 with up to a whopping $50 million freed up, which is definitely more than enough to work with to help Atlanta push their case further to becoming an even more threatening East team. While the Toronto Raptors are obviously my main focus, I’ve been keeping an eye on what the Hawks have been quietly building over the past year. I liked their offseason moves last summer, and even as they went through some restructuring and added new faces for the 2025-26 campaign, I still believe what they’ve got brewing in ATL is something to watch out for.
There's a reason why I'm not reading much into the Bucks, Nets, and Bulls also being named in that East category. All due respect to those franchises but I wouldn't exactly look at them as being on pace with the Hawks in the fringe contender category. Whether the Hawks want to make significant upgrades next summer using their advantageous cap situation or triggering a star trade, they are certainly in prime position to do so.
Without sounding like such a pessimist or counting the Toronto Raptors short, anytime you have a direct counterpart with a ton of momentum (both in the present and future) on their side — that has to be something you pay close attention to.
In the Raptors' defense, they’ve got something interesting brewing with the Kawhi Leonard reunion. But before we can draw any solid conclusions, we’re still waiting on the league investigation to be resolved. Only then can we be 100% sure about the Raptors’ future prospects. Even with the Hawks’ modest improvements this summer and other East squads making drastic moves, like the 76ers adding LeBron James — Toronto is still stuck in a sense of limbo.
Atlanta clearly has big ambitions for the future and already looks like a solid squad that could keep Toronto and other teams out East on their toes. Maybe they’re just setting the stage for something bigger next summer, and the Raptors need to be ready.
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