Hawks make Nickeil Alexander-Walker realization Jazz should have made years ago

Nickeil Alexander-Walker's career has really taken off since the Utah Jazz traded him in 2023. From there, he developed into a dependable two-way wing in Minnesota, then proceeded to become a jack-of-all-trades wing in Atlanta. While everyone loves a late-bloomer story, it's painful to know that he could have done this in Utah.

Alexander-Walker has come along so well that the league announced him as a finalist to win the Most Improved Player.

His case is pretty airtight. He had already proven himself a solid rotation player in Minnesota, but in his first year in the ATL, he averaged 20.8 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.4 rebounds, all while shooting nearly 46% from the field and nearly 40% from three. Not All-Star numbers, but not too far off from them either. Not to mention what he brings defensively.

There's no guarantee he would have put up those numbers with the Jazz. Plus, one could argue that NAW would not have had the same career arc if he had stayed in Utah. However, the Jazz have one of the best late bloomers in the NBA right now with Lauri Markkanen, so it's fair to believe that if they had held onto Alexander-Walker, they could have tapped into his talent too.

In fact, last year, he admitted how big a part Utah played in turning his career around when he had pretty much become a journeyman. It's a shame they never got to see it through, as they saw him as nothing more than a throw-in in that blockbuster Mike Conley Jr. trade.

Okay, so you can't win them all. When it comes to a four-year rebuild, hardly anyone handles it perfectly - though OKC did a pretty phenomenal job - and if letting Alexander-Walker go was their biggest mistake, oh well.

But there's another reason why this issues becomes more painful for Utah.

Alexander-Walker is the exact player archetype Utah needs

Utah plans to make some noise next season. They have a pretty stacked team as currently constructed, plus they will likely get both a high lottery pick and a fully healthy Walker Kessler.

But just like any other contender, they need two-way players, meaning NAW would have fit perfectly on their team. Title contenders love having guys who can do a little bit of everything on their team to put next to their best players. Had Alexander-Walker remained a Jazzman, he would have been that guy.

The Hawks paid Alexander-Walker primarily to be the guy he was with the Timberwolves. The fact that he outplayed his deal shows just how much everyone - including his current team - slept on his talent. The Jazz can be comforted in knowing that nobody saw this coming, but it hurts knowing the opportunity had been right there.

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