Sometimes, changes is for the best, and that could end up being the case for former Brooklyn Nets draft pick Jalen Wilson.
Wilson spent the past three years in Brooklyn.
Now, he will look to prove himself with one of the Nets’ Eastern Conference rivals who happened to make the postseason in 2025-26, while Brooklyn extended its drought to three seasons and face a similar outlook in 2026-27.
Ex-Nets F Jalen Wilson Joins Hawks
GettyFormer Nets forward Jalen Wilson is heading to the Atlanta Hawks.
“The Atlanta Hawks and Jalen Wilson have agreed to a two-way deal, league sources told @hoopshype,” HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reported in a post on X on July 20. “Wilson averaged 7.4 points per game in three seasons with the Brooklyn Nets.”
The Nets selected Wilson with the 51st overall pick of thee 2023 draft.
He started 27 of the 176 games that he appeared in during his three seasons in Brooklyn, peaking at 9.5 PPG during the 2024-25 season.
That season, he started 22 games and appeared in 79 in total. Like the Nets, the Hawks have shaken up their wing group in the past year, which could create a path to a standard contact if Wilson proves himself worthy.
His playing time dropped significantly this past season from the year before.
That and the Nets’ current roster setup led to Wilson being a free agent to this point, but he contributed during his tenure.
Scotto previously reported on the Nets declining to tender qualifying offers to Wilson or 2022 first-round draft pick Ochai Agbaji, who remains agent. Brooklyn’s roster remains in a state of flux with preseason more than three months away.
Jalen Wilson Drew International Interest
GettyJalen Wilson could get outside interest if things do not work with the Hawks.
Wilson’s deal with the Hawks keeps the former Nets prospect in the NBA and, what’s more, stateside.
He drew international interest before landing in Atlanta.
“Olympiacos Piraeus has expressed interest in Jalen Wilson,” Be Basketball’s Matteo Andreani wrote on July 18. “Olympiacos is very interested and ready to make an offer for the player, whose priority is the NBA.
“A new adventure in the EuroLeague is a possibility, but his future now lies between the NBA and the EuroLeague.”
This may not be the end of the story, though.
Wilson will try to work his way up through the Hawks’ G League system, which they have leaned on in the past. But if that does not work, he could land on the international calling list once again before all is said and done.
Nets Looking to Remain Flexible
GettyNets GM Sean Marks is taking a deliberate approach with the roster.
The Nets’ decision on Wilson and Agbaji encapsulates their entire approach to this offseason, including with Michael Porter Jr.
Nets general manager Sean Marks made it clear that he is fond of Porter. However, Marks also asserted that the Nets will not be overzealous in trying to secure the NBA champion as he enters the final year of his contract.
Porter is obviously a more significant decision than Wilson and Agbaji combined.
The underlying mindset is the same, though, in that the Nets will not hamstring themselves with their outlook for the 2026-27 season as uncertain as it is at this point of the NBA calendar
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