Atlanta, GA
Dale Earnhardt Jr Bewildered by Denny Hamlin’s Atlanta Strategy
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has voiced his confusion over Denny Hamlin’s unconventional and cautious strategy during the recent NASCAR race at Atlanta. Deviating from his usual approach of patiently hanging back and making a late charge, Hamlin’s tactics this time appeared ineffective and ultimately led to a wreck on the final lap.
Discussing the race on his well-regarded podcast, Dale Jr. Download, he dissected Hamlin’s race performance in detail.
“Well, again, this will all be a nothing burger if he advances. But that was not, that was out of character for Denny. A guy that’s like… it was just out of character I don’t know how else to say it,” he said.
For those familiar with Hamlin’s style, this shift was indeed unexpected. Typically, Hamlin bides his time at the back during superspeedway races, only making his move when he senses the moment is right.
Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
However, in Atlanta, Hamlin managed to inch up to nearly 20th place but then chose to back off once more, betting on a potential crash that would shake up the field.
Atlanta’s narrower track compared to behemoths like Daytona or Talladega contributed to his lack of movement up the pack.
“It’s harder for that strategy to work at Atlanta because the track width,” Earnhardt Jr. explained. “At a place like Daytona, Talladega, where you would use that same style maybe, you’ve got more room to kind of make your way forward and it was the logjam that made it, you know, he’s sitting there going ‘I’ve tried this strategy before, it is what it is, I had a bad qualifying, I’m not going to be in a hurry. Hopefully, there’s a lot of attrition.’
“There wasn’t. That didn’t work in his favor.”
Compounding Hamlin’s issues, the expected “big one” crash that usually thins out the leaders didn’t happen. There was a moment, involving Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe at the conclusion of Stage 1, but this wasn’t enough to disrupt the field as much as Hamlin had hoped.
This left the Florida driver in a passive position throughout much of the race, waiting for an opportunity that never arrived.
“He never went on the attack. It was like he wasn’t going to make that move until the big crash happened, right? He was going to hope that the crash took a lot of people out of this race and making that 20 points more attainable.
“So, I don’t know man, I was a little surprised by it, I think he will probably still advance. If he doesn’t, then this is a bigger story,” Earnhardt Jr. added.
Hamlin’s gamble finally culminated in his own wreck during the overtime in turn four,
“So, look, they didn’t have the attrition and the crashes that Denny was anticipating, of course, the one they have he’s in it off turn four.
“When he’s sitting back there with 40 to go and you’re watching the race and how the race has been going and how I guess, when you’re watching the pack and how the pack has been behaving, you’re thinking, ‘I don’t know how in the hell he thinks he’s going to drive up through this,’” Earnhardt Jr. finished.
When the Hawks were picking at No. 23 last night, one of the players that was on the board and thought to be in consideration was North Carolina center Henri Veesaar. Veesaar was one of the top centers at the point in the draft and would have been a totally reasonable pick for Atlanta at No. 23. However, Atlanta selected Saint John’s big man Zuby Ejiofor, and Veesaar slipped out of the first round altogether.
Veesaar continued to take an unexpected tumble in this year’s draft and was facing a lot of criticism about his decision to leave college for the NBA, spurning lots of NIL money in the process and falling farther than anyone thought.
His fall ended at No. 52, however, when the Atlanta Hawks traded up from No. 57 to select him. Veesaar becomes the third draft pick for the Hawks in this year’s draft, joining a class that includes Houston PG Kingston Flemings and the aforementioned Ejiorfor.
Now that the Hawks have another big man on their roster, how does he fit and what kind of grade should Atlanta get for selecting him
First thoughts on Veesaar
There was some criticism about the Hawks taking Ejiofor last night, not because of his skillset necessarily, but because he was another undersized big.
Veesaar stands at 6’11, 227 LBS and he is going to give the Hawks size on the interior, strong rebounding, and can stretch the floor as a big, which is a skill that the Hawks value.
After transferring to North Carolina from Arizona, Veesaar proceeded to have the best season of his college career. He started 31 games for the Tar Heels and averaged 17.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and 2.1 APG while shooting 62% from the floor and 43% from three. Veesaar had decent volume as a three point shooter as well averaging three attempts per game.
There is a lot to like about how he is going to translate to the NBA level. There is one big concern with Veesaar and it is his defense.
If there is one on-court reason Veesaar slipped this far in the draft, it is because he is quite a poor defender. He lacks quickness and lateral movement as a rim protector, does not operate well in space, and is going to be targeted heavily at the next level. For him to become a viable big in the NBA, even if just a backup, Veesaar is going to have to become a much better defender.
Still, his skillset on offense is a huge plus this late in the draft.
The Hawks are going to have some decisions to make with their roster and there is no guarantee that Veesaar is going to make it on a guaranteed contract. I think this is a wonderful pick though by the Hawks, as he fills a huge need and was the best player available by far.
The Atlanta front office continues to preach best player available and this selection is further proof of that.
Grade: A-
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In a shocking turn of events up North in Minnesota, Julius Randle was just moved – for nothing.
In fact, the Timberwolves had to trade down in the 2026 NBA Draft in order to offload Randle’s negatively-viewed contract. A once All-NBA 2nd-Team player, Randle’s fall from grace is nothing short of jaw-dropping.
Amidst the loss of a seriously talented player who fell victim to a league enthralled with cap flexibility, the Timberwolves can only look on in envy to the Atlanta Hawks – the very team that stole their apparent alternative out from under them last summer.
Julius Randle’s shocking negative value in the new CBA
Ten years ago, Julius Randle’s contract (adjusted for inflation, at least) would not have resulted in a negative-value trade as it did in 2026.
With the new collective bargaining agreement, teams must now be ultra-focused on creating cap flexibility for themselves moving forward – especially when other players are due a pay day on their squad.
The Timberwolves have a large chunk of their cap space eaten up by Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert – a very talented duo at the guard and center positions. This leaves the rest of the roster limited room to work with. Needing to extend Ayo Dosunmu (which happened immediately after the Randle trade), Randle was ultimately dealt away, purely to create room for the rest of the roster.
While the Wolves lost Randle, it unfortunately could have all been prevented if they had made another choice last season – choosing Nickeil Alexander-Walker over the older Randle.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s value transcends his presence on the court
Outside of the tantalizing abilities that NAW exhibited on a nightly basis en route to earning MIP honors in the 2025-2026 season for the Hawks, his value is far, far greater thanks to the steal of a deal that Onsi Saleh negotiated last summer.
At nearly the same time that Julius Randle was inking the very contract that led to his parting from the Wolves, Alexander-Walker was agreeing to a deal that would secure his place in Atlanta on an incredibly team-friendly deal through at least 2027-2028.
Alexander-Walker’s $15M/yr deal was less than half of what Randle agreed to. A year separated from both contracts being finalized, and the consensus around NAW and Randle couldn’t be more disparate.
While Randle’s inefficient offense hindered his squad time and again, Alexander-Walker’s two-way play headlined by his stellar perimeter defense and lights-out three-point shooting skyrocketed him towards near All-Star levels of play.
Thanks entirely to both the Timberwolves’ inability to recognize the gift right in front of them and the Hawks’ keen eye to spot a diamond in the rough, the two franchises are miles apart this Summer. While Atlanta vies for contention atop the wide-open Eastern Conference, the Timberwolves may be struggling to retain their franchise superstar.
Will Anthony Edwards finally be on the move after a saga of blunders from his front office? Doubtfully anytime soon. But when his time in Minnesota inevitably reaches its conclusion, the Hawks must be ready – the Atlanta native Antman no doubt sees the Hawks as a top alternative.
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