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2025 Free Agents - Mouhamed Gueye

Gueye was drafted 39th by the Hawks in 2023, as a pretty raw prospect that didn't really start playing basketball until he was around 16 years old. He has good size for a big at 6'10" with a 7'3" wingspan, and moves well for his size. Despite posting some pretty poor efficiency numbers in '24-'25, he has a clean-looking jumper, and some skills to either face up and shoot over defenders or put the ball on the floor and go by them. He has a high motor on the offensive glass and can get putbacks. Defensively, Gueye needs to improve his rotational awareness on defense, as he's often late to help. However, he posted very good steal and block rates in '24-'25. He has some lateral mobility but probably not enough to defend on the perimeter at the NBA level. Gueye is an interesting player given the flashes of skill he has already shown, his physical measurements, and his potential for improvement based on how new he is to the game. He barely played at all as a rookie in '23-'24, but got real minutes near the end of the '24-'25 season after the Hawks suffered injuries to Jalen Johnson and Larry Nance, Jr., even starting in 28 games and both Play-In games.

Summary

Gueye's $2.2 million salary for 2025-2026 is non-guaranteed, and if he is waived he will become an unrestricted free agent and the Hawks will have no form of Bird rights on him. If he is waived, teams could claim him off waivers, but would need to fit his salary within cap space or an exception to do so, as his contract doesn't fit within the minimum salary exception as it was a four-year contract. If Gueye becomes a free agent, other teams will have multiple ways to sign him as even teams without cap space could use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Room MLE, Taxpayer MLE, or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. If Gueye is waived and clears waivers, his value will likely have dropped low enough that he would only have offers for the minimum.

Cap Considerations

Ricky Council IV (non-guaranteed salary not waived, 2024) Charles Bassey (1 year minimum, 2024) Kai Jones (1 year minimum, non-guaranteed, 2024)

Player/Contract Comparison

Potential Teams: Hawks, Pelicans, Clippers, Suns, Knicks

Predicted Contract: Not waived: $2.2 million
If waived: 1-year, $2.3 million (non-guaranteed) with the Pelicans

Actual Contract: Not waived: $2.2 million
Gueye was not waived, and is still under contract for a couple more years.

Last updated: 9/13/2025

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