According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, big man Jock Landale is expected to have a "strong market."
Rumblings earlier this month suggested that the Atlanta Hawks were going to have competition in their quest to retain big man Jock Landale in free agency.
Now, a more recent report details a handful of teams to watch. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Landale is expected to have a "strong market," including interest from the Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers.
That's six teams alone, and it's possible that there are other teams lurking for the 30-year-old as well.
Landale landed with the Hawks in the middle of the 2025-26 season via trade. He appeared in 23 games for Atlanta in the regular season and made two starts. An injury unfortunately prevented him from seeing any playoff action.
But in those 23 regular-season games, he averaged 9.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from long range. Overall this past season, he averaged 10.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per contest.
His time with the Hawks clearly left an impression on them given their interest in retaining him. However, if his market truly does end up being competitive, Atlanta will have to decide how far it's willing to go to keep him.
The 2025-26 season was the best of the center's career so far. Although he's on the other side of 30, he has only played five seasons in the NBA. He appears to be living up to his potential now as a 6-foot-11 presence who can shoot.
The Hawks certainly would've loved having him available in the postseason when they drew a matchup against the New York Knicks that presented frontcourt challenges. Atlanta did well just to force the series to six games before being eliminated. The Knicks, of course, went on to win the NBA Finals.
Now, the Hawks are trying to take a step forward in the contention landscape. They are entering a new era after trading away former franchise cornerstone Trae Young this past season, and they've had a busy offseason already through the trade market and draft.
There will be a lot of new faces in the building this coming season, so keeping a guy like Landale who has a little experience with the team could be a helpful strategy. Time will tell if that's in the cards or if another team will lure him away.
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