How the Atlanta Hawks failed at the Trade Deadline

The direction of the Atlanta Hawks is filled with uncertainty at this time. Is it possible they made a mistake by standing pat this past Trade Deadline?

How exciting is the NBA? The entire sports world knows we will be treated to another exhilarating championship series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. This will be the third year in a row.

Yet, there are still three more weeks of games before the Finals get started. Could the Celtics or Wizards defeat the LeBron’s in four out of seven games? Absolutely not. Is it any more likely the Spurs will take down the Warriors? Yes, but barely.

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I really was expecting the Hawks to still be in the midst of their postseason run, which would have made the rest of these games a little more interesting. Instead, they bowed out following a grand total of two wins in the first round.

The Hawks have already been in the Celtics’ and Wizards’ shoes, trying to compete against the Cavaliers with all their might. It will not take long for them to learn, they are nothing but a sacrificial lamb to LeBron James and his loyal followers.

While I love the fire and passion displayed from the Hawks owner, stating he is committed to progress the team into a championship contender annually, this past season was terribly frustrating. The reshaping of the front office shows he actually does care about winning at a high level. That is more than you could ask of most professional sports teams.

What I would like to know is where was he when they could have dealt Paul Millsap, along with others for valuable assets prior to the February 15th trade deadline. You wouldn’t trust former President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Budenholzer to consider the team’s future and make any rational decisions concerning the roster, that’s for sure. It’s possible that he was too emotionally attached to his players, interested in winning however many playoff games he could this season.

Now they’ve had a meeting of the minds and have determined that rebuilding is the best possible course of action to take. The only problem is, it’s too late. Well, why is that?

They could still sign Paul Millsap. They could, but anyway you look at his potential new contract it’s daunting. Paying Millsap more than $30 million per season until he’s in his late 30s doesn’t help the Hawks get younger.

The amazing state of these developments is that, around the time Kyle Korver was traded, Millsap and every other free agent to be was still on the trading block. This was part of the rebuilding process that all NBA executives were made to believe the Hawks were involved in.

Then, all of a sudden, they go on a seven game winning streak. This apparently was enough for them to remove those players from the market, and instead decide to compete for the playoffs. It’s intriguing to ponder on how exactly they reached such a conclusion.

The Hawks weren’t going to be good enough to reach the pinnacle of greatness ownership was aiming for then, so why abandon that rebuild only to return to it deflated, months later?

There were several teams that expressed interest in Paul Millsap prior to the deadline. Most notably, the Phoenix Suns. Several draft picks presumably were for the taking, but the Hawks wouldn’t budge. One max level player leaving without any compensation simply wouldn’t be enough.

There aren’t too many reasons to dwell on what could have been, other than attempting to figure out what plan the team has now. Unfortunately, that will currently have to remain a mystery.

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