Atlanta Hawks: Trade Target #3 – Anthony Tolliver
We continue our Trade Targets piece this week with a much more low key move involving a familiar face to Hawks’ fans.
Last week, we discussed two moves that the Hawks could make at the deadline involving big name players and a lot of moving parts. The proposed trades for Dwight Howard and Greg Monroe were both met with a mixed bag of feelings for most fans as both trades would have gotten rid of at least one fan favorite and franchise cornerstone.
In today’s edition, we lighten the mood and explore a deal that would improve the depth of the roster while not forcing the team to get rid of any core players so that the team can make one final run together before some big decisions have to be made this summer.
Trade Target #3 – Anthony Tolliver
The Pistons are going nowhere and a guy like Tolliver is ripe for the picking for a contending team as he provides a veteran presence, can play both forward positions and is familiar with the organization and some of his teammates as he played for the Hawks during the 2012-2013 season.
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=j4t2lfr
As always, the Trade Machine doesn’t allow for draft picks to be included, so the Hawks would send a future second round pick to the Pistons in order to entice them to make the deal. For th
e sake of over-analyzing what year it will be in, let’s just say it will be in 2019 as the Hawks have two picks (theirs and the Wizards – Kelly Oubre deal).
More from Hawks News
- Start, Bench, Cut: Sorting through the Hawks’ power forward options
- Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic reacts to earning FIBA World Cup championship bid
- When does training camp start for the Atlanta Hawks?
- Dejounte Murray rips NBA 2K after Atlanta Hawks ratings reveal
- Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic makes special dedication after FIBA win
Atlanta Hawks
For the casual fan, this move is one they wouldn’t even take note of as there are no big names changing teams and it won’t make SportsCenter, but for a fan who realizes that a veteran presence and versatility can be big come playoff time, especially with foul trouble or injuries (two things the Hawks know all too well), a move like this is something that could mean the difference in a game or two down the stretch.
Tolliver has never been and will never be a big time impact player. He’s got a role and he fills that role extremely well. He was a solid bench guy a few years back with the Hawks and would fill a similar role in this system behind the likes of Thabo Sefolosha on the bench.
While Tolliver has never been a lock down defender, he’s got the size and length to give bigger wings a hard time. He’s a scrappy player and one that competes on both ends of the floor. When the Hawks think of a move like this, it would be to have another body on the bench to help matchup and slow down Lebron James. And, by no means am I calling Tolliver a “Lebron Stopper”, but he’s got the physical tools to guard King James for stretches if a guy like Sefolosha or Kent Bazemore get into foul trouble.
We give up Shelvin Mack to make the salaries match as well as clear the roster spot. Coach Bud seems content on rolling with Teague and Schroder so Mack as become expendable. If the Hawks know something about Jeff Teague and his ankles that they aren’t letting anyone know about then I’d find another way to make this move work, but for now, Mack is the player that heads to Motor City. A second round pick goes to the Pistons simply as an asset for doing the deal which is minimal and usual compensation for such a player.
Detroit Pistons
Why do the Pistons do this deal? For starters, Tolliver isn’t in the team’s future plans and won’t be back after his deal runs out this summer. Adding Mack would save them a few dollars as Tolliver makes more than Mack for the rest of the season and the team adds a future asset for a guy who was no more than a role player.
The Pistons aren’t true contenders this season, although they have played better than I’m sure most people expected them to, all things considered. The team feasted on a weak schedule in December and are starting to come back down to Earth as they’ve lost five of their last eight with Cleveland and Toronto on tap for this week.
They are at least a year or two away from being potential contenders in the East and this move just brings in more assets for a guy who is simply a role player. Mack’s option for next season is a team option for under $2.5 and could be picked up if the team decides to let both Steve Blake and Brandon Jennings walk.
This is a deal that would likely happen closer to the deadline as the Pistons try and get through the next week or two to see where they stand at the All-Star break.
Next: Trade Target #2 - Greg Monroe
Visit www.SoaringDownSouth.com for the latest Atlanta Hawks news and analysis.