Atlanta Hawks: The Kyle Korver Trade Is A Sign Of Things To Come

The Atlanta Hawks have traded Kyle Korver to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Did they get fair value for him? Is this trade just the first of several dominoes that are about to fall?

It’s trade season. Can you feel it in the air? The Atlanta Hawks sure can. Just days after Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported that they were listening to offers on Paul Millsap, Thabo Sefolosha, and Kyle Korver, the Hawks pulled the trigger on their first trade.

The team is sending Kyle Korver to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Mike Dunleavy Jr. and a protected first round pick. The deal was first reported by Shams Charania and Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.

Now, Dunleavy is in this deal just to make the salaries work. Atlanta doesn’t actually think he’s part of their future. That goes without saying, but sometimes things just need to be said so there isn’t a panic on Twitter. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical has tweeted that the plan is likely to move him to a third team.

The Hawks did well to acquire a first round pick. Korver is 36 years old, and in the final year of his current contract. Landing a first round pick for him should be viewed as a success. Losing Korver is painful, but nobody can take away the memories.

This new era of Hawks basketball will rely on drafting and developing young talent. The new collective bargaining agreement makes it even more difficult to lure a star away from the city that drafts them. The draft will be more important than ever.

What are you supposed to do in a rebuild? You guessed it, accumulate assets. This is a good start. I know Hawks fans are having a difficult time getting excited about a future first round pick. I completely understand that. Fans want their teams to be good all the time. Nobody wants to go through a rebuild.

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That being said, the Hawks weren’t winning a championship this season. They probably weren’t making the Eastern Conference Finals. At best, this team would win a round and then lose to either Cleveland or Toronto in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Then, Millsap, Sefolosha, and Korver would enter free agency, with the Hawks getting nothing in return.

It looks like the front office won’t let that happen. With Korver gone, the rest of the dominoes may soon start to fall. With Cleveland improving, teams like the Toronto Raptors have to be chomping at the bit to pry Millsap away from Atlanta. It’s an arms race, and Atlanta has the best the weapon.

Atlanta will likely get another first round pick for Millsap, maybe two if they play their cards right (that’d be a heist). The Raptors could offer a package built around a first round pick, Patrick Patterson, and Terrence Ross. If I’m the Hawks, I insist Norman Powell be involved, but that might be a bit much for the Raptors to consider.

The Boston Celtics could build a package around the Brooklyn Nets pick swap they own, Jae Crowder, and one of their young guards. According to Shams Charania, other teams that have shown interest include the Denver Nuggets, the New Orleans Pelicans, and the Sacramento Kings.

"Atlanta (19-16) is engaged in discussions with several teams on forward Paul Millsap, who can become a free agent in July, and the organization is motivated to move him sooner rather than later, sources said. Toronto, Denver, Sacramento, New Orleans and Toronto are among teams with an interest in Millsap, league sources said."

I don’t know where he will go, but it seems likely that Millsap eventually gets traded. Sefolosha could also be of great value to a contending team. He’s not a flashy offensive player, but he is an outstanding perimeter defender.

Again, Boston or Toronto seem like great fits for him. He would give an Eastern Conference contender another body to throw at LeBron James in the playoffs. The Hawks definitely have options, and valuable players to part with.

The ball is in their court. Perhaps a bidding war will start. A little competition never hurt anyone (not entirely true). That’s capitalism. We’ll have to wait and see what the Hawks get back in return for Sefolosha, Millsap, and whoever else they could decide to move.

Trading Korver, and trading Sefolosha and Millsap, would open up playing time for Atlanta’s current crop of young players. That’s really only Taurean Prince and DeAndre’ Bembry, but still, it will be nice to see them get regular playing time. The sooner they start to develop, the sooner Atlanta gets back into contention.

They’ll still have a core of solid players to build around. Dennis Schroder and Dwight Howard won’t be going anywhere. They could conceivably start this rebuild without bottoming out completely. It wouldn’t shock me to see them still compete for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference after all their moves are made.

Next: Three Trade Scenarios For Paul Millsap

Dare I say…..trust the process.

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