Atlanta Hawks pick up cash considerations through deal for DeAndre Liggins
The Atlanta Hawks helped the Los Angeles Clippers get under the luxury tax threshold by picking up DeAndre Liggins and immediately waiving him.
Can someone say flexibility? Schlenk has done it once more before this offseason runs out of time. All things considered, a very smart move, as the Hawks only had to pay Liggins his owed $26,000 and received the highly coveted cash considerations from the Clippers for their troubles.
The Atlanta Hawks roster is very much hammered in at this point, and this move was one that was solely focused on future seasons. The Hawks have an interesting situation over the next two years where their cap sheet is structured such that all of the young players, Dennis Schroder included, are locked in for the long haul and the older guys will enter free agency rather soon, opening up a very nice bit of cap space.
Related Story: Travis Schlenk unveils his goals for the Atlanta Hawks this offseason
Already armed with 3 picks in the 2018 draft, one of which is top 3 protected, the Hawks will be looking to capitalize on a potential cornerstone player whether it be Luka Doncic, Marvin Bagley III, Michael Porter Jr., etc. As early as next offseason they may even be looking to land a bigger name, but if not, they will likely add one or two more key pieces while keeping their cap sheet balanced, and really unload in 2019.
The money involved in the NBA is intriguing; the owners want to make profit, and the players want to be paid max money whenever possible. How often have you seen a championship contending team in the last 5 years that wasn’t over the cap and even dipping past the luxury tax threshold?
It’s likely that the Hawks will also need to do so at some point, but not yet. Right now, Travis Schlenk is putting his team in the position to build up its youth and have the opportunity to attract an All-Star in the near future to jump back into championship contention.
Next: This Atlanta Hawks season will bring optimism, here’s why
While this move may just be a footnote in the grand scheme of things, it’s certainly not insignificant. Don’t sleep on these Hawks, they may surprise you very soon.