Three Players the Atlanta Hawks Should Trade

With the worst record in the NBA, the Atlanta Hawks are on a far different trajectory than in past seasons. Though only one game separates them and the Los Angeles Lakers (who they face off against tonight at 9:30 p.m. EST), the Lakers already have three very young franchise cornerstones to build around in Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma.

More from Soaring Down South

• 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?
• Grade the trade: Hawks deal Trae Young to Clippers in shocking proposal
• Dejounte Murray rips NBA 2K after Atlanta Hawks ratings reveal

The Hawks are lacking that draft pedigree, though 19^th overall pick John Collins looks to be a legitimate building block going forward with his terrific play to start the season.

Since Atlanta are looking at a complete rebuild, the team should look to trade off any players that do not match the youth movement new GM Travis Schlenk is attempting to implement.

Here are three players that should be traded before February’s trade deadline in order to maximize their value and get a potential draft pick in return.

Ersan Ilyasova

Ilyasova has been remarkably consistent for the Hawks so far this season, playing an important role on both ends of the floor.

Though he missed some time earlier in the season, Ersan has been the starting power forward for much of the year and has looked like one of the Hawks’ steadiest contributors in his 687 total minutes played.

In terms of averages, Ilyasova is putting up 11.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steals per game – an excellent stat line that belies his overall impact whenever he’s on the court.

More impressively, Ilyasova is 4^th on the team in Player Efficiency Rating with a 16.5, behind only John Collins, Dennis Schröder and Dewayne Dedmon (who has not played since late November).

Ersan is a surprisingly malleable player whose skills could be molded to realistically fit any team’s needs, as his solid rebounding (a 12.1% total rebound percentage is 4^th on the Hawks), three-point stroke (shooting 40% from downtown, also 4^th on the team) and charge-drawing skills (14 charges drawn makes him 3^rd overall in the league) make him a solid fit for any potential playoff team looking to fill out their roster with serviceable NBA professionals.

Marco Belinelli

Belinelli has been one of the brightest offensive sparks for the Hawks this season, and he is one of only three players to register minutes in all 38 games the team has played this season (Taurean Prince and Kent Bazemore are the other two).

Marco is averaging 12.1 points per game in only 23.8 minutes per game – impressive per-minute production for a 31-year-old.

Though his defense is best described as spectral, he is getting up 4.8 three-point attempts a game, which leads the team and he is hitting those shots at a 39.3 percent clip (5^th on the Hawks).

Teams looking for a bench sparkplug that isn’t bashful about putting up shots (many of which are extremely difficult, wrong-footed, off-balance heaves that somehow manage to go in) should look up Belinelli, who would provide value for a team with a thin bench behind stellar starting units (such as the Washington Wizards or Milwaukee Bucks).

Luke Babbitt

Can you spot the running theme to this list? All 3 players are veterans with rock-solid three-point strokes, which is something that all teams (especially potential playoff teams) are looking for.

Luke Babbitt is no different. Babbitt is on an expiring contract and with a sky-high 43.6 three-point shooting percentage (11^th in the league), he could be an immediate impact shooter off the bench for any team.

Though Babbitt’s playing time has dropped off significantly following a nagging injury, he is still averaging 17.7 minutes a game and has played 512 total minutes for the Hawks, canning 41 of his 94 attempted three-pointers during that time.

Babbitt knows his role and executes it to perfection, as his 63.9 percent three-point attempt rate is 1^st among qualified Hawks by a wide margin.

Next: For the Hawks, John Collins Keeps Getting Better

The Hawks would be wise to move on from these three veteran marksmen before the trade deadline hits in February.

Though it will certainly make their worse in the short-term for this season, a long-term view of these transactions will paint them in a far more positive light especially if the Hawks can procure more first-round picks from desperate playoff contenders.

Even if first-rounders aren’t on the table, accruing more second-round picks certainly cannot hurt the Hawks, as Atlanta needs as many athletic players as they can find – no matter where they come from.