The Atlanta Hawks Should Be Sellers at the Deadline
The Atlanta Hawks are in the midst of their most exhaustive rebuild in years, and as the trade deadline quickly approaches, the Hawks are in a good position to be heavy sellers.
Atlanta has valuable veterans that could help a contender off the bench, or in some cases, insert some juice into the starting lineup. As reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Hawks’ front office have already made it clear that some veterans, such as Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova, could be had for second-round draft picks.
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A team like the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have been on an incredible roller coaster ride this year, could use a valuable wing like Kent Bazemore to put in their starting lineup over Roberson. Baze provides much needed shooting and offensive capabilities without giving up too much on the defensive side.
Marco Bellinelli could bolster the bench for a team like Minnesota that plays its starters an almost unsustainable amount and therefore needs depth after players like Shabazz Muhammad and Jamal Crawford have been relative duds this year.
Another team that might be in a buying mood this upcoming deadline is the New Orleans Pelicans. Demarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis are playing like top-5 players, but the rest of their team after those guys falls off a cliff in terms of skill and depth. A wing like Ilyasova could give them enough to push into the playoffs and keep their superstars happy.
Young pieces like Prince and Collins are almost untouchable but there is intrigue into what kind of package the Hawks could get for Dennis Schröder. Dennis is playing like a borderline all-star this year, but a nice enough package should be enough to part ways with him for the Hawks.
What that package would look like I’m not too sure, but something like Jamal Murray and a lottery-protected first-round draft pick for Dennis and Ersan might do it. Atlanta would definitely need to get a young asset and hopefully a first-round draft pick in any trade involving Schröd.
Not even mentioning Dewayne Dedmon, a defensively savvy center who has developed a somewhat reliable jumper, the Hawks have some perfect pieces to get rid of before the trade deadline.
Next: Three Players the Atlanta Hawks Should Trade
Now, the Warriors have created a hesitant trade market so teams might not give away assets for bench depth and low-tier starters when they know they won’t be able to catch up. However, the Hawks are first in line if anyone starts shopping.