As the NBA’s Trade Deadline passed at 3 p.m. EST Thursday, the Atlanta Hawks didn’t make any groundbreaking deals.
After all of the speculation on who would get moved, I think we, including myself, were all wrong in the end.
The Hawks engaged in talks with Philadelphia to move shooting guard Marco Belinelli to playoff-contending Philadelphia, but nothing was finalized. Marco was benched for Tuesday night’s game against Memphis, nor did he travel with the team to Orlando.
On Friday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported the Hawks were finalizing a buyout agreement agreement with their erstwhile shooting guard.
Marco Belinelli is finalizing a buyout agreement with the Atlanta Hawks, league sources tell ESPN. Several contenders are interested.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 9, 2018
Belinelli immediately becomes one of the more coveted free-agent options on the buyout market, and the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers have all expressed interest in the 11-year NBA veteran.
The only major roster move Atlanta completed on Thursday before the deadline was trading Luke Babbitt back to the Miami Heat for 25-year-old Okaro White, who was eventually waived.
The fact of the matter is that Babbitt was gone before he even arrived in Atlanta, as John Collins is clearly the future at power forward (if it wasn’t obvious already). This move to waive White opens up endless possibilities with Ersan Ilyasova, Tyler Cavanaugh or possibly another prospect in the 2018 draft.
In a bizarre move, the Hawks traded cash and an exceedingly protected 2019 second-round draft pick to the Washington Wizards for Sheldon Mac, who they eventually waived. Mac was currently out for the season with a torn achilles. This move opens up some a roster spot and makes the Hawks a little more flexible heading into the offseason.
What does this mean going into 2018-2019?
For everyone who is ready to tar and feather Hawks GM Travis Schlenk for not making moves to dump big salaries (i.e. Dennis Schröder, Kent Bazemore, or Miles Plumlee), let’s not light the torches and storm downtown just yet. Don’t rule out trades during the offseason, as anything could happen.
With three first-round draft picks in the 2018 draft and free agency remaining, did the Hawks really need to make a trade for the sake of making a trade? In my opinion, that would’ve been foolish.
According to Michael Cunningham of the AJC, Ersan Ilyasova invoked his no-trade clause and would’ve only waived it for the right situation.
Ilyasova says he's not looking for buyout. "As long as we are playing to win, I'm good with" staying. Hawks had trade offers for him but he invoked his right to reject.
— Michael Cunningham (@MCunninghamAJC) February 8, 2018
This shouldn’t be surprising as Ersan had been renting U-Hauls frequently before his arrival to Atlanta last season — being traded 6 times in 2 1/2 seasons will do that for you.
If the team wants to build for the future and compete in the present, Ersan may be in the team’s plans going forward. Unless a contender comes knocking in the free agent period, Ilyasova could be a Hawk heading into next season.
Free agency might dictate Atlanta’s draft strategy, especially in the frontcourt. Both Mike Muscala and Dewayne Dedmon have player options after this season. If the Hawks were to draft DeAndre Ayton out of Arizona, it could set up a trade scenario (which I wouldn’t rule out Miles Plumlee) if one or both were to pick up their option.
Next: Atlanta Hawks Youth Movement Part 2: The Sophomores
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the Atlanta Hawks won’t return to postseason contention in the same matter. The true construction of this new team will begin in June with the NBA Draft. I don’t expect a splashy move during free agency.