The NBA (and NBA trade rumors) never stops. While the young Atlanta Hawks toiled in the Utah and Las Vegas Summer Leagues, NBA GMs worked around the clock (some more than others) to improve their teams.
One team that worked exceptionally hard was the Toronto Raptors, who pulled off the biggest coup of the 2018 offseason by trading for the biggest fish other than LeBron James: The Raptors have acquired Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green for DeMar Derozan, Jakob Poetl and a protected 2019 first round pick.
The Hawks have also recently made an interesting and surprising trade for Jeremy Lin, but otherwise they have remained relatively quiet this offseason.
That might change, however, after some recent reporting came to light via Mitch Lawrence of Sirius XM Radio claiming that the Hawks are in talks with the Oklahoma City Thunder to trade both Dennis Schröder and Mike Muscala to the Thunder for Carmelo Anthony.
Oklahoma City and Atlanta in trade talks, with Thunder targeting Dennis Schroder and Mike Muscala, per sources. Carmelo Anthony would go to Atlanta, with Hawks doing buyout. Atl looking to add asset to make Melo’s buyout a wash. Getting rid of Schroder is No. 1 priority.
— Mitch Lawrence (@Mitch_Lawrence) July 18, 2018
After the Hawks acquired Lin, the writing was definitely on the wall for DS17, as both Lin and #5 overall pick Trae Young could ably slot into the starting point guard role for Atlanta.
Earlier in the offseason, Schröd expressed dissatisfaction with the direction of the Hawks franchise (i.e. he didn’t want to stick around for a rebuild), and the Hawks also moved on from the only coach he’s ever played for, Mike Budenholzer.
With all that in mind, we’ve outlined a potential deal that could work for both sides – especially if the reporting turns out to be factual.
On the Hawks side of this deal, this looks excellent (which means there’s little chance the deal ends up looking this way). Getting rid of Schröder, despite a career year in 2017-18 and 5 seasons in Atlanta, would help to open up cap space for years to come.
Losing Muscala would definitely hurt, as he, along with DS17, are the longest-tenured Hawks on the roster at this current juncture. Musky is a fan favorite and a reliable outside shooter, solid defensive rebounder and prototypical stretch-five option.
A fan favorite, Muscala would deserve a warm place in the heart of any Hawks fans who witnessed him play during his career.
In terms of what the Hawks get back, Melo would not remain on the team for long – only serving as a salary dump and waive-and-stretch scenario for the Hawks. However, this would be a better deal for the team in the long run – allowing them to rid themselves of a $15.5 million per year commitment to Schröd for the next 3 years.
In addition, the Thunder’s 2019 first round pick is a blatantly valuable asset even if it’s top-20 protected. The Thunder would’ve indeed had the #20 overall pick last season if it had not been moved years prior in the Enes Kanter trade with the Jazz.
The Thunder project to be an excellent team next year, though perhaps in a slightly lower echelon than the best teams in the West, which means the pick would likely convey in the 21-24 range.
Having more bites at the apple is always preferable in the NBA draft, and even if Hawks GM Travis Schlenk isn’t crazy about picking there, they can package multiple later picks to move up nab someone they’re extremely high on.
While the 2019 Draft Class isn’t quite as deep as the 2018 one, it’s quite likely that there will be plenty of tantalizing talents available next year, so the Hawks should be thrilled to pry away a first-rounder from Thunder GM Sam Presti – no matter the protections.
Next: Hawks Projected Starting Lineup for 18-19 Season
Keep it locked to Soaring Down South for all your Hawks offseason moves as well as reaction to plenty of NBA Trade Rumors, as it is unlikely that Schlenk and co. are finished wheeling and dealing this summer.