As part of our offseason coverage, Soaring Down South is ranking each and every offseason transaction the Atlanta Hawks made.
After a slow start, the Atlanta Hawks kicked it into high gear and had one of the most action-packed and interesting offseasons in recent memory. Multiple trades and signings took place even after the NBA Draft, which was even more important for the Hawks in the long-term.
In our ongoing series of offseason reviews, it’s time to grade each move the Hawks made this offseason from draft picks to trades to free agency deals.
Next up was the Atlanta Hawks first player-for-player trade during the 2018 Offseason (the Doncic/Trae swap doesn’t count since what was traded was technically the rights to the 3rd and 5th pick, but that’s just semantics).
THE GRADE: C-
When it was announced that the Hawks were acquiring Jeremy Lin, the immediate reaction was: “Huh? What? Why?”
Then, the reaction following that knee-jerk one was: “Well, I guess the Hawks got back a nice future draft pick for taking on Lin’s meaty 2018-19 salary.”
As word broke that the Hawks were only obtaining a couple of future second-rounders, something more akin to the first reaction came back to the forefront.
After the smoke had cleared, the Atlanta Hawks had traded Isaia Cordinier and a 2020 second round pick for Lin, a 2023 second round pick and a 2025 second round pick. Not a great return for helping the Nets clear salary space, right?
On top of that, when the Lin deal was made, Dennis Schröder was still on the Hawks roster. Though that would change in short order, the deal was still puzzling from a variety of angles.
In the end, trading for Lin clearly augured the end of the DS17 era in Atlanta. Atlanta Hawks General Manager Travis Schlenk saw value in Lin’s defensive chops as well as his varied and extremely interesting career in the NBA.
As an in-game coach and mentor to Trae Young, taking on Lin’s final year of a 3-year deal signed in the fateful summer of 2016 was an obvious priority when the offseason began.
Even if Lin doesn’t even come close to the heights he experienced during the Linsanity period of his early career, he should still provide solid, mistake-free minutes for the Hawks as well as invaluable leadership for its youthful core.
Still though, the Hawks should’ve at least gotten one more pick or the rights to an interesting player in the deal, as Lin’s value was not particularly high after a terrible injury ended Lin’s season before it began in 2017-18.
Stay tuned for the next story in our offseason grades series, and always keep it locked to Soaring Down South for all your Atlanta Hawks news.