Atlanta Hawks Offseason Grades: The Dennis Schroder/Carmelo Anthony Trade

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: the terrific and forward-thinking Dennis Schröder trade, which netted the Hawks an extremely valuable future first round pick and also helped the team shed the rest of Schröd’s sizable contract.

THE GRADE: A

In contrast to the previous three trades the Atlanta Hawks made to start the 2018 Offseason, which ranged from gutsy to garbage, the package the team got in return for Dennis Schröder was an absolute positive.

Discounting the waived contract of Carmelo Anthony, which has spawned some awesome memes, the main acquisition from that deal is a 2022 lottery-protected first round pick.

Now, while that might not sound immediately mouthwatering, here’s the kicker: 2022 is the year in which it is expected that both one-and-done collegiate players and high school athletes will be able to declare for the draft. That means that teams with good draft picks that year will be able to “double-dip” with their selection.

To put it simply: a pick in the 15-30 range of the first round in 2022 will have a much higher proportional value than a usual lottery-protected pick because the draft class will be loaded with a deep pool of talent the likes of which may never be seen again.

In addition to that pick (which is certainly the highlight), the Hawks were able to shed the remaining 3 years and $46.5 million that was due to Schröd, who had been angling for a trade for much of the offseason.

Beyond that, getting back in the national conversation by immediately waiving Carmelo Anthony (while also providing him with a jersey with his name on it), was at least an amusing aside to this deal.

The machinations of this deal also allowed the Hawks to complete a secondary, related deal with the Philadelphia 76ers that brought in a young player ultimately for free.

Overall, the trade of Dennis Schröder was almost a foregone conclusion as soon as the offseason began, since he claimed he did not want to be a part of a rebuilding team and distanced himself from the franchise on social media.

Jettisoning an overpaid, disgruntled asset for an extremely juicy first round pick is a huge success, hence the high grade for the Atlanta Hawks on this trade.

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.