Atlanta Hawks: 5 Reasons to Trade for Markelle Fultz

A detailed dissection of the potential fit of disgruntled 76ers point guard Markelle Fultz on the Atlanta Hawks.

The Atlanta Hawks currently sit at 5-17, which is the worst record in the Eastern Conference technically, though the Cavs have played two fewer games than the Hawks and currently have a 4-16 record.

Both teams are in full-on rebuilding mode, and the Cavs already made a deal this season to ensure the team loses as many games as possible, dealing former Atlanta Hawks legend Kyle Korver to the Utah Jazz for Alec Burks and two second-round picks.

That is exactly the kind of deal that the Hawks should be making right now, sending away useful veteran players like fan favorite Kent Bazemore (here are some options for such a deal) and rangy big man Dewayne Dedmon for future assets or young players with a depressed value league-wide.

When pondering players with depressed value around the league, one name immediately springs: Markelle Fultz of the 76ers. Fultz came in with all the promise in the world, and the early returns in 2017 Summer League were positive:

However, everything has gone downhill for Fultz since being drafted 1st overall, and rumors have been swirling all season that Fultz is not long for Philadelphia. No matter what happens, it seems unlikely that Fultz will ever be able to live up to stupefying hype that was heaped upon him after being drafted 1st overall.

This gives the Atlanta Hawks a piquant opportunity, however. With Fultz’s value at its nadir, why not swing a trade for Fultz in order to fill the team’s roster with more high draft picks and a player that clearly still has upside to explore.

I’ve outlined three major reasons why Markelle Fultz would be a good fit on the Atlanta Hawks. Read on to explore them.

Deal Easy To Accomplish

The first reason that the Atlanta Hawks should jump on a deal for Fultz is because the 20-year-old guard, who, again, was the #1 overall pick in 2017, currently has very little value in his situation with the 76ers.

Once Philly traded for Jimmy Butler, the writing was clearly on the wall for the sophomore guard, and his camp was rather unhappy about it. Though perhaps the team could’ve handled his “injury” better (jury is still way, way out on whether or not an injury actually occurred), it’s clear that something is very wrong with Fultz’s shot.

With that being said, this deal should be relatively easy for the Atlanta Hawks to accomplish, and I have previously laid out numerous trade ideas to bring the high-upside guard to the Hawks with relatively little going back to the 76ers.

Hawks GM Travis Schlenk should be proactive in seeking out a deal for Fultz, as the 76ers could use any number of Hawks veterans on the team – such as Dedmon, Bazemore or even former Sixer Justin Anderson, who has looked like a live wire so far for the Hawks this season.

It is also doubtful that the Hawks would be forced to include a future draft pick in this deal; if anything, the 76ers might have to toss a draft pick sweetener in order to make it happen since it is likely that the team values the nearly $10 million in cap space they’ll have next year without Fultz on the books much more than they would any potential untapped upside that Fultz still has.

The Wonders of Youth

Another reason why Fultz would be a good fit for the Atlanta Hawks is because he matches the team’s timeline perfectly. Fultz is 20 years old and is only a few months older than both Trae Young and Kevin Huerter, two of the three players drafted by the Hawks in the 2018 Draft.

Fultz was drafted one year prior, but he was exceedingly young for his class – another reason why he was such a vaunted prospect.

So far, both Young and Huerter have experienced considerable growing pains in their rookie season, though nothing like Fultz has experienced in the 33 games he’s played in his career. Still though, Fultz has so much talent, and he was able to put it on display via an impactful stat line against the Milwaukee Bucks last year, pouring in a triple-double in an easy victory for the Sixers:

If (and it’s a big “if”) Fultz is able to return to even 75 percent of the form he showed in college, the Hawks would have an amazingly versatile and exceptionally backcourt trio to build around for years to come – another reason springing a trade for Fultz makes sense in the long-term for this team.

Offensive Fit

Now for the on-court stuff. While the idea of acquiring Fultz for the tantalizing aspect of his immense upside is certainly appealing, his play through 33 career games has been troubling. However, just look at what he produced in his lone college season at Washington:

Of course, his shot has been the major cause of concern, but when delving into his career offensive numbers (which are not great), some interesting and surprising stats jump out.

First off, Fultz’s supreme, fluid athleticism allows him to knife his way to the rim with ease, and his frequency of shots at the rim ranks in the 90th percentile of all guards, according to Cleaning the Glass. A 6-foot-9 wingspan on a lanky 6-foot-4 frame coupled with impressive verticality means that Fultz is able to make his way to the rim quite easily with a swift first step.

Though his finishing is not as strong on those drives as his ability to get there, he is still finishing in the 74th percentile of point guards this season with a 59 percent clip at the rim.

Once you step away from the rim is where Fultz’s shot dissipates. Though the second-year player is willing to hoist up midrange shots – with shot frequencies in the 89th percentile on short midrangers, 87th percentile on long twos and 94th percentile of all midrange shots among point guards – his rough-looking jump shot is simply not falling. With a 41.9 field goal percentage and a 45.2 true shooting percentage, Fultz’s shooting efficiency certainly does not match Schlenk’s clear focus on putting players that can shoot at every position.

However, alongside Trae Young, Fultz would have a lot of opportunities to slash to the rim, finish alley-oops and perhaps serve as a backup when Trae is off the floor.

Defensive Fit

Where Fultz would really shine for the Atlanta Hawks would be on defense – certainly an area of concern for the team as a whole in 2018-19 and in particular for the team’s backcourt duo of Young and Huerter.

Though Fultz has clearly not been able to attain the incredible offensive form he showcased in college, his defense in the NBA has been almost uniformly sterling as he is able to use his length, speed and athleticism to hassle opposing ballhandlers on the less glamorous end of the floor.

Even with his concerning numbers on offense, Fultz has brought energy and intensity every night to the defensive side of the floor, as evidenced by his defensive real plus/minus on ESPN.com. Fultz ranks 13th overall among point guards in DRPM – ahead of defensive maven point guards like Patrick Beverley, Jrue Holiday and Terry Rozier. Last season, in limited minutes, Fultz also acquitted himself well by finishing 19th in DRPM among point guards.

Fultz has been consistent on defense throughout his career, and in each of his first two seasons, he has accrued defensive win shares of 0.4 – much higher than his offensive win shares, which are in the negative. For reference, the highest defensive win share numbers on the Hawks belong to Bazemore and DeAndre’ Bembry in a two-way tie at 0.6.

At the point guard spot, Fultz’s block rate (0.6 percent) and steal rate (1.8 percent) rank in the 69th percentile and 76th percentile, respectively, which would be rock-solid numbers alongside a noted defensive sieve like Trae Young.

Fultz and Young

Markelle Fultz’s role with the Atlanta Hawks would ultimately be defined by his relationship and chemistry with franchise cornerstone Trae Young.

If Fultz can “keep that same energy” on defense while also mercifully turning himself into a passable shooter from deep (or even from mid-range), he will be able to pair beautifully with either Young or Huerter.

In particular, Fultz’s defensive prowess should be able to paper over the deficiencies that both players have expressed so far in their career. While Huerter clearly has some upside on that end, Ice Trae might not be able to anchor a top-flight defense in the NBA on his own (which I think everyone already knew). With Fultz backing up Trae’s worst instincts on the less glamorous end, the Hawks would have a young, tantalizing backcourt to watch for years to come.

Enjoying those two learn on the court together as twentysomethings for the Atlanta Hawks should bring some happiness to Hawks fans.

Even if Fultz never develops a jump shot, he seems like an extremely likable player, and the more of those kinds of players we have, the better.

Our Twitter followers also agreed, but it was extremely close, as evidenced by the razor-thin margin of this poll:

No matter what, expect some deals for the Atlanta Hawks as we creep ever closer to that December 15 date — when contracts signed this offseason can be traded.

As always, keep it locked to Soaring Down South for all your Atlanta Hawks news and updates. Thanks for reading!