Atlanta Hawks: Kent Bazemore Trade Scenarios for Every Contending Team

A deep dive on trade scenarios for the Atlanta Hawks Kent Bazemore to every contending team in the NBA.

The Atlanta Hawks currently sit at a record of 7-23, which puts them with the second-worst record in the NBA behind only the Chicago Bulls. The 2018-19 season was always going to be one in which losses piled up like presents underneath a Christmas tree, and so far the Hawks have obliged with some of the worst team stats in the league.

One player who continues to put forth stellar effort every night on both ends of the floor is the longest-tenured Atlanta Hawks player Kent Bazemore. As such, Baze has been rumored to be on the trade block as contending teams look for “difference makers” ahead of what will likely be an arduous home stretch down the end of this season.

More from Soaring Down South

• Start, Bench, Cut: Sorting through the Hawks’ power forward options
• Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic reacts to earning FIBA World Cup championship bid
• When does training camp start for the Atlanta Hawks?
• Grade the trade: Hawks deal Trae Young to Clippers in shocking proposal
• Dejounte Murray rips NBA 2K after Atlanta Hawks ratings reveal

With every team seemingly in contention in the Western Conference and the top of the East looking as daunting as it has in the past decade, Bazemore’s skill set would great help any number of teams that are looking to upgrade their rotation on the perimeter. This is also a rare opportunity for the Atlanta Hawks to sell high, since teams are clearly seeking out a player with Bazemore’s malleable skill set.

Since we’ve already discussed deals involving the Bucks, Magic, Grizzlies and Pelicans, those deals for Baze will not be repeated here. Similarly, teams like the Raptors and the Warriors will likely be unable to make a deal for Baze, since their salaries just wouldn’t work – nor are they teams that really look to make deals with a set core at the deadline.

Also, many of these deals include either Taurean Prince or Tyler Dorsey, two young players that we love. Though we’re fans, if dealing them in order to obtain a solid draft pick is on the table, I don’t think a canny operator like Hawks GM Travis Schlenk would hesitate to make that deal.

Just to reiterate, the main focus of almost all of these deals for the Atlanta Hawks is to obtain a future draft pick with as little protection as possible, so most of these deals will be looked at from the viewpoint of the other team, since draft assets and future compensation are mostly what the Atlanta Hawks are aiming for.

Lastly, these have been organized via how likely the deals are from “Not Likely” to “Fairly Likely” to “Very Likely” and “Slam Dunks.” Let’s get the ball rolling with the “Not Likely” category.

Not Likely:

Honestly, this is not a great deal for either side, but the Heat had to be included since they should be desperately coveting Baze’s 3-and-D skill set. However, this return for the Hawks on Baze and Prince is less than spectacular. Though Bam Adebayo would be an absolutely amazing acquisition, having to take on Tyler Johnson’s nearly $20 million in salary next year would be unsavory, and it seems unlikely that the Heat would want to give up their big man of the future in Bam.

With the Clippers clearly in the running for some big free agents next offseason (looking at you, Kawhi Leonard), this deal would help them unload Gortat’s salary and allow them to go with a two-man center rotation of the untouchable Boban Marjanovic and Sixth Man of the Year candidate Montrezl Harrell. Though Baze and Prince would help the Clips in the short-term, Baze would definitely impact the team’s cap sheet next season and it’s unlikely that the Clips would want to give up a pick and the 13th overall pick from the 2018 Draft in the same deal. With Ballmer running a tight ship in LA, this one is likely too rich for Jerry West’s blood.

This deal falls right on the line of being fairly likely, as the Kings have not played 17-year veteran Zach Randolph a single minute as the team has pivoted to a young core led by De’Aaron Fox, Willie Cauley-Stein and Buddy Hield. Similarly, both Yogi Ferrell and Skal Labissiere have barely seen the floor with the team’s new core sizzling to start the season. If the Kings are willing to give up a future pick, this deal makes sense as a clear roster upgrade that improves the Kings’ depth considerably ahead of the stretch run of this season.

Fairly Likely:

A similar deal to this has already been laid out, but it bears repeating in a slightly different iteration. The Denver Nuggets are for real and Nikola Jokic is a legitimate MVP candidate. Though they’re one of the best teams in the league, if the Atlanta Hawks can swing a deal with them to send Baze over for a future draft pick, I think it would behoove the Nugs to listen to such overtures. While Miles Plumlee has really been playing well for Denver and Trey Lyles provides good depth, Bazemore would help to insure a strong playoff rotation on the wing and Justin Anderson would be another warm body for the Nugs as they suffer through some tough injury luck.

This deal is fairly “out there” and unorthodox but bear with me. The Thunder are currently one of the best teams in the league, and the Big 3 of Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Steven Adams have been playing lights out in the second year of their partnership together. The team’s defense is stout and loaded with plenty of young, long-limbed bigs and wings, which begs the question: Is Andre Roberson expendable for this team? In this deal, the answer is yes. Adding Baze to the mix for the Thunder would double down on the team’s defensive chops and give the Thunder three of the best in the business at steals and deflections (Russ, PG, Baze). Patrick Patterson has not been playing well so including him for salary-matching also makes sense.

Very Likely:

This trade is right on the cusp of being fairly likely, as the Atlanta Hawks taking on the remaining years of Bismack Biyombo’s beefy contract is certainly less than spectacular. However, a free flyer on Dwayne Bacon and a future draft pick would ease the pain. The Hornets are in the hunt for the Eastern Conference playoffs, and the addition of Baze would help to secure their spot in the East’s hierarchy.

After the seismic Jimmy Butler trade, the Wolves have seemed far more cohesive and focused as a unit. Adding Baze to the Wolves should help catapult Minnesota into the heart of the Western Conference playoff race. This could also serve as a salary dump for Minny, as Gorgui Dieng is due a rather dispiriting sum ($33.5 million) for the next few years. For the Atlanta Hawks, nabbing a protected pick as well as a flyer on older rookie Keita Bates-Diop would be worth the risk.

Jon Leuer has played a total of 173 minutes for the Detroit Pistons this season, and his time in Motor City with his 4-year/$41 million deal will likely end soon. The Pistons acquiring Baze from the Atlanta Hawks would immediately upgrade their perimeter defense as well as the team’s overall three-point shooting. Though giving up 3 players for one (and perhaps a pick too) seems like a lot, none of the players in Detroit’s side of the deal is seeing many minutes, and this would allow the Hawks to take a look at rookie Khyri Thomas, who was a favorite of mine leading up to the 2018 draft.

Whenever one checks out how the Blazers are doing, things seem to be going swimmingly. But look a bit deeper, and there are cracks under the surface. Adding Bazemore to the team’s wing rotation over Evan Turner would be a huge boon, as everything that Turner does Baze does a little bit better and his defense should be an upgrade too. Though including Gary Trent Jr., who the Blazers moved up to get, is probably a bit of a stretch, multiple players could be included instead of Trent. As long as the Atlanta Hawks get a pick, I don’t think they would complain.

Slam Dunks:

Now we get to the juicy ones. These teams have already been active in acquiring players in order to help bolster their rosters, so trading away Baze to these teams should guarantee a future draft pick.

The 76ers are desperate for depth. One need only listen to the last few episodes of The Rights to Ricky Sanchez podcast to know that Philly fans are getting a little loopy watching their team trot out lineups of players “who can’t do enough things” on the court. Enter Kent Bazemore. Trading Baze for Wilson Chandler, Markelle Fultz and a future pick would certainly put a dent in the Sixers’ depth, but it would also allow the Sixers to get off of Fultz’s nearly $10 million cap hit next season. Chandler isn’t particularly helping the team right now either, so shopping Baze to Philly would make sense for the Atlanta Hawks and Travis Schlenk.

We’ve previously outlined a deal sending Kent Bazemore to the Rockets, but this one features a slightly different lineup of players. While the main trade parameters remain the same, the Atlanta Hawks could include Tyler Dorsey in order to pull in Vince Edwards from the Rockets in addition to Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss as well as a future pick. The addition of Baze and Dorsey to the Rockets would immediately give Houston two rock-solid perimeter shooters, and Baze would be able to slide into the Rockets’ switching defensive system ably and reliably. For the Atlanta Hawks, rookie Vince Edwards has played very little for the Rockets and a flyer on Marquese Chriss (in addition to a pick hopefully) should make for an easy decision.

Lastly, LeBron James recently gushed about Anthony Davis joining the Lakers, but in the meantime, Los Angeles could prioritize incremental growth by adding an excellent defender and a solid shooter in Bazemore – two areas that the Lake Show would love to improve. On top of that, the Lakers would get another young talent in Taurean Prince to add to the young core of Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram. In return, the Atlanta Hawks would get Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who could be bought out or traded elsewhere, Michael Beasley (ditto) and Isaac Bonga, a very young (19) international rookie that would provide the Atlanta Hawks with additional young talent to explore – in addition to the first round pick that the team would likely require in any deal.

There you have it — potential Kent Bazemore trades for almost every contending team in the league. Of course, these are pie-in-the-sky, wishful thinking scenarios, but many of them make sense for both sides. The NBA is extremely unpredictable, so whatever deal does get done will likely shock everyone, but until then, chew on these as some fanciful possibilities.