For the Atlanta Hawks, It’s Time to Make a Trade
By Chris Guest
Though the trade deadline is still more than a month away, the Atlanta Hawks should seriously consider making a move now.
The Atlanta Hawks currently hold a record of 12-27, which is far better than many expected them to be at this juncture of the season.
The team has been buoyed by the play of its young guns – most notably the stunning season that second year big man John Collins is having as well as the continued growth of rookies Trae Young and Kevin Huerter and the emergence of star-crossed third-year player Deandre Bembry as a consistent contributor.
However, some of the team’s most sound play comes courtesy of its veteran leaders of Kent Bazemore, Jeremy Lin and Vince Carter.
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These three vets are helping the Atlanta Hawks win on a night-to-night basis. Frankly, that’s not what the team should be focusing on. Every victory they amass this season, while certainly good for the team’s morale, pushes them further away from the best odds of landing a generational talent like Zion Williamson in the 2019 NBA Draft.
As such, the Atlanta Hawks and General Manager Travis Schlenk should be prioritizing a trade that involves any number of contributing veterans to teams desperate to bolster their roster come playoff time.
Late last week, the Bulls and Grizzlies made such a deal in which the tanking Bulls bamboozled the Grizzlies out of not one but two unprotected second-round picks in future drafts in addition to a free flyer on Wayne Selden all for the low, low price of Justin Holiday.
Justin Holiday, admittedly, was on an expiring deal that was only worth $4.4 million, but the Hawks have players that are far superior to Holiday on both ends (like Baze and Lin), so the value proposition of Holiday is seemingly canceled out.
Just looking at the Grizzlies, the Atlanta Hawks should be calling about taking on the salary of Chandler Parsons by trading away Kent Bazemore and Dewayne Dedmon – as long as the Grizzlies are willing to part with an unprotected or very lightly protected first round pick.
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There are many deals out there in which the Hawks could be major players (as outlined here through the lens of a Bazemore trade), so let’s hope the team is proactive in searching these deals out soon.