3 Takeaways: Atlanta Hawks ice-cold 2nd half offense leads to loss to Raptors
The Atlanta Hawks were right to stand pat at the NBA Trade Deadline
This one may seem like it isn’t a takeaway from Thursday night’s game per se , but trust me, it is. Hawks President of Baksetball Ops & GM, Travis Schlenk spoke earlier in the day to the reporters about the Atlanta’s lack of activity at the trade deadline. Specifically, he spoke to how that lack of activity was fueled by the fact that he loves the vibe of the locker room and didn’t want to disturb the chemistry of the young Hawks, who are playing much better as of late.
With respect to the moves that were made or not made at the deadline, Travis Schlenk said that he likes the direction of his young team and didn't want to disrupt the good chemistry. pic.twitter.com/TCIVTLIdkJ
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) February 8, 2019
The players most mentioned in trade scenarios from outside reports and us here at Soaring Down South were Bazemore, Prince and Lin. With the Hawks front office clearly valuing asset accumulation, it was definitely reasonable to expect one of, if not all three, of the aforementioned players to be traded. Especially due to the fact that Baze is has a $19.2 million player option for next season, Lin is on an expiring contract and Prince is still on a team-friendly, rookie-scale contract, awaiting possible restricted free agency in 2020.
For varying reasons, all those players’ could’ve provided quite a boost for the other 29 teams in the league, but Schlenk had no reason to deal them if they weren’t impressed with the offers, and he deserves credit for not making panic trades. On top of that, Prince had a solid night in his first post-trade deadline game, posting all 19 of his points in the 1st half.
Taurean Prince has made 9 of his last 10 threes. Is that good? pic.twitter.com/SoxyGYGpcB
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) February 8, 2019
Bazemore and Lin didn’t have great shooting nights, but they combined for 10 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Lin and Bazemore also had two of the better plus/minus ratings on the night, with Baze finishing a (-2) and Lin a (+5). They were two of three Atlanta Hawks to play more than 15 minutes and finish with a plus/minus rating better than (-7), with Spellman being the other.
Even with the Hawks in rebuilding mode, having around veterans like Bazemore and Lin (and the ageless Vince Carter) is more valuable to the growth of the youngsters on the roster currently, than any future assets.