Did the Atlanta Hawks Win the NBA Trade Deadline?

Recapping the Atlanta Hawks’ very busy deadline.

The Atlanta Hawks had one of the busiest deadlines of any team, and perhaps the best.

The big moves came first, trading for Clint Capela on Tuesday and Dewayne Dedmon on Wednesday. Both were moves I really liked, as the Hawks added help at their worst position for now as well as in the future, which both being under contract for years to come.

The Hawks were not done however. Thursday morning, hours before the deadline, the Hawks made two more moves within the span of an hour.

First, they acquired Derrick Walton from the Clippers, along with cash to match his contact, sending away a top-55 protected 2nd round pick. Soon after, reports came out that the Hawks would not be keeping the 24-year-old point guard, using the cash they got from L.A to waive him without consequence.

A nearly identical trade happened soon after, with the Hawks getting former 1st rounder Skal Labissière from Portland as well as $1.9 million. Unlike Walton, Labissière looks to be staying in Atlanta, at least for now.

With both Skal and enough money to cover his contract coming over from Portland, the Hawks basically got the 23-year-old for nothing, their third center added in as many of days.

If you want to step back and look at the entire picture, the Hawks traded the expiring contracts of Alex Len and Evan Turner, as well as Jabari Parker (who could be unrestricted as well with his player option), and the Brooklyn first-rounder they owned for Clint Capela, Dewayne Dedmon, Skal Labissiere and two second-rounders.

That’s an incredible deadline for the rebuilding Hawks, locking down the center position for the future, right before a free agency class seen to be very weak.

As I write this right now, the clock hit triple-zeros on the trade deadline, which as a whole, was one of the best in recent NBA memory.

If the Hawks didn’t get the gold medal, they’re definitely on the podium, and they did a lot without giving up anything valuable. They were able to add significant pieces without jeopardizing their young core, which shouldn’t be seen as anything but a win.