Now that the fairytale season for the Atlanta Hawks is over, the time has arrived to look at some of the moves the team needs to make for them to potentially take the next step in the 2021-22 season and beyond. As Trae Young said, this is just the beginning for this group.
The problem is that the Hawks have got $93 million of committed salary on their books with Jthe prospect of losing John Collins and only ten players under contract. Part of the issue is the Hawks need a second superstar to either emerge or come via trade.
Collins is likely to be overpaid this offseason given the lack of talent on the free-agent market. Collins has also shown that he can genuinely be a 20 point, 10 rebound guy for a full season. This type of player does not grow on trees. The other thing to consider is Collins has now tasted the joy and despair that goes with a playoff run and is likely to want to finish what they started next year.
This is why the Atlanta Hawks must trade Kris Dunn.
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Kris Dunn has a player option as his second year worth $5.0 million which, given this season, is dead money for next season. Dunn was not able to play most of this season due to his ankle injury which is one of the main concerns with Dunn, he is a little injury prone.
The other issue is that while Dunn is one of the best defensive guards in the league, his lack of offensive capability can have a detrimental effect on a team. The Hawks need to have scorers on the floor at all times if their systems are to be a success.
If they can attach a second-round pick to Dunn, they may get the chance to get a late first-round pick. If they can’t attach the pick, then they might be able to pick up a second-round pick. Either way, this will be a cheaper option, and probably more impactful than Dunn.
If the Hawks want to keep Collins, as well as get better this offseason, they need to cut any excess salary, and Dunn certainly qualifies. as that.