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Should the Atlanta Hawks pursue a trade for Zion Williamson?

By Joshua Buckhalter

Apr 6, 2021; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) tries to shoot against Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic (13) and Atlanta Hawks forward Tony Snell (19) during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 6, 2021; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) tries to shoot against Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic (13) and Atlanta Hawks forward Tony Snell (19) during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /

Should the Atlanta Hawks pursue a trade for Zion Williamson?:  There aren’t as many advantages for the Hawks as you might think

The hardest part in evaluating this potentially monumental trade is not knowing what Collins’ new will be worth; if he even gets one from Atlanta. And if they let him walk, they lose what could be their best trade piece for this particular deal. Both teams do have other players they could package to make the salaries work out.

But the Pelicans already have Brandon Ingram at small forward and plenty of guard options. Plus you probably don’t want to move his college teammate, Cam Reddish, who showed a lot of potential this postseason. The amount of options is shrinking.

Would a Clint Capela for Steven Adams swap sweeten the deal enough with picks to get a deal done? Possibly but it doesn’t even sound as good on paper.

Collins averaged 17.6 points and 7.4 rebounds for the Hawks this season. He saw his minutes dip this season as the Hawks boasted a deeper roster and, subsequently, his numbers also fell across the board, save for at the free-throw line where he shot a career-high 83.3 percent.

His numbers weren’t bad in the postseason, but he was inconsistent on offense and almost non-existent on defense. The Hawks have to decide whether or not Collins is worthy of a max contract. He doesn’t create his own offense (none for others) and is inconsistent in his one-way play.

Williamson averaged 27 points, 7.2 boards, and chipped in with 3.7 assists for a pelicans team that struggled to find itself all season.

Both are high-flyers so that’s a push. Perhaps Williamson’s 10-point per game advantage is negated by the fact he shot just 29.4 percent from outside this year. Collins hit 39.9 percent in the regular seasons and 35.7 percent during the playoffs.

Zion also shot just 61.6 percent from the charity stripe and missed free throws cost the Hawks during their run.

It’s not really clear if Williamson can be a better defender either. Van Gundy made it a point to call out his young superstar for his lack of effort on that end. There is also the durability issue with Williamson and his unique body type. Collins’ history isn’t clean either though.

Is some added physicality inside and (more) star power worth a bundle of picks and Collins or some other amalgamation of players?