Should the Atlanta Hawks pursue a trade for Zion Williamson?

The Atlanta Hawks are in full offseason form, announcing the hiring of Nate McMillan as the permanent head coach, General Manager Travis Schlenk speaking on John Collins’ contract situation, while owner Tony Ressler gave some a scare with what seemed like double-sided comments (they were anything but).

Of course, this extended downtime also means the rumor mill is churning with full force. One of the most popular names being bandied about is New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson.

He’s reportedly upset that J.J. Redick was traded and the uncertainty around a couple of other teammates, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart, for next season. There was also said to be some disenchantment with former Head Coach Stan Van Gundy, leading to his ouster after one year.

It also doesn’t sound like he’s the only one in his circle that isn’t too fond of the goings-on down in the bayou. And the voices are important.

There are said to be family members who want him on another team, which has naturally led to massive speculation. The most popular destination in any mock scenario has been the New York Knicks. They were all set to take him (or trade the pick to the Pelicans for Anthony Davis) in 2019 only to lose out on the pick altogether and fall to third overall.

New York also rosters his college teammate in R.J. Barrett, further fueling the fire. But let’s not forget this little gem from the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery:

The Atlanta Hawks possibly pursuing a trade for Zion Williamson is a complicated issue

The words of Schlenk and Ressler, regarding the luxury tax and being “good” versus “great”, immediately come into focus. As does Collins, who should be rightfully looking to cash in as he heads into restricted free agency.

Does it make sense for the Hawks to try and pull off a trade for Williamson, presumably at the expense of Collins? Would the Pelicans take whatever package they could put together?

Given the NBA’s complex salary-matching rules, is a trade even possible?

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?

Should the Atlanta Hawks pursue a trade for Zion Williamson?:  Would be less than favorable from the Pelicans point of view

Perhaps the obvious question is what motivation the Pels would have to sign off on such a franchise-altering move. This is especially true so soon after moving on from Davis and seeing how that turned out. Watching the player you featured for seven seasons win a ring in his first year away can’t leave a good taste behind.

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The trade of Buddy Hield for Demarcus Cousins, which preceded the Davis move, looked promising but ultimately yielded no fruit either.

Now, after they were thought of as one of the up-and-coming rosters just a year ago, the sting of failing to make the postseason has turned up the heat on New Orleans. What they do next is huge for the future of this franchise.

But they’re trying to win now.

Moving Zion avoids any potential ugliness from delaying a move if that is truly what he wants.

But, for all that he can do, Collins is nowhere near the draw that Williamson is. That has to be a big factor in any decision to trade him or not because players with his kind of star power don’t come around often.

Without him, the Hawks would (again, presumably) be sending the 20th pick in this year’s NBA Draft and, since teams can’t trade first-round picks in consecutive years, a ‘23 first along with a first from OKC in ‘22.

Is that enough to sweeten the pot that they’d take back a couple of the Hawks young pieces not named Collins?

Swapping Capela for Adams certainly doesn’t seem like enough to alter any decision.

And with all the other uncertainty facing this organization at the moment, having a bonafide seat-filler in Williamson is a guaranteed selling point. Because in case we’ve all forgotten, they’re still looking for a replacement for Van Gundy.

Ultimately, all of that could be what pushes Williamson right on out of the door and into a team (let’s say the Hawks) arms. Though another team offering more is more likely.