Atlanta Hawks: 5 trade options to replace John Collins

Atlanta Hawks: trade option at PF No. 3: Tobias Harris finally produced in the playoffs but could still be on the outs in Philly

The Hawks had a front-row seat to Tobias Harris’ breakthrough in the postseason after repeatedly being a playoff disappointment. He averaged 21.8 points per game, nearly six points higher than his previous playoff best, and hauled in 8.5 boards which was actually a dip in his usual work on the glass. His 3.5 assists are similar to his rebounds.

It helps that his career-highs in efficiency during the regular season translated. Harris knocked down 48.8 percent of his looks, including 37.2 percent of his triples.

Against Atlanta, Harris was fourth in the series with 19.4 points per game in seven games.

He would have ranked second on the Hawks but that’s not even why this deal should interest both the Hawks and 76ers. It’s the way that Harris and Collins get their points that could make this a reality this offseason.

Reports are that Harris could be a casualty as Philadelphia tries at least one more time to make the Ben Simmons-Joel Embiid duo work. Some say he and Simmons cannot co-exist, in part, because Harris doesn’t shoot enough threes to spread the floor or cut as Simmons and Embiid need, especially late in the game.

On the Hawks, his ability to create his own offense throughout the game would be an instant upgrade over Collins.

Atlanta has enough snipers as is so Harris’ preference for the mid-range — something we’ve seen is a key to success in the playoffs — would be welcomed. Harris hit 39 percent of his pull-up jumpers and 42.9 percent of his shots between 15 and 19 feet in the playoffs.

The Hawks shot well from the mid-range in the playoffs but didn’t do it with volume.

That made them easy for the Milwaukee Bucks to defend. That was especially true with Trae Young and several others at less than full health if not completely absent. And given Harris’ usage rate was just two percentage points higher than Collins’, it wouldn’t necessarily disrupt the flow of Atlanta’s offense.

Where there wouldn’t be any upgrade is on defense as Harris is a worse defender than Collins. Luckily, the Hawks currently have a defensive-minded center in Capela (at least for now) who needs an offensive “big” next to him.