The Atlanta Hawks are looking to improve on the success of last season. They had a tremendous season where they made the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time as the current version of the franchise.
This team did a better job than the 2015 version, they actually won two games which could have been more except for the referee’s foot which Trae Young injured himself on. This had a major impact on the series and as a result, Hawks fans are left wondering what might have been.
The problem is that the Hawks have a fair few decisions that they need to make. Should they decide to keep John Collins, he is going to cost them more money than he should, given the lack of quality in this free-agent class. However, they could be a way that they could keep Collins and upgrade their bench
The Atlanta Hawks have a tremendous opportunity to trade for Joe Ingles
The Utah Jazz are looking for an All-Star caliber player to add to their lineup in order to challenge for the championship next season. If the Hawks can get in on facilitating this trade then they could end up with Joe Ingles to bolster their playing stocks.
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They are reportedly offering the package of Cam Reddish and the 20th pick to move up into the lottery. However, imagine if they were able to use this package to land Ingles, probably involving a third team as well. The Australian is a playoff veteran who can help the Hawks in so many ways.
Ingles is a tremendous playmaker, having played this role for years with both the Jazz and the Australian National. team. This could help the non-Trae Young minutes for the Hawks and would take the pressure off the rest of the team. He has also got experience creating for a player who has very limited range on his shot which will help Clint Capela as well.
Ingles is also a very good 3-point shooter meaning that he can also play alongside Young but this then will bring the Hawks defense into question. Young is not known for his defense and Ingles is not a great deal better. However, Nate McMillan has the offensive genius playing defense so he might have more luck with Ingles.
So, should the Atlanta Hawks try and trade for Joe Ingles? If the cost is not too much then they certainly should. He has one year and $14 million left on his deal meaning that the Hawks can extend their current young squad without him impacting their ability to do so.