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Atlanta Hawks: Cam Reddish trade rumors swirling yet again

ByJoshua Buckhalter|
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JULY 03: Cam Reddish #22 of the Atlanta Hawks celebrates a three point basket against the Milwaukee Bucks during the second half in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals at State Farm Arena on July 03, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JULY 03: Cam Reddish #22 of the Atlanta Hawks celebrates a three point basket against the Milwaukee Bucks during the second half in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals at State Farm Arena on July 03, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The Atlanta Hawks are coming off of a Summer League that had many in NBA circles using the term “steal” with both of their draft picks. Jalen Johnson has all the tools to be the versatile playmaking wing he was billed to be. Sharife Cooper showed that his size won’t be a hindrance at this level. Skylar Mays got to show his wares too.

It seems, however, that the rumor mill won’t stop spitting out the names of Hawks players in trade proposals.

Once again, Cam Reddish is being mentioned in reported trade talks.

The Atlanta Hawks depth of talent has other teams thinking about making a deal

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Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com is reporting that the Cavaliers have been in contact with the Hawks in regards to the third-year forward.

"“Cleveland has also explored the trade market… Reddish is a player the Cavs liked in the 2019 draft. They’ve been in contact with Atlanta about him. But wings don’t come cheap.”"

He’s coming off of an injury-plagued season but flashed his immense potential, scoring 21 points and going 6-of-7 from three-point range in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Speculation that Reddish could be dealt away during the draft began almost immediately after the Hawks were eliminated.

That obviously never came to fruition.

But a reversal in his availability for Summer League only served to restart those rumors. We thought all had been settled when he appeared at Summer League alongside owner Tony Ressler and later the rest of his teammates.

General Manager Travis Schlenk also cleared up that they felt Reddish showed enough in the postseason and wasn’t suffering from rust, to warrant his focusing on the season.

We concluded that only a top-end player would be enough to make Schlenk and the Hawks part with one of their promising young players. After reading this report — and perusing the Cavs roster — we’ll stand on that sentiment.

Cleveland has some young talent, including 2021 third-overall pick Evan Mobley. But none of their top players would elevate the Hawks. None of them would qualify as “top-end” either.

It’s unlikely these rumors will ever go away any time soon. The league is watching the Hawks cap situation closely after they paid Trae Young and John Collins this offseason. Many have felt they could look to restart their clock on some of their young depth.

As we’ve said, that makes little sense for a team chasing an NBA Finals berth.

We should also keep in mind what we said about the older rumors. They’re mostly (if not totally) originating from reporters covering other teams.

By the time the draft rolled around, there was just so much smoke that it had to be addressed by Hawks beat reporters.

Shlenck is incredibly transparent, however. He’s laid out his plan in no uncertain terms and the Hawks have followed that plan. But knowing that he’s at least keeping an eye on the availability of some of the league’s best, we can never totally dismiss when these types of things pop up.

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