Atlanta Hawks: Brandon Ingram is a better trade target than Towns, Williamson

The Atlanta Hawks (6-9) may have found some things that work after a rough start to the season. They’ve gotten out to faster starts and simplified the offense, the latter of which may be directly contributing to the team ranking second in three-point efficiency over the last two games shooting 44.6 percent from downtown.

That has them ranked sixth in the NBA on the season at 36.6 percent from outside. But they were just 13th at 35.4 percent before their win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

It’s a slight bump for a big jump in the rankings. And they won’t sustain this recent hyper-efficiency. But it’s a good sign for the team as a whole as they are once again faced with injury-induced roster concerns.

The Atlanta Hawks would be better off targeting Brandon Ingram over Towns, Williamson

De’Andre Hunter’s injury creates concerns both short and long-term. The team’s perimeter defense will surely take a hit without him. But, as we went over, he hadn’t necessarily been playing up to his standard in that regard. The Hawks also have other long-limbed defenders that Nate McMillan has mentioned will try to make up for the loss.

Instead, it’s Hunter’s burgeoning offense that will be missed the most. He hasn’t shown it consistently this season, but games like the one he had against the Brooklyn Nets (26 points, 91 percent shooting, 6-for-6 from 3P) show what he is capable of.

Without that threat, good defensive teams will be able to focus more on Trae Young and John Collins.

Bogdan Bogdanovic and Clint Capela are effective but are both easier to neutralize.

One thing that had steam once and seems to be building again is the notion of a “consolidation” trade for the Hawks. Their early-season struggles seemed to be magnified by trying to satisfy so many players.

Most of that conversation has revolved around pursuing Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns or New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson. But what if they look at how much smoother things have looked in the last two games and decide to clear out the logjam they have on the wings?

That’s where Williamson’s current teammate, Brandon Ingram, comes in.

In his sixth season out of Duke, the one-time All-Star is averaging career-highs with 25 points and 6.5 rebounds this season with 4.6 assists to boot.

The player who once drew comparisons to Kevin Durant is shooting 45.1 percent overall and a career-best 43.9 percent from beyond the arc. New Orleans’ offensive rating is 4.7 points better with him on the floor while the defense is 1.1 points better.

He’s shooting over 56 percent overall on catch-and-shoot attempts and 48.3 percent from deep.

At 2-13, the Pelicans have little to no hope of a playoff push already and there have been rumblings of Williamson wanting out even before the dismal campaign began.

As for the Hawks, Kevin Huerter has shown signs of snapping out of his funk and will need to continue that as he fills in for Hunter. But neither he nor Bogdanovic have been the consistent shooters the Hawks need them to be. Cam Reddish followed a hot start with a cold slump to take his “inconsistent” label to a macro level.

A package that includes Hunter, Danilo Gallinari, Reddish (Williamson’s college teammate), and picks could be much more attractive now (or in the not-so-distant future) than just two months ago as the Pels front office has been adamant they wouldn’t be moving the former Laker.

As The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner points out in his mailbag (subscription required) the Hawks are ripe for a consolidation trade but only if it makes them substantially better.

Adding Ingram, who can play either wing spot, meets that criterion because, while he may not be a 1:1 solution on the defensive end, he wouldn’t be a liability having shown good on-ball skills in the recent past.

More importantly, adding another consistent scoring threat to the team would take them from playoff contender to being the near favorites.