Atlanta Hawks play dangerous game, stand pat at NBA trade deadline

As of this writing, the Atlanta Hawks (26-28) have yet to make any deals at the NBA’s trade deadline. That is, beyond the one dealing Cam Reddish to the New York Knicks, of course. That was back in mid-January, though. Even with it looking increasingly like they won that deal, that won’t satisfy those that say standing pat isn’t a gamble worth taking anyway.

It doesn’t help when seven of the nine teams ahead of them in the Eastern Conference standings make moves to bolster their chances.

That includes four of the top six teams.

The Hawks are 9-9 against those teams this season including 1-4 against the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers who pulled off the blockbuster of the day swapping out James Harden and Ben Simmons among other pieces.

The Atlanta Hawks risk “getting worse” by standing pat at the NBA trade deadline

There is an old adage in sports that if you are not improving then you are essentially getting worse. That is usually due to the fact that your counterparts are often working to improve as we have seen in the NBA today. Even the Washington Wizards – who sit just 1.5 games back of the Hawks – made a splash.

The day isn’t necessarily about making the “big splash”. That designation was going to the Harden-Simmons deal anyway.

But the Hawks, who have admittedly not played their best ball to this point, were rumored to be in on several smaller deals that would have helped them on the margins. Those deficiencies, such as poor perimeter defense or dribble penetration, get exploited in the postseason.

"“We’ll continue to talk to other teams and see if there’s something out there that makes sense for us. As we sit here today, I don’t see that. But you never know what will happen in the next 48 hours.” – Hawks GM Travis Schlenk on trade deadline via Mike Conti/92.9 The Game"

Nothing ever materialized aside from rumors that the Mavs had an interest in Danilo Gallinari.

We already knew not to expect anything on the John Collins front after reports broke that a deal for the fifth-year forward was unlikely to come. We had heard mention of names like Marcus Smart and Josh Hart but the latter was dealt elsewhere while the former has helped his team go on a six-game winning streak.

There were similar outcomes with the likes of Derrick White and CJ McCollum, though the landing McCollum probably would qualify as a “big splash”.

White wound up in Boston with the Celtics who are one of the teams above the Hawks.

Kenrich Williams was a popular name around these parts but he wasn’t moved today either. He certainly wouldn’t count as a ‘blockbuster’ get by any stretch. But that would have solved a couple of issues and Williams was a hot name in the rumor mill because of it.

What we don’t know is what the Oklahoma City Thunder were asking for in return and deals for role players can quickly turn into overpays – just ask the Knicks. In that regard, it makes complete sense for Schlenk to refrain from joining the fray. That same line of thinking applies to any name that could have possibly landed in Atlanta

Making a deal just to keep up with the Jonses rarely works for any organization.

Still, the Hawks have some pretty clear warts. And counting on a group effort to overcome some of the league’s juggernauts hasn’t quite worked since 2011.