Proposed blockbuster trade sees Atlanta Hawks land $205 million big man

Their offseason is less than a week old and the Atlanta Hawks have already seen a wide range of opinions on how they can improve. We’ve heard the players speak of coming back improved. There have also been economic solutions such as Los Angeles Clippers forward, Robert Covington.

Covington would certainly solve several problems for the Hawks who need more wing defenders and three-point shooting.

It does not solve all of their problems, though, and one insider has a solution for another one.

While we were suggested Utah Jazz star guard Donovan Mitchell as a potential trade target, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on “The Hoop Collective” podcast that the Hawks should take a massive swing and go after his teammate, Rudy Gobert.

The Atlanta Hawks should swing a blockbuster trade for an All-Defensive Team mainstay

Utah just got bounced in six games by the Dallas Mavericks. But talk of splitting Gobert and Mitchell up has been a hot topic every offseason as the duo has yet to make it out of the second round. This year’s first-round exit has been used by many as a final-straw scenario pointing to an imminent breakup.

Windhorst and guests Tim Bontemps and Tim McMahon were discussing what to do when McMahon suggested Atlanta and the former agreed.

“To me, the team that makes the most sense is Atlanta because their defense is horrific. It’s holding them back…that team has a ton of various types of players that they can trade. A lot of them are under large contracts.”

The Hawks had the NBA’s second-best offensive rating in the regular season, per Cleaning the Glass. Their defense ranked 26th. In the postseason, their offense fell off, ranking 12th out of 16 the participants while their defense ranked ninth.

Atlanta is also fresh off of spending $443 million on a quartet of players last summer.

Windhorst thinks one of them could be at the center of a package for Gobert, literally and figuratively.

“The basis of it would potentially be discussing a swap of the centers, [Clint] Capela. And then you start talking about what else, potentially, the Hawks could toss in there…I know that Gobert isn’t a perfect fit for today’s defensive styles. But you think a team that is so terrible on defense like the Hawks…and you give them a player that is difference-making.

Gobert is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, five-time All-Defensive selection, and finished second this season to Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart. The three-time All-Star led the league in rebounds per game during the regular season.

He averaged 12.0 points and 13.2 rebounds in their playoff series versus Dallas.

Gobert has three guaranteed years plus a player option for the 2025-26 season at an average of $41 million, per Spotrac. Capela, the league’s leading rebounder a season ago, is heading into the first season of a two-year extension that will pay him nearly $23 million through 2025.

The trio talk about the lack of passes Mitchell has made to Gobert and that Young and Capela led the league in player-to-player connections as another reason for action.

McMahon and Windhorst debate whether or not to include De’Andre Hunter – McMahon was against, Windhorst for – before the conversation over destinations to the Western Conference and then the Charlotte Hornets.

Hunter increased his point total with every game in the postseason, ending averaging 21.2 points with 3.8 boards on 67.3% true shooting. He is extension eligible this offseason and could be highly sought-after on the trade market.

Capela missed Games 1-3 of the Hawks’ first-round matchup versus the Heat but returned for Games 4-5 to average 2.0 points on 33.3% shooting with 7.5 boards.

With the offseason not even officially underway, the buzz is only going to grow louder as changes are expected for this team.