Wild proposed trade sends Atlanta Hawks cornerstone to division rival

This offseason is already proving to be active on the Atlanta Hawks front with suggestions for improvement. Even during their 4-1 first-round playoff series defeat at the hands of the Miami Heat, there was some commentary on what needed to change. That tends to happen when you are mostly non-competitive in the postseason.

It is especially the case with the Hawks held to a higher standard after their run to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Atlanta standing pat at the trade deadline while their division improved hurt.

Now, though, some suggestions have the Hawks making deals that could come back to bite them if they went through. One such proposal has the Hawks sending John Collins and Kevin Huerter to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Gordon Hayward, P.J. Washington, and picks.

The Atlanta Hawks would regret following through on a trade proposal with a division rival

Collins was a hot topic last offseason, at the trade deadline, and nothing has changed so far to start the Hawks’ offseason. This latest proposal comes courtesy of Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley who argues that the Hawks would be better off with Haywards ability to create than what Collins and starting shooting guard Kevin Huerter give them.

"Hayward gives the team a much-needed ball-handler outside of Trae Young to draw some defensive attention. His injuries are a concern, of course, meaning Charlotte would have to sweeten the deal."

Right away, Hayward’s injury history is a major red flag for a Hawks team that shuffled through many faces due to injury and COVID this season. The 32-year-old has appeared in more than 52 games just once in the last five seasons.

He is also expensive with nearly $62 million owed to him over the next two seasons, per Spotrac.

Buckley’s argument for Collins to Charlotte is an interesting one given the forward is going into the second year of a five-year pact that will pay him $25 million with a player option for the final season.

He also joins Hayward in having appeared in at least 70 games just once in the last five seasons.

"The Hornets need help in the frontcourt, especially at the center position. While not a true center, Collins has spent a fair amount of time playing the 5 for Atlanta and is a terrific athlete who can keep the floor spread."

Buckley also addresses the issue of Collins’ usage which was an issue last season and this season as well with the forward wanting a more defined role within the offense.

"Collins’ shot attempts and scoring have decreased each of the last three seasons…Even in a smaller role, the 24-year-old still averaged 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, and hit 36.4 percent of his threes for Atlanta."

To Buckley’s point, Collins — the longest-tenured Hawks player– was one of just four players to average at least 16 points, 7.0 boards, and 1.0 blocks while shooting at least 36% from beyond the arc.

The others were Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Christian Wood.

Huerter averaged 12.1 points while shooting career-highs from the floor (45.2%) and downtown (38.9%) this season. But his offense has been inconsistent this season with 29 games where he has scored fewer than 10 points.

The playoffs were a similar story as Huerter scored double-figures in two of the Hawks’ five playoff games while shooting just 28% from the floor in the other three averaging 7.0 points.

He is heading into the first year of a four-year rookie extension that will pay him $65 million over the next four years. A poison-pill provision in his contract made it so his salary counted as only $4.2 million on the way out but would cost his new team $13.8 million to take in. That made any deals for Huerter highly unlikely during the season.

But the provision is set to expire on June 1, per Hoops Rumors.

"Washington, 23, would become the Hawks’ new starter at power forward and has averaged 12.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.0 blocks and 37.3 percent shooting from three in 146 career starts."

Washington gave the Hawks fits averaging 13.7 points on 66.5% true shooting with 6.5 boards and 2.7 assists helping the Hornets go 2-1 against the Hawks in games that he played.

A future frontcourt featuring Washington and Onyeka Okongwu is especially intriguing.

This trade works financially but does nothing to add length or perimeter defense which should be the Hawks’ primary objectives this offseason. And Washington has yet to appear in more than 65 games in his young career, though, that was this past season.

The picks would be enticing if the Hawsk think they need more time. Whatever they do, hopefully, it does not result in them giving a big assist to a division rival.