Proposed blockbuster trade sees Atlanta Hawks land $163M All-Star

The biggest question for the Atlanta Hawks at this point seems to be who they will trade rather than if they will pursue a player swap at all. And it appears that one of the players linked to them this offseason, Donovan Mitchell, could be ready to make the leap from his current team.

Can the Hawks put together a package enticing enough to land him?

Mitchell’s future with the Utah Jazz is murkier than ever following the departure of Quin Snyder, the only head coach he has known in the NBA.

There were already rumblings of a rift with teammate Rudy Gobert who has also been linked to the Hawks. But ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Mitchell was “unsettled, unnerved and wondering what it means for the franchise’s future.”, per his sources.

Atlanta Hawks land former 13th-overall pick in proposed blockbuster trade

The Hawks were linked to Mitchell earlier this offseason by Brett Siegel of Sports Illustrated’s Fast Break who reported that the Hawks were among the teams Mitchell would be interested in should he look to leave Utah.

Since then, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on the “Hoop Collective” podcast that the Hawks made the most sense for Gobert.

And The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner figured Gobert was the more gettable between Utah’s two stars.

But Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey changed the target to the Jazz’s dynamic scorer.

The deal certainly works, per Spotrac’s Roster Manager.

"The idea of a duo of Mitchell and Trae Young could be nightmare-inducing…Young and Mitchell were second and 11th, respectively, in 30-point performances this season."

Young led the NBA in total points and total assists this past season.

But he was shut down by the Miami Heat in the first round of the postseason. This was a major step back after the Hawks made the Eastern Conference Finals last season.

Mitchell’s Jazz tenure has featured some incredible playoff performances having made the postseason in each of his first five years in the NBA. Utah has made it out of the first round just once in that span, however.

He is heading into the second year of a five-year, $163 million max deal signed last summer.

To this point, the Jazz have been far more engaging in talks for Gobert and have rejected overtures for Mitchell, per Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer.

Bailey acknowledges the obvious about the potential of starting two 6-foot-1 guards in the same backcourt. But he thinks the rewards far outweigh the risks when it comes to a backcourt eerily similar to the Mitchell-Mike Conley pairing in Utah.

There will still be work to be done, though.

"Few, if any, backcourts would be worse on defense, but there may be enough firepower there to overcome that…Losing Hunter and Collins as part of the deal would mean plenty of other tweaks to the roster would be needed, but having those two stars in place would entice talent from all over the league."

Kirschner also suggested Hunter but added in Clint Capela (as did Windhorst) as well as second-year forward Jalen Johnson.

Bailey points out how this trade benefits the Jazz too.

"This move would certainly signal a philosophical shift. Barring a subsequent trade of Gobert, it’d give Utah one of the game’s best and most vertically explosive frontcourts. A defense with Gobert, Hunter, and Royce O’Neale would have top-five potential too."

The Hawks fielding a backcourt of Mitchell and Young wouldn’t be shifting the philosophy as much as leaning into what we saw last season – dominant isolation scorers.

Whether that style is what will take them back to the Conference Finals and, hopefully, beyond is still a big question.