Ex-Atlanta Hawks player on the move again via trade

Ex-Atlanta Hawks player Maurice Harkless is on the move again. While he never played a game for the Hawks, he was a member of the franchise due to being part of the Kevin Huerter trade. Previously here on Soaring Down South we believed that Justin Holiday was going to be the first player traded this offseason but that was not the case.

In fact, Harkless was traded to the OKC Thunder with a future second-round pick for Vit Krejci in a deal that is going to impact the Hawks in many ways including many hidden benefits. Harkless had the chance to help push the Hawks into contenders but could have also impacted the team the other way, given that he could have upset the rotations.

Harkless was potentially projected to be a veteran leader with the Thunder before he was traded just days after the Thunder received him. Usually, if you are traded to a team over the cap you have to wait 60 days before being traded again. As Harkless was traded under the disabled player exception for Chet Holmgren, he was able to be traded immediately.

Ex-Atlanta Hawks player on the move again.

The Thunder wasted no time moving on Harkless per Woj of ESPN. They sent him to the Houston Rockets with Derrick Favors, Theo Maledon, Ty Jerome, and the Hawks’ future second-round pick. In return, they received David Nwaba, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke, and Marquese Chriss.

This puts Harkless on his third team in as many months after coming over from the Kings in early July. This trade will potentially impact the Hawks further as they are potentially in the market for a veteran point guard to round out their roster which is where Burke may come in.

It is a long shot that the Hawks would sign Burke should he be waived but given that the Hawks have only one roster spot remaining and only a small amount of space under the tax threshold that this could be a move that they might make.