5 Potential trade targets that fit into the Hawks’ $25 million exception

The Hawks could take advantage of the Nets’ timelines

Another possibility that the Hawks were said to have had an interest in was Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith. Brooklyn is somewhere between a rebuild and pushing to contend and Finney-Smith, 30, has been said to be one of the pieces they are willing to shop this offseason as they manage their own cap sheet relative to expectations

“There is still a lot of speculation that Atlanta could bring back a John Collins offer for the Nets,” another GM told Heavy Sports. “And DFS is a guy they want to bring in.”

Now that the Collins angle of that rumor has been settled in a different way, it’s unclear if the Nets would have an interest in simply shedding the salary. Finney-Smith and teammate Royce O’Neale, 30, are both said to carry price tags of at least one first-round pick.

The Hawks could get the Sacramento Kings’ first-round pick if the latter makes the playoffs.

That would give the Hawks a pair of picks that project to be outside of the lottery and potentially into the back third of the draft. Is one of those picks for one (or a pick and a swap for both) of the Nets’ wings too steep of a price for the Hawks’ front office to pay for a pair of wings that can help now and are still under contract going forward in Finney-Smith’s case?

Finney-Smith averaged 8.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists this past season. His three-point efficiency fell from 38.9% over the previous three years to 33.7% this past season.

But he did shoot a slightly better 35.5% mark before being traded from Dallas to Brooklyn and still provides solid defense. He is also just entering the second year of a four-year, $55.5 million contract with a $15.4 million player option in 2025-26.

O’Neale averaged 8.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 2023-24.

He shot better than 38.0% from deep for the third consecutive season and offers stout perimeter defense just like Finney-Smith. But O’Neale – who was acquired by Brooklyn last offseason to appease Kevin Durant and is heading into the final year of a four-year, $36 million contract next season – also played for Snyder in Utah.

This offseason seems sure to bring plenty more twists and turns for the Hawks before all is said and done.