The latest buzz around the Atlanta Hawks would suggest that another significant move is possible if not likely.
Their moves to this point have moved them in the opposite direction, geared more toward shedding salary than boosting the team’s ceiling. But their roster – and coaching staff – are built to compete right now.
With John Collins gone, traded to the Utah Jazz in one of those primarily cost-cutting moves, the next player to enter the rumor mill for the Hawks has been forward De’Andre Hunter whose four-year, $90 million contract extension starts next season. The Hawks also have to consider future new deals for Saddiq Bey and Onyeka Okongwu.
They’ve traded the last two draft picks they gave new money to in Collins and Kevin Huerter.
Hunter, 25, averaged a career-high 15.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists this past season while 35% from deep.
At 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds, Hunter is the prototypical size for the modern forward. That much is evident by the list of players he’s spent the most minutes guarding which is dotted with names like Jimmu Butler, Brandon Ingram, Kawhi Leonard, and Jayson Tatum among others
Still, with Saddiq Bey and, more specifically, AJ Griffin lurking, a trade could make sense.
A De’Andre Hunter trade could make sense for the Hawks
The Hawks are projected to be more than $20 million below the luxury tax threshold in 2024-25 even with Dejounte Murray’s four-year, $120 million contract extension kicking in. But new deals for Bey and Okongwu could and likely will eat that cushion up rather quickly leaving the Hawks in a similar position as they entered this summer.
Reports have connected Hunter to trade talks with the Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, and Indiana Pacers while the Hawks have been said to be in hard pursuit of Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam.
That makes him a good place to start.
The Hawks could follow the Raptors’ blueprint
Siakam is said to be against a trade to Atlanta but the Hawks could take the Raptors’ approach from the 2018-19 season when they acquired Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs.
The result was a championship.
However, they also watched Leonard walk out the door for his hometown Los Angeles Clippers the following offseason despite that success and their best efforts to keep him in Toronto. With all due respect, Siakam – who was on that title team and who was the NBA’s Most Improved Player that season – is not the player that Leonard is.
The Hawks could be risking an even heftier trade package with a player whose acquisition doesn’t guarantee them a top-five spot in the Eastern Conference. Conversely, they were 20-23 in clutch games this past season.
A few of those games going the other way could mean all the difference for a club that finished 41-41 in the regular season before bowing out of the playoffs in six games.
Siakam, 29, can certainly do that.
He averaged 24.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists while finishing just a shade below 1.0 steals per game this past season. While he is not a knockdown three-point shooter, hitting just 32.4% from beyond the arc in 2022-23, he did shoot 34.1% on catch-and-shoot threes.
Siakam is heading into the final year of a four-year, $136.9 million contract and will command top dollar on the open market.
The risk in this deal is undeniable, though, and anything short of a title would be disastrous.
The Hawks could take advantage of the Timberwolves’ logjam
There have been rumblings that the Hawks could look to move center Clint Capela this offseason with Okongwu potentially poised to take over and the Hawks already engaging with the Dallas Mavericks in talks for the veteran starter.
In the West, the Minnesota Timberwolves could be looking at a multi-faceted numbers crunch on their roster and salary cap.
They already went over the top with two centers being paid like superstars in Rudy Gobert and Karl Anthony-Towns who played power forward last season. But they also just handed Anthony Edwards a rookie supermax contract and gave backup big man Naz Reid a new deal this offseason as well.
That foursome will account for more than $145 million against the salary cap in 2024-25.
If nothing else, the Timberwolves could strive for better roster balance on a team that finished as the eight-seed just as the Hawks did this past season.
The Hawks might wish they could put Capela in this deal instead of Okongwu, and perhaps with the aid of a third team they could. But the Timberwolves do not need another non-shooting center in this scenario in which Towns’ availability could be growing imminent.
“There has been some discussion about Towns, but it shouldn’t be a surprise if that gets much louder as the trade deadline nears,” wrote ESPN NBA insider Tim MacMahon on July 5. “The face of the franchise for the Timberwolves has transitioned to Edwards…If Minnesota is going to make another major change, it would need to be by trading Towns.”
Towns averaged 20.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.8 assists, shooting 36.6% from deep in ‘23.
The 27-year-old big man is finishing a five-year, $158.2 million contract and will start a four-year, $234.5 million extension in 2024-25.
This deal seems fine in a vacuum but, in reality, only really makes sense if the Hawks figure out what to do with Capela and at power forward, assuming they are still looking for options there and wouldn’t just look to re-create what Minnesota has.
The Hawks could target Trae Young’s friend
One of Siakam’s biggest draws is that he brings championship experience on top of being able to function as a primary scoring option when called upon. Well, they could find an option that is cheaper, younger, bigger, and has a pre-existing relationship with star Trae Young: Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr.
Porter, 24, averaged 17.4 points, 5.5 boards, and 1.0 assists hitting 41.4% of his triples.
He still averaged 13.4 points and shot 35.1% from deep in the Nuggets’ championship run, all snagging 8.1 rebounds and dishing out 1.6 assists. But he often found himself being subbed off the floor for his defensive shortcomings when his offense was not clicking in the playoffs.
With more than $148 million owed to him, the Hawks could look to offer the Nuggets some relief under the luxury tax to get a deal done.
“He is a 6’10”, three-level scorer who could open up a lot of things offensively,” wrote Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report on May 10. “It also doesn’t feel impossible that the Denver Nuggets could consider moving him, since his inconsistent production doesn’t align with his sky-high pay rate.”
Porter and Young also played together on one of the best AAU teams in recent memory with the former poking fun at the latter over advancing further in the playoffs.
Of course, Denver took the patient route to a championship and, to this point, with Porter.
It is difficult to envision a scenario in which he becomes available this offseason, though things in the NBA can change in a heartbeat. And Denver is facing a $16.2 million luxury tax bill after next season, the third-highest in the NBA.
Porter’s injury history is downright scary but his ceiling as an offensive weapon is high enough to offset the loss of defense if Hunter is moved. The question then becomes if the move is too lateral – Hunter is no slouch scoring the basketball and is still improving – for such a dramatic change, especially to their salary cap projections and moving a Bogdan Bogdanovic whom they just paid.
The Raptors have another forward to decide on
If Siakam is not interested in a trade, OG Anunoby would suffice. He too is heading into the final year of his contract on a team that is not particularly close to contending for a championship as currently constructed.
Anunoby, 25, averaged 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists this past season while also swiping 1.9 steals to lead the NBA.
That would be nice to pair with the 2021-22 steals champ in Murray.
This deal would be cleaner than one for Siakam, not requiring additional salary to satisfy the league’s salary-matching rules. That is just one of the potential pros to pivoting from Siakam to Anunoby.
The 6-foot-7, 232-pounder is also a far better shooter than his teammate, knocking down 38.7% of his triples this past season giving greater positional versatility than Hunter whose career-best 37.9% mark from downtown in 2021-22 is only slightly better than Anunoby’s 37.5% mark for his career.
Anunoby is heading into the third year of a four-year, $72 million contract.
This deal also shaves $1.4 million off the bottom line, though Anunoby will also command a hefty sum in a new deal after the 2024-25 season and sooner if he opts out next summer.
“Anunoby told representatives…that he was searching for greater ball-handling and playmaking duties in advance of his upcoming contract talks,” wrote Yahoo Sports NBA insider Jake Fischer on July 1. “Without that chance…there remains the ongoing possibility that Anunoby could request a trade from the franchise.”
Toronto also added Jalen McDaniels in free agency this offseason which could further eat into Anunoby’s touches and, potentially, push him to request a trade.
The Hawks could look to build back a veteran bench
When this Hawks core was at its best during that ECF run, it had a plethora of veteran options it could call upon if needed. This past season, the bench was still capable, just far less reliable amid some rough patches as the front office and coaching changes would indicate.
Still, it ranked eighth in net rating on the season.
They could strengthen it, either directly or indirectly, by doing a 2-for-1 deal with the Brooklyn Nets, and they could land a player who has familiarity with head coach Quin Snyder.
Former Utah Jazz forward Royce O’Neale, 30, spent five seasons under Snyder and shot no worse than 37.7% from deep after his rookie season including 38.5% or better in each of the last three seasons.
He averaged career highs with 8.8 points and 3.7 assists this past season adding 5.1 boards and is heading into the final year of a four-year, $36 million contract. Both he and Dorian Finney-Smith have experience starting and coming off the bench giving the Hawks lineup flexibility and keeping them from having to rely on young players who may not be ready yet.
Finney-Smith, 30, averaged 8.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists.
He shot 33.7% from deep this past season, split between the Nets and Dallas Mavericks, but shot 39.5% from outside over the previous two seasons and has been linked to Atlanta.
“There is still a lot of speculation that Atlanta could bring back a John Collins offer for the Nets,” an anonymous GM told Heavy Sports NBA insider Sean Deveney in May. “And DFS is a guy they want to bring in.”
This deal would add more than $3 million in salary but could help with floor spacing, depth, perimeter defense, and more. That includes the potential for some room for those Bey and Okongwu deals sooner than if Hunter’s salary was still on the books, though Finney-Smith is just heading into the second year of a four-year, $55.5 million pact.
There are a lot of possibilities still for this roster and organization.