Rival 'ramped up' efforts to trade for Hawks' starter before deadline

The clock is ticking, and the Atlanta Hawks have seemingly drawn the short straw in almost every scenario that has played out so far. But they could be close on at least one deal before the trade deadline passes.

It would be a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers and would send De’Andre Hunter out.

Cleveland has already been linked to a potential trade for Hunter, the No. 4 overall pick of the 2019 draft. But they could cross two goals off their list with such a move.

“The Cavaliers have indeed ramped up their interest and background work on Atlanta's De'Andre Hunter, league sources say, making them a fascinating Deadline Day watch,” The Stein Line’s Marc Stein reported on X on February 6.

“Are the Cavs, at 41-10, truly willing to make a roster-altering move today?”

Hunter has started the Hawks' last two games in place of the injured Jalen Johnson.

“From my understanding, there’s a pathway for Cleveland to both acquire De’Andre Hunter, and achieve another goal of dipping under the luxury tax,” NBA insider Jake Fischer posted.

Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor reported on the Cavaliers’ recent interest in Hunter, who drew eyes from Cleveland in January 2024. Fedor also reported that a potential deal could include Caris LeVert.

The Cavaliers must add salary to achieve their goals of acquiring Hunter and ducking the tax.

LeVert’s salary is $5.1 million short of Hunter’s. Per Spotrac, the Cavaliers are $1.8 million over the tax threshold.

The Cavaliers could get there, but the Hawks would be forced to waive players to keep the money in the transaction balanced. And while they have candidates, losing them for nothing should be the last resort.

A much cleaner iteration would be to swap Hunter for veteran big man Jarrett Allen.

However, the Hawks’ efforts to trade Clint Capela would also need to ramp up lest they face a similar roster crunch by trying to combine the centers and wings in the same transaction.

The Hawks were linked to Brandon Ingram. But the New Orleans Pelicans traded him to the Toronto Raptors. There were also rumors about the Hawks’ interest in Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George, but that chatter has gone cold since.

The NBA’s trade deadline is at 3 p.m. ET.

If the Hawks do not make a deal by then, they face the real prospect of losing center Clint Capela and forward Larry Nance Jr. for nothing in free agency.

The rumors suggest the Hawks are not content to just let the season play out. But it is uncertain how far they are willing to go before they are resigned to such a fate. They have also sent multiple players home in advance of this, so there could be some post-deadline awkwardness to resolve.