Of all teams who've been active in reshaping their roster over the last year, the Atlanta Hawks stand out from the rest. They've seamlessly transitioned from one era to another, thanks to the brilliant work of their front office.
In keeping their options open for the long-run, however, they've limited themselves in what they can do in the immediate, especially this late into the offseason.
With Jonathan Kuminga still available as an unrestricted free agent, it's looking like he won't get picked up unless a new contract comes in the form of a sign-and-trade. In order for that to happen, though, the Hawks would need to agree on a return package.
They're very limited in what they can bring in
If this happened early in the summer, a deal would've been done. Easily.
The truth is - many teams would like to have a player of Kuminga's caliber on their roster. A steep asking price, combined with limited remaining suitors, has resulted in a stalemate regarding his negotiations.
The Atlanta Hawks have operated all offseason long as if Kuminga's departure was a sure thing. At this point, it is. It'll end up benefitting them, but for now, all it does is hurt the side of the free agent, as Atlanta has no reason to take any salary back in a deal.
For one, they're close to the luxury tax, something they haven't paid in a long, long time. Also, they're already at 17 rostered players. Before the season can begin, they're going to need to cut or trade two players. It's going to be a tough decision, as there's no obvious cut candidate. Everyone on their roster can contribute.
Adding just one player in a Kuminga sign-and-trade would further intensify the weight of their impending decision. It's going to have to be a multi-team deal.
Even then, suitors are running dry - but there's hope
The most recent NBA trade proved that teams are still more than willing to work together to get a complicated deal done, even this late into the summer.
Peyton Watson heading to Cleveland ended up being a five-team trade. A deal that large doesn't come around too often.
Also, it (likely) eliminates Cleveland from their prior pursuit of Kuminga, eliminating yet another potential landing spot from the race.
It's going to be no easy task, but hopefully this can get done soother rather than later, wherever he ends up going.
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