NBA trade season is officially underway.
The Atlanta Hawks made the league's first in-season move in early January, when they traded away star guard Trae Young to the Washington Wizards in exchange for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.
Since then, the market's been dry, leading many to believe this year's trade deadline would be underwhelming. I mean, how could it ever live up to last year, when the Dallas Mavericks shockingly traded 25-year-old Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers?
Long story short: it won't. However, that doesn't mean organizations won't use this inactivity to their advantage and improve around the margins. On Sunday afternoon, the Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers agreed to a deal that benefited both franchises in different ways.
The Atlanta Hawks are trading guard Vit Krejci to the Portland Trail Blazers for Duop Reath and two future second-round picks, sources tell ESPN. Krejci has averaged 9 points and 2.2 3-pointers made per game on 42.3% shooting, which ranks top 20 in the NBA. pic.twitter.com/3MAOTnks5M
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 1, 2026
For Portland, they get an immediate answer to an obvious problem. Despite their internal growth, which has forced skeptics to take them seriously, it's evident they've been lacking a key component of success in the modern-day NBA: consistent outside shooting.
In acquiring Krejci, they now have a proven sharpshooter who can truly flourish in the second unit surrounded by steady playmakers and reliable defenders. It's a seamless fit. The Hawks, on the other hand, might not see the true impact of this trade until next week.
Not because the newly-acquired Duop Reath will be making his Hawks debut, but because of what the follow-up to this move could be. Reath, the 6'9" center brought in by Atlanta in the Krejci trade, underwent foot surgery and is set to miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season.
Atlanta is in prime position to strengthen their depth before Thursday.
Now with two rostered centers out for the season (Reath and Dante), the Hawks are likely to waive one, if not both of them, to open up a roster spot (or two) ahead of Thursday's trade deadline.
Along with the soon-to-be opened roster spot(s), the Krejci trade also netted Atlanta two future second-round picks. On the market, the Hawks now have seven second-round picks available to ship away at their convenience.
While this move doesn't directly free up much cap space, the Hawks are still well below the luxury tax line, meaning they have the flexibility to bring in a solid contributor for some second-round picks and not face any financial restrictions.
The bottom line is that General Manager Onsi Saleh will want to bring in proven frontcourt depth for this season. It's clear they have a gap to fill, and people shouldn't be surprised if Atlanta becomes very active in some under-the-radar discussions over the next several days.