Trading Trae Young away was a bittersweet moment for Hawks fans.
While CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert – bereft of any draft compensation – aren't the dream return fans imagined for Ice Trae, they've already proven one thing: they bolster an already deep bag of positive rotational pieces that Quin Snyder has at his disposal.
The Hawks now have at least 12 players who could play meaningful minutes on any playoff team: Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Onyeka Okongwu, Kristaps Porzingis, Zaccharie Risacher, Luke Kennard, Dyson Daniels, Vit Krejci, Asa Newell, Mo Gueye, and now McCollum and Kispert.
Atlanta should capitalize on their wealth of depth
Given all this talent, only one logical conclusion makes sense for Onsi Saleh – sell high, and profit long-term from their absurd depth.
Teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Boston Celtics have all very openly declared their desire to contend (or at least, get themselves back into the playoff mix in the case of the Bucks and Clippers), but find themselves extraordinarily top-heavy.
Star talent like Luka, LeBron, Giannis, Harden, Kawhi, and Jaylen Brown aren't flanked by nearly as much top-to-bottom talent on their respective rosters as Atlanta currently boasts. While a deep rotational Hawk may not command a first round pick in return, stockpiling assets – no matter how small – has been a trademark of successful teams in recent years.
Consensus league-best GM Sam Presti's tenure has, of course, been hoisted up the rankings by their savvy trade of Paul George for SGA and 5 first round picks. What has flown under the radar, however, is Presti's dozens of second round pick deals, where he either takes on undesirable contracts for seconds or trades away successful (yet unnecessary) deeper talent for a bevy of seconds.
Onsi Saleh would be wise to replicate this formula for success – as much as Hawks fans love players like Vit Krejci, Kristaps Porzingis, Asa Newell and more, it may be time to make a larger move to not only sell players to teams in need (and willing to pay premium price), but also to allow their top-end talents a larger sum of minutes on a nightly basis.
Moving off at least a handful of their current 12 positive rotational players would serve the Hawks well. Whether Onsi Saleh wants to push his chips in for an Anthony Davis with such assets or stockpile picks has yet to be seen, but fans should trust the GM to make the right play – he's done a stellar job at the helm to date.