Hawks urged to swing trade swapping out failed 1st-round pick

The NBA trade deadline is on February 6, and the Atlanta Hawks have a clear and obvious need for an upgrade behind Trae Young.

We explored several options the Hawks could look into that were suggested by Bleacher Report, including Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton. Another suggestion has the Hawks looking into Sexton, adding Kobe Bufkin with Larry Nance Jr. as originally suggested.

The Hawks would also include draft capital in the deal.

“Trae Young carries an extremely heavy offensive load, with his 12.1 assists per game leading the NBA. This team could use added playmaking off the bench to help it solidify a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference,” Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz wrote on January 13.

“Sexton, 26, has been really good as a starter in Utah this season. The combo guard is averaging 18.0 points and 3.9 assists per game while shooting 43.0 percent from three.
The Georgia native should be happy to return home and play for a team with playoff aspirations again.”

Sexton was recently spotted getting into a spirited altercation with teammate Isaiah Collier, who waved him off during the final moments of an eventual win over the Brooklyn Nets.

The Jazz have also been rumored to be open to moving Sexton for the past year.

Hawks could solve backup PG issue with trade for Jazz's Collin Sexton

Sexton is in Year 3 of a four-year, $70.9 million contract. He will cost $19.2 million in 2025-26 and hit unrestricted free agency in 2026 without a new deal in place. This trade would add $2.8 million to the Hawks’ books.

That is significant for a team that has always been cognizant of the luxury tax threshold and sits $5.3 million below the first apron, per Spotrac.

Hawks should have mixed feelings about potentially trading Kobe Bufkin, Larry Nance Jr.

The Hawks like both Bufkin, the No. 15 overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, and Nance, whom they acquired as part of the package they received from the New Orleans Pelicans in the Dejounte Murray trade.

But they are players at different points in their careers and as such should be viewed differently in potential trade talks.

Nance is a veteran on an expiring contract.

That does not automatically mean he should be traded. It would, however, be an easier pill to swallow than parting with a recent former first-round pick, even one who has so far failed to truly launch like Bufkin.

However, a move to replace him with another guard should certainly be explored. There are no actual rules against trading injured players, but that certainly makes a deal more unlikely.

Still, Sexton is the exact kind of target the Hawks should check on before the trade deadline.