The future of the Atlanta Hawks is hanging in the balance as the 2025 trade deadline approaches. The Hawks have been linked to several potential deals, though none seem particularly close just days before the current transaction window slams shut.
As rival teams have already gotten things off with major splashes, the Hawks could still be working on one of their own.
“Still being told that there's a chance there could be a deal done with Brandon Ingram going to Atlanta,” NBA insider Jake Fischer reported during a Bleacher Report live stream on February 4. “The Hawks are absolutely another team to watch – in addition to Toronto, in addition to New Orleans – they’ve got various things on the board.”
This is not the first word of the Hawks’ renewed interest in Ingram.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst also reported on the Hawks’ potential interest in acquiring Ingram in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans.
“Keep an eye on the Atlanta Hawks,” Windhorst said on “Get Up” on January 31. “They just lost their star wing, Jalen Johnson, for the season. They may start to get interested in making a move, especially for Brandon Ingram. Keep an eye on that.”
Ingram, 26, was an All-Star in 2019-20.
CLICKITY CLACK. CLICKITY CLACK.
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) December 6, 2024
BRANDON INGRAM CAN'T MISS pic.twitter.com/vb16uNNa5T
He is averaging 22.2 points on 53% eFG with 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 37.4% from beyond the arc.
Ingram is on an expiring five-year, $152.3 million contract.
He has dealt with injuries, playing just 18 games this season. But part of that could be the Pelicans. Current Hawks guard Dyson Daniels lamented his tenure in New Orleans, calling the organization “cursed” with all of the injuries they endure.
Hawks looking to turn page on 2021 ECF team
The Hawks have also been linked to a potential trade for Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George. In any deal for George or Ingram, the Hawks would need to send out significant money. Their higher-priced non-stars are said to be on the block or drawing interest.
“They have sent Bogdan Bogdanovic home. He has not been with the team,” Fischer reported during the intel dump.
“Clint Capela is still a name to monitor. De’Andre Hunter, even though he’s played very well this season, still a name that we are considering a very strong possible trade candidate out of Atlanta. There are teams calling on Larry Nance, the veteran center, who is a locker room favorite in Atlanta, who the Hawks, to our understanding, would like to extend there. But that’s not stopping teams from calling on him. So the Hawks are, without a doubt, another team to keep watching on all this stuff.”
The interest in Nance, a pending unrestricted free agent, is not new. But the report of the Hawks eyeing a potential extension for him is.
Bogdanovic, Capela, and Hunter are three of five remaining players from the Hawks’ run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. If they are traded, Trae Young and Onyeka Okongwu would be all that remains.
HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reported on February 4 that the Pelicans are reluctant to take back future salary in the deal, which could complicate things for the Hawks, particularly with Bogdanovic.
The NBA’s trade deadline is on February 6.