Grade the trade: 3-team proposed deal would swap De'Andre Hunter for NBA champion
The Atlanta Hawks, like the rest of the NBA, are gearing up for training camp at the end of September/early October. That means most rosters are likely set until teams get a chance to see what they have cobbled together over the offseason.
Hawks general manager Landry Fields said he was comfortable taking the current group, minus a couple of moves that happened later, into the campaign.
What happens after that is anyone’s guess.
All Hawks’ Rohan Raman went through an exercise with a hypothetical trade proposal in which the Hawks trade Cody Zeller, De’Andre Hunter, and Kobe Bufkin in a three-team deal with the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat.
Hawks land NBA champion in 3-team trade proposal
Hawks get:
- Josh Richardson
- Nikola Jovic
- Peyton Watson
- Terry Rozier
- 2031 first-round pick (top-5 protected via DEN)
Heat get:
- De'Andre Hunter
- Garrison Mathews
- Jamal Murray
- 2025 first-round pick (top-12 protected from SAC via Hawks)
Nuggets get:
- Cody Zeller
- Kobe Bufkin
- Pelle Larsson
- Tyler Herro
Tyler Herro, Kobe Bufkin, Cody Zeller, Pelle Larsson, 2026 1st round pick (unprotected, via Miami Heat), 2031 1st round pick (unprotected, via Miami Heat)
This trade would work financially. The Hawks would also be the lone team adding salary, though, increasing their bottom line by $1.1 million in 2024-25.
They would also be the only team not getting a star-caliber talent back in the deal.
Josh Richardson averaged 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 2023-24, appearing in 43 games for the Heat with six starts. The soon-to-be 31-year-old is in the final year of a two-year, $5.9 million contract with a $3 million salary cap hit.
Nikola Jovic was the No. 27 overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft. He posted a 7.7/4.2/2.0 line in his sophomore season, the third year of a four-year, $11.5 million pact.
Jovic has a $2.4 million cap hit in 2024-25 and a $4.4 million team option for 2025-26.
Watson was the No. 30 overall pick in 2022. He is on a four-year, $11.2 million contract but also has a $2.4 million cap charge in 2024-25. A Nuggets’ championship team member in 2022-23, Watson played fewer than 15 minutes in the playoffs that year.
Rozier serves multiple purposes in this deal, acting as a base for the trade financially and offering a veteran backup point guard for Trae Young.
He can also play off the ball and defend on the perimeter.
Rozier is in Year 3 of a four-year, $95.2 million pact and counts $24.9 million against the salary cap in 2024-25. Dyson Daniels, Vit Krejci, and Kobe Bufkin figure to combine for the backup point guard duties with the roster as is.
Bogdan Bogdanovic and Jalen Johnson will also handle the ball plenty, giving the Hawks the option for a committee approach.
Hunter would be the biggest loss but Mathews is close behind him.
Bufkin barely played as a rookie due to injuries, and he had his summer league wiped out by a shoulder injury. Cody Zeller has never suited up for the Hawks, arriving from the New Orleans Pelicans in the Dejounte Murray trade.
Grade – C: This deal clears up the Hawks’ books for the future but gives them worse draft capital and does little for them on the court in the interim. It would also help a division rival.