The Atlanta Hawks should be looking to build up roster in pursuit of a return to the Eastern Conference Finals and, ultimately, the NBA Finals.
Anything short of that and a rebuild could be their next organizational phase.
That is the theme of a new trade proposal from Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey that would see the Hawks part with Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic. Bailey suggests a three-team deal that would net a pair of young guards and draft capital for the Hawks.
Hawks trade proposal lands pair of former top-20 picks & more for Trae Young, Bogdan Bogdanovic
“Young is younger and more productive. Building around him is probably the more traditional path, but he's also likely to bring in the bigger return in a trade,” Bailey wrote on June 10. “And even without Young, the Hawks can remain relatively competitive as they figure out how aggressively they'd like to pursue a rebuild.”
Cole Anthony averaged 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists last season. The No. 15 overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft, he thrived off the bench this past season. He is a weak defender and shooter (34.3% on 3P for his career).
With 4.1 career assists per game, he is also far from the playmaker that Young is, which would leave Murray to carry a heavier burden than may be ideal.
Anthony is starting a three-year, $39.1 million contract this season.
Anthony Black was the No. 6 overall pick in 2023. He averaged 4.6 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists as a rookie, knocking down 39.4% of his 1.4 triples while seeing just under 17 minutes per game.
This deal would cut nearly $40 million from the Hawks’ bottom line in 2024-25. Spotrac projects the No. 28 pick will land a 2-plus-2 deal worth $13 million with a $2.5 million salary in 2024-25.
The Hawks would be more than $37 million in the black with this deal.
Bailey points to Dejounte Murray and Jalen Johnson – whose playmaking ability presents options in transition – as a competitive foundation. The Hawks posted a plus-1.4 net efficiency differential when they shared the floor without Young last season, per Cleaning The Glass.
They posted a minus-8.4 rating with all three on the court together. The Hawks also posted a plus-3.7 net efficiency differential when Young and Johnson played without Murray last season.
Moving Young might require getting more certainty back for the next iteration of the team.
Grade – B+: This would be a great start if the Hawks signaled they wanted to rebuild. But they would need more useful pieces than Anthony and Black if they wanted to remain competitive
3-Team trade proposal lands Hawks, Nuggets stars on Magic
Bailey called the Magic a “looming powerhouse” coming off their fifth-place finish in the Eastern Conference and first playoff appearance in four years. The Magic’s 47 wins in 2023-24 were their most since 2010-11.
They got by with their defense, though, boasting the third-best rating on that end of the floor.
However, the Magic had the 22nd-ranked offensive rating and had some issues with high-scoring teams, going 26-33 when opponents scored 100-plus points.
They were 1-3 versus the Hawks during the regular season, losing by an average margin of just 111-108 in the four-game series. Adding Young – who averaged 30 points and 9.7 assists in his three games versus the Magic this season – would solve multiple quandaries.
Getting Young’s childhood friend in Michael Porter Jr. only raises the ceiling in this scenario.
Porter has dealt with similar health woes as Isaac, though the former has logged at least 60 appearances in three of four NBA seasons, including a career-high 81 last season.
He is not the defender that Isaac is even when locked in. But Porter’s offensive versatility would take a heavy burden off of Paolo Banchero who was often saddled with doing the heavy lifting on the scoreboard and handling the ball.
With Young in to address the latter issue in this scenario, the Magic make out like bandits.
Even with the commitment to a lightly proven core of Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Wendell Carter Jr. and the draft capital they would surrender, the Magic would win in this trade scenario.
Grade – A+: This is a blockbuster move for an organization that has slowly rebuilt itself over the last few years. If they are ready to compete, it makes perfect sense.
Nuggets reset on wings with Hawks veteran swingman, Magic forward in 3-team trade proposal
The Nuggets got a rude awakening in the postseason this year. They brought back the majority of their roster from last season. But at least one key loss – sparkplug guard Bruce Brown – was sorely missed as the Nuggets were mostly flat through two rounds of the playoffs this season.
Denver also saw key veteran Jeff Green leave for the Houston Rockets. It was another seemingly small but apparently impactful loss.
In Bailey’s scenario, the Nuggets get to reload and potentially clean up their books.
Bogdan Bogdanovic offers a versatile offensive threat who can create for himself and others, shoot the three-ball efficiently (38.4% career 3P), and is equally adept coming off the bench as he is starting.
The 31-year-old swingman is entering Year 2 of a four-year, $68 million contract and will count $17.2 million against the cap in 2024-25.
There is a $16 million club option for the final season in 2026-27.
Isaac is entering the final season of a four-year, $69.6 million deal. He will count $17.4 million against the salary cap next season. His salary for this coming season is non-guaranteed until January, per Spotrac, due to his previous lost time.
Isaac has appeared in more than the 58 games he did this past season just once in his career, appearing in 75 games in his second season in 2018-19.
This scenario cuts $1.4 million in salary in 2024-25. Denver could let Isaac walk next summer.
Porter is slated to count $38-plus million against the cap next season in what would be Year 4 of a five-year, $179.3 million contract. That means this scenario could save the Nuggets upwards of $22 million in 2025-26.
Grade – C+: This would be a perfect vehicle to try to remain competitive with an eye toward the future. Even after his playoff woes, moving on from Porter without a proven replacement is risky.