3 Hawks who will not be on the roster by the trade deadline in February

Kobe Bufkin could follow another Hawks former 1st-round pick out the door

For vastly different reasons, 2023 first-round pick Kobe Bufkin is in danger of suffering the same fate as his 2022 counterpart, AJ Griffin. The Hawks traded Griffin to the Houston Rockets over the 2024 offseason after he fell out of head coach Quin Snyder’s rotation.

Griffin also dealt with personal issues and has stepped away from basketball. Bufkin has not gone through that. But he has not proven as effective as the former Hawk did.

Put simply: Bufkin could prove more valuable in a trade than he has on the floor so far.

The Hawks’ offseason moves have all but rendered Bufkin redundant as it is, with  Dyson Daniels figuring to log plenty of reps on the ball in relief of Trae Young. Daniels also provides the defense Bufkin projects to offer when healthy.

However, Bufkin has been unable to stay healthy, keeping him from proving his flashes are legitimate. They could be enough to entice a team looking to rebuild, though.

Let the players tell it, the Hawks are not one of those teams.

Bufkin is unlikely to deliver the kind of return to lift the Hawks in a deal by himself. But he could serve as a de facto first-round pick for the Hawks as part of trade package to land a more proven player.

A move like that would likely mean the Hawks are indeed one of the surprises of the season and looking to bolster their playoff contention.

Bufkin is the least likely Hawks trade candidate on this list. But he is (or should be) a candidate.

If the Hawks get out of the gates slowly, that would certainly change the math on who should go and who should stay. Bufkin would be a player the Hawks could look to give time to in that scenario, which remains unlikely due to the Hawks lacking control of their future draft picks.