Hawks land Olympic gold medalist in proposed trade
Towns is expensive and the Hawks would undoubtedly have to commit even more future draft assets to acquire him.
Enter Grant, an Olympic gold medalist in 2020, potentially.
“Grant is a reliable 3-and-D veteran forward who should fit in nicely alongside Young,” Swartz wrote. “The 30-year-old put up 21.0 points and made 40.2 percent of his threes for the Blazers last season and would be fairly interchangeable at forward with Johnson, especially if No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher can play shooting guard on a full-time basis.”
Grant posted 21.0 points, snagged 3.5 boards, and dished out 2.8 dimes per game in 2023-24, shooting 40.2% from downtown in the process. He is in Year 2 of a five-year, $160 million pact, counting $32 million against the cap in 2024-25.
This deal still moves on from Hunter, which in all likelihood means the Hawks should stand pat.
Grant is essentially a fully realized version of Hunter and would not do much to diversify the Hawks or even raise their ceiling substantially.
The Hawks selected Bufking with the No. 15 overall pick in 2023. But injuries have derailed him thus far and the Hawks have done well to stock the roster with alternatives at both the point guard and shooting spots.
The Hawks acquired David Roddy in a trade with the Phoenix Suns for E.J. Liddell.
Liddell was part of the Hawks’ return from Dejounte Murray, but Roddy is more proven at the NBA level.