3 Proposed trades that would land suggested 'top' targets for Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks have played one preseason game but ideas about how they could tweak their roster are already popping up.
Hawks general manager Landry Fields acknowledged that the roster remains a work in progress and several players’ futures with the team remain in limbo. That means plenty of potential trade candidates if the Hawks look to make a move.
Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes suggested three “top” targets for every team.
For the Hawks, the list consists of Lu Dort, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Devin Vassell. These Soaring Down South trade scenarios aim to land each in unrelated moves.
Proposed Hawks trade lands perimeter defensive ace
“Dyson Daniels won't get the Atlanta Hawks out of the league's bottom 10 on defense all by himself, so Oklahoma City Thunder shutdown artist Lu Dort profiles as a sensible target,” Hughes wrote on October 7. “If OKC believes it can get enough out of Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace on D, it could justify sending Dort to Atlanta in a deal potentially involving Bogdan Bogdanović, whose playmaking would address a need in OKC.”
While Hughes suggests moving Bogdanovic, there is another trade candidate that makes more sense for both sides: De’Andre Hunter
Dre to OKC
This deal does several things for the Hawks.
It would shave nearly $5.2 million off the Hawks’ bottom line in 2024-25. Hunter is in Year 2 of a four-year, $90 million contract. Dort is in Year 3 of a five-year, $82.5 million pact. Dort also has a $17.7 million team option for the final season in 2026.
Hunter has been a staple of trade speculation and could be primed to serve in a bench role with rookie No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher looking more than comfortable in his preseason debut.
Dort – who shot 39.4% from deep last season – would solidify the starting lineup and bench.
Moving Hunter rather than Bogdanovic also keeps the more reliable offensive option around while capitalizing on Hunter’s defensive billing, which has not always matched his play on the floor.