Atlanta Hawks Receive: G Derrick White, C Jakob Poeltl
San Antonio Spurs Receive: C Onyeka Okongwu, F Danilo Gallinari
Derrick White was drafted by San Antonio in 2017 out of Colorado and not many people knew much about him. The 6’4” combo guard did not play much his rookie season, but the following year, he played in 67 games for the Spurs and began to carve out his role as a key contributor for this team.
Then during the 2019-20 season, White became a key member of the Spurs’ rotation and had some breakout performances in the NBA Bubble, going for 20+ points in four of the seven games he played in for the Spurs in Orlando.
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Heading into the 2020-21 season, there were high expectations that Derrick White could possibly compete for the Most Improved Player award and while he missed the start of the season due to injury, he started to play really well in March when he was inserted back into the starting rotation for the Spurs.
White’s season this year ended early due to a severe ankle sprain, but he could draw a ton of trade interest this offseason due to the fact that San Antonio may be heading for a rebuild. Obviously they would like to keep White given the potential he possesses, but he has not been able to remain healthy and on the court for San Antonio, which is definitely a yellow flag.
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In this deal with Atlanta, not only would they be getting a young center in Onyeka Okongwu, who fits the new mold of athletic players the Spurs are trying to add to their roster, but they would be getting an experienced veteran forward in Danilo Gallinari, who could aid them in perimeter shooting.
On the other side of things for Atlanta, they would be getting Jakob Poeltl as a solid #2 option next to Clint Capela in the frontcourt and they would be upgrading their depth in the backcourt. This deal does look too good to be true for the Hawks, so let’s take a look at this deal from each team’s perspective to see if this is a potential trade we could be seeing in the offseason.
