Why The Atlanta Hawks Do The Deal

This deal isn’t straightforward for the Atlanta Hawks. If they declined it, they’d have their reasons.

To be sure, it does their spacing no favors. Anthony Davis, when healthy, is clearly a more impactful player than John Collins, but he’s not as strong a shooter. His fit alongside the non-shooting Clint Capela is questionable, and that’s before you consider the presence of the emerging Onkeya Onkongwu.

On the other hand, we’ve seen Davis alongside non-shooting bigs before. The result was an NBA championship. A healthy Davis manned the 4 alongside Dwight Howard and Javale McGee for the 2019-20 NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Meanwhile, a Davis/Capela duo ought to be impenetrable on the interior. Coupled with Murray’s elite point-of-attack defense, the Hawks could transition from one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA to one of the best following this trade, even with Trae Young.

LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Updates On Los Angeles Lakers & Atlanta Hawks

If Davis can have a bounceback year from deep, the spacing might not even be a fatal flaw. It won’t be a strength, but the potential defensive dominance of this group may be more than enough to compensate.