The Atlanta Hawks are stuck where no team wants to be in the NBA. They aren’t bad enough to realistically expect to be near the top of the NBA Draft or even want to be. But, they aren’t good enough to contend with the upper-echelon teams in the Eastern Conference, let alone the NBA.
The Hawks are currently 6-6, sitting in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. They have made some big trades in the last two offseason, acquiring Dejounte Murray from the San Antonio Spurs in 2022 and trading John Collins to the Utah Jazz this past summer.
Atlanta has yet to see the results they had hoped for from those moves. Until Trae Young becomes a more efficient player offensively or improves as a two-way contributor, the ceiling of this team as currently constructed is capped.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Trae Young, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, Jerami Grant, Atlanta Hawks Updates
However, they could break through if they were able to swing another trade. Over at Bleacher Report, Greg Swartz put together a piece about what every team in the NBA would do if the trade deadline were right now, not in February. In his opinion, the Hawks would be looking to add a third star to the mix.
“There’s enough of a sample size here to know Atlanta should once again fall into the play-in tournament in the East, as a roster of Trae Young, Dejounte Murray and some high-quality role players can only carry the Hawks so far.
If there was ever a team in need of a third star, this is it.
Even after trading for Murray, the Hawks can still part with multiple first-round picks (either their own or a 2024 selection via the Sacramento Kings plus one in 2029 or 2030) and have some intriguing young talent to offer as well,” wrote Swartz.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Trae Young, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, Jerami Grant, Atlanta Hawks Updates
Who could the Hawks target with such a trade package? One suggestion is to swing for the fences and try prying All-Stars and All-NBA caliber players Karl-Anthony Towns or Pascal Siakam from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors, respectively. Swartz also suggested targeting Siakam’s teammate OG Anunoby or Jerami Grant of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Out of the four, Towns seems like the least likely to move. Minnesota is off to a great start as the frontcourt pairing of he and Rudy Gobert is starting to gel. Everyone is waiting for the Raptors to sell after missing multiple opportunities to do so in recent years. In the early stages of a rebuild, Grant is a logical trade candidate for the Blazers.
All four players would greatly raise the Hawks’ ceiling. Given their game plan with Young in the mix, Quin Synder’s rotation would benefit from adding another two-way, switchable player to the mix. Unless a big move is made, another ticket to the NBA Play-In Tournament is likely.
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