It’s almost that time of year NBA fans. Trade rumors are starting to become prevalent each day in NBA discourse and with the February deadline approaching, things are only going to pick up.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, there are going to be more buyers than sellers at the deadline this year:
“Part of that is the Play-In tournament, which has kept more teams trying to reach the postseason instead of dropping down into the lottery,” Wojnarowski wrote. “Also, this isn’t considered a strong draft class at the very top, so there’s even less motivation to trade a postseason berth vs. a few extra ping-pong balls in the lottery.”
If this is true, which direction could the Hawks be leaning?
I think the answer is both.
At 12-18 and outside of the NBA play-in tournament picture, it is starting to become pretty clear that the way the Hawks are constructed as a team is not working. They have been dealing with injuries to guys like Jalen Johnson, DeAndre Hunter, and others, but there is not a lot to suggest that this team as currently constructed is going to advance very far in the NBA playoffs.
I think the answer is both because I don’t think the Hawks are just going to trade their top players and go into a rebuild. I think they will try and look for top players to come back in any trades to try and reshape the team around superstar point guard Trae Young.
During the summer and early months of the season, the focus of many Hawks trade rumors revolved around Raptors forward Pascal Siakam.
When appearing on TSN’s Overdrive, NBA Insider Shams Charania was discussing the Toronto Raptors and their possible plans as far as trades go. After mentioning that Scottie Barnes is the only player that is untouchable, Charania mentioned how close the Hawks were to completing a trade for the Raptors forward:
“I can tell you guys, Atlanta felt like they were close and that they had a good, a pretty good package for Pascal Siakam last summer in July and there was some pretty intense conversations back forth with a deal centered around De’Andre Hunter, AJ Griffin and draft compensation and the deal did not get done so we will see as we get closer over the next several months.”
A few weeks ago, there were rumors that the Hawks were monitoring Siakam as a trade target.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.com, Atlanta continues to monitor Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam as a potential trade target.
Here is what Scotto had to say about the potential trade:
“The Atlanta Hawks continue to monitor Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam as a potential trade target after attempting to acquire him during the offseason, league sources told HoopsHype.
While Atlanta was unable to acquire Siakam over the summer, Jalen Johnson has emerged as an early Most Improved Player candidate, averaging career-highs in points (14.1) on 59.4 percent from the field and 42.5 percent from beyond the arc with 7.3 rebounds as the starting forward before suffering a left wrist injury that could sideline him 4-to-6 weeks, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
“Jalen Johnson has been their third best player this year behind Trae Young and Dejounte Murray,” an NBA executive told HoopsHype.
Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter was among the players discussed during the Siakam talks, and his $20 million salary and versatility on both sides of the ball playing both forward spots at times makes him a trade candidate to watch in a potential deal.
Another Hawks frontcourt player, center Clint Capela, was linked to the Mavericks this offseason, but with the emergence of rookie center Derrick Lively, Dallas’ trade interest in Capela has since faded. However, after signing Onyeka Okongwu to an extension, some rival executives believe Capela could be used as a trade chip again before the February trade deadline.
Patty Mills and his $6.8 million expiring contract is a noteworthy trade chip that could also be included to match salaries.”
Most of the trade rumors have involved Siakam, but there is potentially a new target for the Hawks according to a report from Yahoo Sports Jack Fischer.
While Fischer does mention Siakam as still being a trade target for the Hawks, Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen is the latest name to be thrown around in trade conversations.
Here is what Fischer had to say about the potential of Markkanen being on the trade market:
“Lauri Markkanen has indeed emerged as a fascinating, albeit unlikely trade candidate before February’s buzzer. The Jazz held designs of further competing in the Western Conference after Markkanen emerged as an All-Star in his first season in Salt Lake City, league sources told Yahoo Sports, as Utah engaged Portland about acquiring Damian Lillard and then Jrue Holiday before this season tipped. Moving on from Markkanen would mark a stark change of direction from trying to add an All-NBA caliber point guard to run Utah’s offense alongside Markkanen’s versatile skill set.
But Markkanen’s status already has and will continue generating significant buzz around the league if Utah continues entertaining rivals’ inquiries. It would be front-office malpractice not to at least understand what it would take to land Markkanen. League personnel believe three teams in particular value the Finnish forward at this preliminary stage of trade conversations. Two of those apparent suitors, Sacramento and Atlanta, make sense, considering the Kings’ and Hawks’ respective approaches for Siakam. The third team league personnel continue mentioning to watch for a potential Markkanen approach is Oklahoma City, suddenly second in the West with a trove of first-round picks.
While I think a trade for Siakam is attainable, I don’t see how the Hawks have the trade ammunition for a player like Markkanen.
To compare the two, Siakam is an older player and on an expiring contract. Anyone making a trade for him is getting an older player who will need another contract. Markkanen is a younger, better player than Siakam and is on a longer-term deal. There is going to be a stark price to pay to land Markkanen and the Hawks just don’t have it.
The draft compensation is likely going to be high. Danny Ainge always wants to get the most he can out of any deal (like any good GM should) and that is going to drive the price for Markkanen sky-high. He is coming off of an All-Star year and has a lot of talent.
The trade for Dejounte Murray depleted the Hawks of most of their future draft equity and that is what I would suspect Utah is after in this deal. They could always use talented young players of course, but they could just continue to add to the stockpile of picks they have from the Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell trades.
The latest rumors have involved trading Dejounte Murray to either the New York Knicks or the Los Angeles Lakers.
Yesterday, NBA insider Shams Charania had this to say about the Lakers interest in Murray:
“One player that I am told to keep an eye on, a potential target for the Lakers, Hawks guard Dejounte Murray. Murray still has four years, $120 million of an extension that kicks in next season, so that is a little bit better when you think of a reasonable salary to be bringing in when you already have LeBron James and Anthony Davis on your books.
The Hawks’s direction of course, it is in flux, they gave up multiple first-round picks and a swap to go and get Dejounte Murray a couple of summers ago from the Spurs”
I think the Knicks would be able to give the Hawks the type of assets they are looking for in a trade like that, but it is unclear exactly what the Hawks could be looking for in a trade that involves Murray.
I think this team could be looking much different in about a month or two. There have been several reports about the Hawks being a team that is active in trade discussions and it would be surprising not to see them do something at this point.
What that is exactly is up for debate. Stay tuned.
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