The Atlanta Hawks are the most-disappointing team of the 2021-22 season and a prime candidate to make a blockbuster move at the NBA trade deadline. Coming off a breakout season culminated by reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks are 24-26 — good for the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference this season.
Atlanta recently dealt Cam Reddish to the New York Knicks for Kevin Knox and a first-round draft pick. There’s too much talent still present for the Hawks to fall apart and/or miss the playoffs. They have to make a move for the sake of salvaging this season and the optimism that surrounds their program.
Here are three players the Hawks should target before the NBA trade deadline.
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3. Atlanta Hawks make a bold move for Caris LeVert
- Hawks get: Caris LeVert
- Pacers get: De’Andre Hunter, Delon Wright, Atlanta’s 2022 first-round pick and Atlanta’s 2023 second-round pick
The Hawks just traded away a young wing scorer in Reddish. In this scenario, they make a move for LeVert, who, in a way, is a combination and more proven version of Reddish and Hunter.
LeVert shoots and scores off the dribble at a plausible level. A team knows what it’s getting in LeVert: someone who’s going to provide consistent scoring and be a vital source of offense. That’s precisely what the Hawks need.
Head coach Nate McMillan has an extremely talented rotation. It’s also one that has been top-heavy in production this season. LeVert would benefit from the attention that star point guard Trae Young attracts in the form of perimeter scoring and because he can create his own shot. Meanwhile, LeVert’s sturdy defense improves a lacking defensive team on the whole.
- Caris LeVert stats (2021-22): 18.1 points and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 43.5/32.3/75.5
Atlanta can send Indiana Hunter, one of their three first-rounders in the upcoming NBA Draft and a future second-rounder. Wright likely gets rerouted. The Pacers get to work with a former top-five draft pick in Hunter and a potential lottery pick in the immediate future.
All that said, the Hawks viewing an acquisition of LeVert as not being impactful enough to move Hunter and draft capital could halt a trade from taking place.
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2. Atlanta Hawks reshape frontcourt with Jerami Grant trade
- Hawks get: Jerami Grant
- Pistons get: John Collins
A straight-up swap of Collins for Grant is a cunning way for the Hawks and Pistons to alter their offenses.
The Hawks gave Collins a $125 million contract this past offseason and have been subpar from the outset of this season. Chances are they’d like to take back that contract. Grant gives the Hawks two things: 1) a versatile, two-way player and 2) long-term payroll flexibility.
Grant does a little bit of everything. He’s a lengthy defender who moves well without the ball and has been a leading scorer for the Detroit Pistons. Grant would be the beneficiary of his surroundings in Atlanta (e.g. Clint Capela living in the paint and Young, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter operating out on the perimeter). He would be a stealthy secondary scorer who improves the Hawks on the other end of the floor, too. If all goes wrong, the Hawks at least get out of Collins’ contract, as Grant is a free agent after the 2022-23 season.
- Jerami Grant stats (2021-22): 20.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 41.5/33.8/84.6
From Detroit’s perspective, they get a bouncy and highly productive forward in Collins, who becomes head coach Dwane Casey’s starting power forward. They get to see if Collins fits alongside the likes of Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart. In all likelihood, the Pistons should be able to move the 24-year-old forward in the offseason if they determine he doesn’t fit their system.
The factor that could impede this trade, though, is the Pistons’ front office not wanting to risk the team getting on a roll and worsening its chances of winning the NBA lottery (yes, it’s pathetic, but it’s the way teams think).
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1. Atlanta Hawks acquire Buddy Hield
- Hawks get: Buddy Hield and Robert Woodard II
- Kings get: John Collins
The Hawks sending Collins to the West Coast for Hield and Woodard makes sense for both them and the Kings.
Sticking with Atlanta, Hield gives them a willing and high-volume shooter who would complement Young in the starting five. While the driving force of the offense gets points in a variety of ways, Hield gets open looks from the corner and perimeter. All the while, he’s more than capable of getting points off the dribble.
It’s a guard-driven league. The Hawks are going all in on this approach in having some combination, if not all of Young, Hield, Bogdanovic and Huerter on the floor. There’s also the chance that the Hawks make this trade and then move veterans like Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari for younger players. They become a quick, talent-heavy retooling team. Plus, Woodard is an athletic, second-year player who can stretch the floor.
- Buddy Hield stats (2021-22): 14.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 38.3/36.6/87.0
Onyeka Okongwu could become a full-time starter or at least get more minutes as a result of this trade. The second-year big man out of USC has made strides, as he’s scoring in the paint and hitting the boards at an efficient rate off the Hawks’ bench.
The Kings are at a crossroads near the bottom of the Western Conference — again. This trade allows them to experiment with Collins’ athleticism alongside De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton. The ship has sailed on Hield making a difference in a shot-happy role, anyway.