NBA Trade Deadline: 5 teams primed to make big trades
By Tom West
5. Atlanta Hawks
Just one season after taking the Eastern Conference by storm and finishing 1st place with 60 wins, the Atlanta Hawks have had a somewhat startling fall from grace. Even though they lost DeMarre Carroll to the Toronto Raptors, they’ve had the upcoming Kent Bazemore who’s been a more than respectable replacement. Yet, at 31-24 and 4th place in the East, they’re supposedly a team considering trades to move on from their 2014-15 All-Star core.
Last season, Carroll was their only starter not named an All-Star, as Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap and Al Horford all got the nod. In a matter of days, though, the four may not even be on the same team.
Teague has been in trade rumors for some time now, as the Hawks appear to be ready to make Dennis Schroder their point guard of the future. Their offensive rating is higher with Schroder on the floor and his speed, shooting, poise and instincts have allowed him to average 18.6 points, 7.9 assists and 1.7 steals per 36 minutes this season. With that in mind, it’s no surprise the Hawks are interested in acquiring talent at another position by moving Teague.
As Kevin Arnowitz and Brian Windhorst of ESPN have discussed, the Hawks are having “serious” talks about trading some of their 2014-15 All-Stars:
"The Atlanta Hawks are engaged in serious internal discussions ahead of the Feb. 18 trade deadline about the future direction of their team and their core players, including three All-Stars from their historic 2014-15 team: Al Horford, Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver… Sources close to the organization emphasize that if the Hawks become active in the next week, it will not be to “blow it up,” but rather an attempt to exchange their existing players for commensurate, if younger, talent."
With so many teams such as the Celtics, New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz expressing interest, it looks like he’ll be on his way out of Atlanta soon.
Horford could be part of a deal, too. He’s the ideal floor spacing center in today’s NBA with a major career-high in made threes this year with 55 at a 34 percent rate — in the previous eight years combined he had just 21. Along with his passing, solid defense and diverse offensive skill set, it makes sense the Hawks are considering moving him to bring in a serious return before he becomes a free agent this summer.
On top of these two players, Korver is a potential trade piece, too. He’s even drawn interest from LeBron James and the Cavaliers already.
While Teague has slightly regressed, Horford is still a highly talented and versatile center with more range than ever this season. As he heads towards the summer on an expiring contract, though, with such a high chance of earning a max deal, the Hawks could well move him before the NBA trade deadline.
The team isn’t being blown up and rightfully so. That really should not be the case. However, with Teague’s decreased importance and the chance of Horford getting a max elsewhere, the possibility of at least one being traded (no matter how high the asking price will be) can’t be ignored.
Next: A young team with so many assets