The Atlanta Hawks were expected to be one of the major players at this year's NBA trade deadline. They wound up doing nothing when the clock struck 3 PM ET on February 8th. Now, this team has no choice but to go through the season and potentially finish as a directionless team stuck in the middle, which is perhaps the worst place to be in the NBA.
They have failed to make any progress since making the Eastern Conference Finals just three years ago. Making the playoffs this season won't do them much favors since they will likely stare at a third straight first-round exit.
Sure, the Hawks could still find a way to make the playoffs. But it won't do much for their long-term plans, especially after they made the Eastern Conference Finals just three years ago. With that said the Hawks should have found a way to make at least one trade at the deadline.
Hawks biggest mistake: Completely standing pat at the NBA trade deadline
It is honestly a travesty that the Hawks did nothing, especially after they were rumored to be big sellers at the deadline. They were reportedly done with the Trae Young and Dejounte Murray backcourt and looked ready to move on from the latter with the pairing not working out as they had hoped this season.
With Dejounte Murray reportedly available, he became one of the the hottest names on the trade market for this deadline and many NBA fans expected a blockbuster to go down.
The Hawks had reportedly engaged with the Los Angeles Lakers, who had interest in acquiring the former All-Star. Ultimately, the Lakers also stood pat and did not make any moves before the trade deadline. Atlanta reportedly wanted Austin Reaves in any trade for Murray. However, the Lakers were only willing to give up D'Angelo Russell, whom the Hawks reportedly did not want.
In addition, the New Orleans Pelicans also reportedly had a deal in place for Murray, but ultimately, both sides failed to agree on a trade. The Hawks reportedly wanted to acquire defensive stalwart Herb Jones in exchange for Murray, but the Pelicans did not want to let the 25-year-old.
A Murray trade may not have gone down and given that his new contract has not even kicked in, the Hawks likely felt like they still had leverage on a trade potentially in the offeseason. However, Atlanta should really have found a way to pull off at least one deal in this year' s deadline.
Hawks could have sold some of their other pieces
Several other names such as Clint Capela, Deandre Hunter, and Saddiq Bey were reportedly on the block, but the Hawks were unable to trade any of them either. The Pelicans reportedly also had interest in Capela and Onyeka Okongwu, but clearly, nothing materialized.
Even Bogdan Bogdanovic, who is on a team-friendly four-year $68 million contract, could have been flipped to a contender for some draft assets. Bogdanovic drew interest from several contenders such as the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Philadelphia 76ers. But the Hawks reportedly had no intention to trade him at the deadline and if they did, they reportedly placed a pretty steep price on him.
With that, the Hawks wasted a chance to gain value from any of their players and re-tool ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season. Now, the talks about Atlanta potentially making its franchise star Trae Young available is already floating around. While this could all be just noise, the whispers certainly don't help a team that continues to sink in the East.
Follow Us
Subscribe