With a narrow 110-108 victory over the Miami Heat last night, the Atlanta Hawks have now rattled off three straight wins as they hope to climb back into the playoff picture in the second half of the NBA season. Currently, the Hawks are the 12-seed in the Eastern Conference and with the February 10th trade deadline approaching, it remains to be seen just how aggressive general manager Travis Schlenk will be.
Cam Reddish was dealt to the Knicks in the midst of a 5-game losing streak earlier this month, leading many to wonder what was next. Despite the recent success, Thomas Mott believes that the Hawks can’t let a few wins deter them from making moves.
“This three-game winning streak, to me, means very little because it was a short-handed Heat team last night and you almost blew an 18-point lead. You beat Minnesota and Minnesota is nothing to write home about right now…and it wasn’t a 100% Milwaukee Bucks team…I’m happy with what they’re doing right now. It’s what they have to do moving forward. There are still a lot of wins ahead of them…but, I still think that Schlenk needs to make a move because this team, defensively, is still an absolute nightmare and you saw that again late last night," Mott said.
With a need on the defensive end of the floor, Mott had a few suggestions for who the Hawks should target at the deadline.
“They need an elite defender, and I am very much in on two names. One of course is Ben Simmons. I’m okay with that trade as long you can promise me that he actually going to play for the Hawks, and I’m sure Schlenk wouldn’t trade for him without those parameters set. The other name is Marcus Smart. I think Marcus Smart would be a great wing defender on this team," he said.
Mott added that Smart would bring an added toughness to the Hawks but wondered if he would “gell” inside the locker room.
In terms of who may be on the block for the Hawks, there were reports that John Collins could be among the pieces included in a trade with the 76ers. This was preceded by reports that Collins was “frustrated” with his role, but the 5th-year PF told The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner “this is where I want to be.”
This past offseason, Collins signed a 5-year/$125 million extension.