As the end of the NBA playoffs and season nears, many Atlanta Hawks fans will be looking toward the offseason to see what, if any, moves Atlanta will make in an effort to improve the team and get back to the form they had in the 2020-2021 season when they reached the Eastern Conference Finals. Depending on the route the Hawks want to take, they could consider pursuing a free agent. However, if they are looking for a big name in that pool, options are limited as the top three players are James Hardin, who could exercise his player option and return to the 76ers, Deandre Ayton, who will be a restricted free agent, and Zach LaVine.
Once you get beyond Hardin, Ayton, and LeVine, names like Jalen Brunson, Miles Bridges, Collin Sexton, an Atlanta area native, and Luguentz Dort become some of the best available options in free agency, but not necessarily names that may be considered big enough to go alongside Trae Young and give the Hawks a legit No. 2 superstar player.
So, if the Hawks are not thrilled about free agency options, they could look at making a trade. Names that have recently come up as possible players that Atlanta would pursue in a trade are Donovan Mitchell, Bradley Beal, and Mitchell’s teammate, Rudy Gobert. If Atlanta were to seriously consider the trade route to find a solid running mate for Young, they have what it would take to put an attractive package together, including a first-round draft pick.
However, the Hawks would have to package a player or two into their trade package, pondering the question, besides Young, what other Hawks player are fans attached to and would not want to see moved away from the team.
For Jon Chuckery, that player would be DeAndre Hunter, who Chuckery believes needs "more time” to really develop into the player he really can be to help the Hawks be successful. Chuckery added that Hunter’s two-way player capability makes him too valuable to be traded away in his opinion.
Listen to Chuckery’s full thoughts in link above:
