The NBA trade deadline is tomorrow at 3 p.m ET, and it seems like the Atlanta Hawks might not do anything and stand pat. There have been little rumblings here and there about possible moves, but even the John Collins trade rumors seem to be as quiet as they have ever been. Atlanta Hawks beat reporter for the AJC Lauren Williams, explained why she thinks the Hawks will “stand pat” at the deadline Wednesday night on The Jon Chuckery Show.
First and foremost when Jon Chuckery initially asked her what she thinks the Hawks will realistically do at Thursday’s deadline she said “Realistically I see them you know standing pat.” Lauren also went on to say “It’s just really hard to project or see a path forward with them being able to pull off some kind of deal that is absolutely beneficial to them, and them you know having a really good run the rest of the season.”
Now, if the Hawks do make a move Lauren believes Bogdan Bogdanovic could be the piece that is moved because he is the most “favorable” asset the Atlanta Hawks have with his playmaking and shooting ability, and because of the fact that he could be a rental piece for a conteding team.
Bogi has an eighteen million dollar player option next season, but as for John Collins he still has two guaranteed years left on his deal, three if he wants due to a twenty-six million dollar player option in the 2025-26 season, so if a team wants to acquire JC not only will they be committed to him long term, but even though the asking price has reportedly gone down for Collins a team would still have to give up some quality assets for the five year man out of Wake Forest.
Lastly, Lauren believes even if the Hawks do make a trade before 3 p.m ET on Thursday that it will not make that much of a difference saying “You’re throwing in a new piece into a team that has so much trouble having chemistry for the majority of the season.”
Unless the Hawks trade for a guy like Kevin Durant, or somebody of that caliber, which it seems like nobody of that caliber is available, the Atlanta Hawks are going to have to work with what they have, and at times when they are healthy doesn’t seem like such a bad thing, but the final stretch of the 2022-23 season for the Atlanta Hawks will be all about consistency.