The Atlanta Hawks already signaled a willingness to shake things up on Thursday morning by agreeing to trade 22-year-old wing Cam Reddish and veteran Solomon Hill to the New York Knicks in exchange for a first round pick and Kevin Knox.
However, a latest report indicates that the deal could be just the tip of the iceberg for the Hawks.
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, Atlanta is reportedly “open for business’ when it comes to trades before the league deadline next month. Following a shoddy start to the season, the Hawks are looking to upgrade in almost every way for the second half of the year.
“Everyone but Trae Young and Clint Capela are available,” one Hawks assistant general manager told Fischer earlier this week, prior to the Reddish trade.
Latest trade intel from around the league at @BR_NBA: How Dame’s surgery may impact Portland, Ben Simmons and Chicago; plus details on ATL, IND, CLE, SAC and many more
https://t.co/Z3c8iWxAev— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) January 13, 2022
According to Fischer, Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk is “not afraid” to mix things up, even if that means breaking up Atlanta’s young core that powered the franchise to the Eastern Conference Finals last summer. Among the players expected to garner interest from other teams around the league are high-flying forward John Collins, 2019 No. 4 overall pick De’Andre Hunter and veteran Danilo Gallinari.
The Hawks mentality comes after a shockingly poor start to the year for last season’s Eastern Conference runner-ups. Atlanta is 17-23 through the first half of the 2021-22 campaign, good enough for 12th in the East standings.
Defense has been the primary issue for the Hawks, who rank 25th in points allowed per game through 40 games. Atlanta is 22nd in the league in point differential (-1.2) ahead of just the Washington Wizards and the rebuilding Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons in the East.
To right the ship, the Hawks are shaping up to be one of the major players in the trade market. Atlanta will need to get any deals done before the league’s trade deadline on Feb. 10.
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