Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports
Atlanta Hawks Trading for Donovan Mitchell Unlikely
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The NBA rumor mill never takes days off. Today Shams Charania of The Athletic wrote an article that made headlines for several teams. The main takeaway was the Boston Celtics offering a significant trade package for Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant.
The second part of Charania's story provided an update on trade talks surrounding Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell. The NBA news breaker wrote, "Along with New York, several other teams have expressed interest to the Jazz when it comes to Mitchell, such as Washington, Miami, Toronto, Charlotte, Sacramento and Atlanta, according to sources."
The inclusion of the Atlanta Hawks at the end of the report shocked fans. The Hawks just traded for Dejounte Murray earlier this month. The Hawks had to part with Danilo Gallinari, and four first round draft picks to acquire the All-Star point guard.
Over the past several weeks, Hawks head coach Nate McMillan had to provide answers on how he believes two ball-dominant point guards will coexist in the backcourt. Meanwhile, Trae Young has already been working on his off-ball game with Stephen Curry's shooting coach.
So adding another undersized, heavy usage guard does not make any sense. Especially considering Atlanta's front office immediately started working towards wiggling under the luxury tax line. They currently have 14 contracts on the books for $151.4 million next season, which is $1.2 million over the luxury tax line. Mitchell has four years and $135 million remaining on his contract.
Trae Young and Donovan Mitchell speaking after a game in 2021.
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
It is not that Charania's reporting is inaccurate. The NBA insider has quickly become one of the most trusted names in the league. Instead, a lot of readers will misinterpret how he phrased the sentence. Charania wrote it in the past tense, which would make a lot more sense since Atlanta's front office surely did its due diligence on Mitchell before the Murray trade.
If a trade goes down involving Mitchell or Durant, it should not surprise fans. However, if the Hawks are involved, that would be truly shocking. Either way, every time a superstar is traded, it has an impact on the rest of the league. Stay locked into AllHawks.com for breaking news, highlights, and analysis.
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