What are the Atlanta Hawks Most Desirable Trade Assets?
The Atlanta Hawks are gearing up for training camp and then they will start what will be an important season for them. After the moves they have made this offseason to reshape their team, it is going to be interesting to see how the new-look Hawks gel on the court.
The Hawks made the decision to trade Dejounte Murray this offseason and that resulted in the Hawks getting one of the most valuable draft picks in the NBA. Atlanta was able to acquire an unprotected pick from the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2025 NBA Draft and while it might not be at the top of the draft board, there is a decent chance that the pick lands in the Lottery and with the flat Lottery odds in the NBA now, that could result in the Hawks picking higher than expected. But is that draft pick the most valuable trade asset that the Hawks have? Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz listed what he thought were the Hawks's most valuable trade assets and this is what he thought:
Best Trade Assets: PG Trae Young, C Onyeka Okongwu, 2025 first-round pick (unprotected via Los Angeles Lakers)
Untouchables: F Jalen Johnson, F Zaccharie Risacher
"Trae Young probably isn't going anywhere after the Atlanta Hawks chose to move on from Dejounte Murray instead, but with just two guaranteed years left on his contract and the franchise cemented in mediocrity, we shouldn't completely rule out a Young trade this season.
The 25-year-old, three-time All-Star is still one of the best offensive machines in basketball and would look great on teams like the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers or Miami Heat.
Okongwu is still stuck behind Clint Capela at center heading into training camp, although the 23-year-old is good enough to be a starter and is on a really good contract (four years, $62 million) moving forward.
The Hawks received the Lakers' unprotected first-round pick from the New Orleans Pelicans in the Murray trade, a selection that could turn out to be extremely valuable if LeBron James and/or Anthony Davis were to miss time due to injury."
For what it is worth, I don't think the Hawks ever trade any of these players or picks. Young is still the player they are trying to build around and with the additions of Zaccharie Risacher and Dyson Daniels this offseason, they have done a nice job of putting better pieces around him to help him succeed. Okongwu has not had a chance to show he is the center of the future, though it could be his time this year. Clint Capela and Larry Nance Jr are more likely to be traded in my opinion. Without their own pick in 2025, it would be pretty shocking to see the Hawks get rid of the pick.