New Hawks Trade Idea Sends Kyrie Irving to Atlanta, Dallas Lands Assets To Continue Rebuild

The Atlanta Hawks have an interesting offseason ahead of them.

After underachieving through the first part of the year (mainly due to injuries), Atlanta put together a 20-6 finish after the All-Star break and rose from 10th in the Eastern Conference to 6th. They took the Knicks to six games in the first round, but a blowout loss in the last game signaled how far the Hawks have to go to make it towards the upper echelon of the NBA.

Armed with flexibility, including two first round picks in this draft (8th and 23rd), Atlanta can make moves to improve without sacrificing long-term assets. While I don't think the Hawks are going to be going big game hunting this offseason (think Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jaylen Brown), they can look for the right deals to improve their team at the right cost (think back to the Kristaps Porzingis deal last offseason).

How about a deal for one of the best offensive guards of all time?

The Trade

Hawks Receive: Kyrie Irving

Mavericks Receive: Zaccharie Risacher, Corey Kispert, Buddy Hield, 2026 1st round pick (23rd overall), and a 2027 1st round pick (least favorable of MIL/NOP, top-four protected)

Why the Hawks make this trade

The Hawks would consider doing this for multiple reasons.

In the playoffs, the Hawks offense was ground to a halt in the halfcourt and it was not just a playoff issue either. When they could not get out in transition, Atlanta struggled with shot creation. In the playoffs, the games slow down and you need players to be able to go and get buckets. CJ McCollum did that in the two wins over the Knicks, but relying on him to consistently do that is not going to make you a contender.

Why not replace him with one of the most skilled guards and postseason performers of all-time?

The worry with Irving is going to center on his ACL tear at the end of the 2024-2025 season. Irving did not play last season while recovering from that injury and should be healthy at the start of the season. While he and McCollum are similar in age, this would be an upgrade in skill set assuming that Irving is healthy. A lineup of Irving, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu would be one to watch.

Irving only has two more years left on his contract and it won't constrain the Hawks in the future.

Not only do the Hawks add Irving, but they shed the salary of three players who likely won't contribute next season. Kispert is the closet thing the Hawks have to a negative value contract, and they could send him and Hield to the Mavericks. Risacher still has promise, but might the former No. 1 overall pick fell out of favor late in the season and did not play significant minutes down the stretch and in the playoffs.

Two first round picks might seem excessive, but to get off the contracts of Kispert and Hield to get a playmaker like Irving, that would likely be the cost. Atlanta still keeps the No. 8 overall pick in this draft and would have room to bring back Jonathan Kuminga as a key bench player for this team. They would still have other foles to fill on the bench, but Irving would be an upgrade over McCollum and give the Hawks the shot creator they need in the backcourt.

Why the Mavericks make this Trade

Irving's trade value is a bit tough to gauge heading into the offseason.

He is still skilled and can help a team, but is coming off of an injury that forced him to miss an entire season.

The Mavericks are also in a tricky spot. They don't own their own first round pick until 2031 and it is going to be hard to build this team around Cooper Flagg without draft capital. Dallas has players such as Irving, Daniel Gafford, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, and Naji Marshall that other teams might be interested in, but does Dallas want to trade them or keep them and try to win? It is a difficult challenge ahead for this new front office.

For the Mavericks, they would get an extra pick in this draft to go along with the No. 9 pick that they already have, and a 2027 first rounder that is the least favorable of New Orleans and Milwaukee, though it is top four protected. Given that the Pelicans won 25 games this year with a mostly healthy roster and the fact that Giannis Antetokounmpo could be traded, the pick has top ten upside.

Risacher could be a reclamation project that the Mavericks take on and hope he can develop into a useful wing player for them. Kispert and Hield would give them shooting and an incentive to move on from Thompson. Hield was great for the Hawks locker room when he arrived and could have a similar impact with a young team.

Dallas cashes in on Irving's value and gets two first round picks, plus Risacher to help build around Flagg.

Does either team say no?

While I don't think Irving is going to fetch a lot on the trade market, it is not crazy to think that Dallas might want more for him.

Because they don't have their own pick next year, they might opt to keep Irving and try to be as competitive as possible. Kispert and Hield were not very good once traded to Atlanta and Risacher is a big question mark two years into his career.

Overall

I think this trade has upside for both teams and Irving is someone that I think the Hawks should pursue for the right deal. He would be an upgrade over McCollum and help fill one of their biggest needs, despite his age and injury concerns.

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