News and Notes: Huerter Healthy While Trade Rumors Swirl

The Hawks and Knicks will battle Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, with the worst record in the Eastern Conference on the line. Both teams enter the game 6-21, with identical minus-9.4 net ratings. While the game itself isn’t particularly newsworthy, there are latest rumors and notes worth catching up on ahead of tipoff:

Huerter To Play Against Knicks

Kevin Huerter re-aggravated his left shoulder on Sunday against the Lakers – just six games after returning from an injury that cost him 11 games earlier in the year. The Hawks’ guard appeared to catch an inadvertent elbow from Dwight Howard in the fourth quarter while boxing out underneath the basket and did not return.

Here's the play Kevin Huerter where injured his left shoulder — the same shoulder that he hurt in Denver. pic.twitter.com/qjRTzEJZ2r
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) December 16, 2019

“We’re hoping it’s not as serious as it was in Denver,” Huerter said on Sunday. “Arm kind of went limp on me. It felt similar to Denver.”

Huerter appears to have avoided any serious damage, however, and will play against the Knicks without any sort of minutes restriction. Sarah Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that while Huerter is experiencing some stiffness in his left shoulder, he did not undergo an MRI.

Kevin Huerter said he didn't end up getting an MRI done on his left shoulder this time.

"Didn't feel we needed to."

Said it's feeling better, just a little stiff.
— Sarah K. Spencer (@sarah_k_spence) December 17, 2019

Huerter has given the Hawks’ offense a spark since returning to the lineup, and Atlanta has risen from 103.9 points per 100 possessions to 108.4 over its last six contests. Huerter is averaging 6.2 points and four assists over that stretch and 8.1 points in 16 total games this season.

Previewing Tuesday Night’s Game

Both Atlanta and New York are bad, though the former is so by design and the latter wound up so by a series of monumental failures. Tuesday night will not offer the high-level execution at strategic back-and-forth one might find in a matchup between two title contenders, but one battleground to monitor is New York’s missed shots. The Knicks are the worst shooting team in the NBA, so there will be plenty of bricks, but they’re also the second-most effective offensive rebounding team. The Hawks, by contrast, rank dead last in defensive rebounding percentage, which could allow New York to generate second chances on the glass.

For a more thorough preview of Tuesday night’s action, click here.

Trade Rumors Begin to Swirl

December 15 was the day players who signed new contracts this summer became eligible to be traded, and thus trade season has (un)officially begun. The Hawks aren’t expected to be major players on the market, but could look to solidify their rotation with a veteran big man or wing. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported last week that a team official told Trae Young that “the team would be getting him some help on the roster soon,” which would indicate an intention to acquire a rotation piece via trade.

It’s unclear what exactly the Hawks would be willing or able to give back in such a deal. Evan Turner, Chandler Parsons, and Allen Crabbe all make far more than their market value and would almost certainly have to be included along with an asset (although Crabbe has played well in recent weeks), making them highly difficult to trade. Perhaps some team with a similarly overpaid veteran might be willing to do a straight swap for the sake of players changing scenery.

It is extremely unlikely that the Hawks trade De’Andre Hunter or Cam Reddish, which leaves them with very little to offer a theoretical trade partner. Jabari Parker might be the most likely trade candidate once John Collins returns from suspension on December 23. Parker is playing on a one-year, $6.5 million contract (with a player option for next season), which shouldn’t be a difficult amount to trade if Atlanta wants to get a deal done. That would leave the Hawks thin at power forward, however, and it’s unlikely they get anyone as good as Parker in return in that sort of price range.

On Tuesday, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report posited that the Hawks could be a destination for the Cavaliers’ Kevin Love, who reportedly wishes to be traded. “The Hawks may be a sneaky buyer,” a former NBA executive told Pincus. “They haven’t gotten the results they expected so far this season.”

Pincus wrote that Atlanta “would be wise to appease second-year star Trae Young by providing him a more ready-to-win veteran in Love,” but it’s unclear why the Hawks would make a deal like that this season. Even with Love on the roster, it’s unlikely Atlanta sniffs the playoffs this season, and taking on the remaining four years and $120.4 million wouldn’t make much sense for a team with longer-term aspirations. If Young truly is that unhappy with the current talent on the roster, perhaps Travis Schlenk gives Cleveland a call, but I’d be wary of mortgaging the future for an aging, overpriced veteran who plays the same position as Collins.