Ranking the Atlanta Hawks Top 6 Trade Assets as The Trade Deadline Looms

The 2026 NBA trade deadline is two weeks away.

There has only been one trade so far this season and it involved the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta sent Trae Young to the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, signaling the end of the Young era in Atlanta and opening up other possibilities for the Hawks.

Just because Young has been dealt, does not mean that the Hawks are going to be done. They have over $70 million in expiring contracts, young players, and draft picks to trade if they wanted to make a big move.

With that being said, what are the Hawks top 6 trade assets as we get closer to the deadline?

1. 2026 1st round pick (Most favorable of Pelicans and Bucks)

Let me be perfectly clear, the Hawks should not trade this pick and there have been multiple reports stating that it is untouchable. However, it is an asset that they possess and it is arguably the top draft asset that any team in the league possesses.

There is only one player who is on the trade market (kinda) that the Hawks should consider sending this pick out for and that is Giannis Antetokounmpo, but I don't even know if the Hawks should do that. This pick has the potential to be the No. 1 pick in a loaded draft, as the Pelicans have the top odds to win the draft and the Bucks are 9th, giving the Hawks two chances to win the lottery.

Don't expect this pick to be moved, but it is the Hawks top asset.

2. Kristaps Porzingis

Kristaps Porzingis shooting the bal — Jan 2, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Kristaps Porzingis (8) shoots past New York Knicks forward Guerschon Yabusele (28) in the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

While Porzingis has not been available for much of this season, he is on a $30.7 million expiring contract and could be used as salary filler. If the Hawks looked to make a big move for someone, such as Anthony Davis or Antetokounmpo, Porzingis would likely be moved. He has played well this year when he has been on the court, especially on the offensive end, and could help a team down the stretch if he plays.

3. CJ McCollum

You can almost copy and paste my comments from Porzingis to apply to McCollum. He is a large expiring contract and one that is identical to Porzingis and he could be moved in a big deal. The one thing to note about McCollum that is different from Porzingis is that he cannot be aggregated in a trade with Corey Kispert. McCollum has been up and down since joining the Hawks and could be moved again at the deadline if the Hawks try and upgrade their roster.

4. Luke Kennard

Kennard is the third big Hawks salary that could be moved at the deadline. While Kennard does not make as much as Porzingis or McCollum, his $11 milliion dollars could be used if the team needed to aggregate him along with either McCollum or Porzingis to reach a big salary number. While Kennard did not play well to start the season, he has been shooting the ball well as of late (18 points vs the Grizzlies last night) and could be used in a big trade.

5. Zaccharie Risacher

On a similar note as the Pelicans pick, I do not expect Risacher to be traded, but unlike the Pelicans/Bucks pick, I don't think that he is untouchable.

6. Corey Kispert

If Kispert were an expiring deal, he would be higher on this list. The fact that he has three years after this year on his deal makes him less likley to get moved. He is not on a bad contract per se but he is a deep rotation player on a good team at best and his salary could be used like Kennard's to combine with Porzingis to be used in a big trade.

To wrap up, there are two players who I think are untouchable on the Hawks and that is Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. It be surprising to see Alexander-Walker there, but given his production how much of a value his contract is, it would be stunning to see the Hawks move him. Onyeka Okongwu and Dyson Daniels are on a similar level as well given their contracts.