Three Positives and Three Negatives From the Atlanta Hawks Trade Deadline

The NBA trade deadline has officially come to an end and the Hawks made two notable trades before the deadline. While they did send Cody Zeller out to the Rockets, it's hard to count that as a notable transaction given Zeller never played a single minute for Atlanta. However, they did send out two big pieces from their rotation in DeAndre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Although there's always a temptation to view the deadline as entirely good or bad, I think this was a pretty mixed deadline for Atlanta. Let's dive into some of the things they did well:

Adding Terence Mann + Georges Niang

Considering Bogdanovic's struggles as a three-point shooter this year and his salary, it was always very likely that he was going to be moved. The question was whether the return would be commensurate to what Bogdanovic brought to the roster. The same is true of DeAndre Hunter. While the Hawks didn't get the best return for Hunter, adding Mann and Niang to this roster fills two important weakpoints. The Hawks really need more good point-of-attack defenders and shooting. Mann's offense can be streaky and inconsistent, but his defense remains consistently very solid. Given how much Atlanta has struggled on the perimeter this year, that is an important thing to note.

Furthermore, Niang is a great fit for Atlanta's offense. At 6'7, he'll be able to step into the PF spot and space the floor for Trae Young. When Niang gets hot, he can swing a game and he does compete on defense. A shooter with size is always a welcome addition in the NBA, especially around players like Young. Losing Hunter, who was Atlanta's most consistent high-volume shooter from deep, certainly hurts. However, there's reason to think that the fall-off on offense won't be as dramatic with Niang in the fold.

Not Trading for Brandon Ingram At His Price

In a vacuum, the idea of adding Brandon Ingram to the Hawks' roster made sense. The newest member of the Toronto Raptors brings shooting and size to an Atlanta team that needs both. However, Ingram was traded for Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, a first-round pick, and a second-round pick. Perhaps the Hawks could have matched salaries by way of sending out Clint Capela and Larry Nance. Even so, the inclusion of a first-round pick is where I would draw the line for Atlanta.

The Raptors sent a first rounder in the 2026 NBA Draft, which profiles to be a pretty strong class. They can afford to do that because they have control over all their picks for the foreseable future. The Hawks do not - the earliest they can reasonably send out a pick would be the 2028 NBA Draft. By then, there is no guarantee either Trae Young or Jalen Johnson are on the roster. They could be in a full-on rebuild and having to sweat out protections for a future pick when a significant portion of the next few drafts are outside of their control is a losing proposition for the Hawks. It just doesn't make sense to do for what is already a lost season.

Clearing Future Cap Space

Even though I doubt the reasons for clearing salary are entirely motivated by basketball reasons, it is true that the Hawks have created some more manueverability over the next few years due to these moves. Both Hunter and Bogdanovic were on extensions that would taken them through the 2026-27 season. Now, Bogdanovic has a team option for the 2026-27 season. The Hawks could have declined that option if they needed the salary. However, they have about $46.3 million dollars in first apron space for next season. That's a pretty significant sum to add talent in the offseason. Whether or not they execute is another question, but they are set up to make moves if they want to. They'll have access to their non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($12.8 million) and a $25.2 million trade exception from the Dejounte Murray trade.

That being said, I do not think the trade deadline was a home run for the Hawks. Here's why:

Return from the DeAndre Hunter Trade

The return from the DeAndre Hunter trade was pretty underwhelming even considering that Niang can help with Atlanta's spacing. LeVert is not a consistent offensive player at this stage of his career and he's fallen out of the starting lineup in Cleveland. Niang's defense is also not as consistent as Hunter's and his shooting is not as consistent. They also didn't get a great return from a draft picks standpoint. Getting only swaps in 2026 and 2028 is rather disappointing considering that the Hawks are at a pick deficit right now.

I was surprised that Atlanta couldn't get one of Cleveland's talented young players like Craig Porter Jr and Jaylon Tyson. While Hunter has really only been a positive player for the past two months, Cleveland has had an excellent season and needs his skillset. It's a little dissapointing to see that they couldn't get a better return.

No Young Talent Added For Future

While Bones Hyland is only 24 years old, he's a restricted free agent after this season. Niang, LeVert and Mann are all veterans at this stage and none of them seem like firm bets to be on the team long-term. This runs contrary to the youth movement Atlanta's experienced. Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, Zaccharie Risacher and Onyeka Okongwu are all 25 or younger. It would be nice if Atlanta could have built upon that at this deadline.

Clint Capela Situation Remains Unresolved

It isn't necessarily a disaster that the Hawks were not able to trade Clint Capela. He's still a useful player who slots in nicely at backup center and has good chemistry with Trae Young. However, they could have used his salary to add an impact player and they did not do that. His deal is expiring, so it would have had value for rebuilding teams that want a road to significant cap flexibility.

One team that would have fit as a possible trade partner is the Utah Jazz. Adding a player like Collin Sexton in exchange for Capela's salary and two or three seconds would have been a good use of resources. It looks like a deal did not come to fruition, which means that Capela's contract will just end at the season's conclusion and the Hawks will weigh whether or not to bring him back on a smaller deal.

Related Links