NBA Trade Rumors: Why the Atlanta Hawks Should Go After Chris Kaman

The Atlanta Hawks are a team that wants to make some noise in the postseason. They added some veteran shooters to their roster (Tracy McGrady, Vladimir Radmanovic, Willie Green and Jannero Pargo), which they had not done in previous years.

However, losing All-Star big man Al Horford for possibly the remainder of the season is a tough loss to swallow.

As a temporary solution, the Hawks turned to Zaza Pachulia and Jason Collins, but Collins went down with an elbow injury and as a result—the team turned to free agency. The Hawks signed veteran center Erick Dampier to a ten-day contract earlier last week, but he is not an offensive weapon—and is just another big body to temporarily replace the injured Jason Collins.

Another possible option is Kyrylo Fesenko, but he is still raw. To be effective he needs to be on a team for an entire season and play minutes here and there.

Due to the lack of available quality big men in the NBA, Chris Kaman of the New Orleans Hornets remains the best option at this time. Although he's not necessarily the most popular name on the trading block, Kaman fits exactly what the Hawks are missing in the painted area—with the option of staying on long-term due to his current contractual status.

He is a relatively decent scorer, a rebounder and can shoot the jump shot. It will also benefit power forward Josh Smith, who can roam on the offensive side of the basketball court.

However, it may take more assets than first assumed to pry the veteran big man from the league-owned New Orleans Hornets. The Hornets are really looking to gain as many assets as possible in a trade, which is expected to come in the form of future draft considerations, an expiring contract and possibly a young player.

The Hawks should really look into acquiring Kaman, as he is one legit NBA center that is available on the open market that fills an immediate need.