Ranking Hawks' Top Trade Targets After 2024 NBA Playoff Loss
The Atlanta Hawks' season is officially over following their 131-116 loss to the Chicago Bulls in the Play-In Tournament.
Now, the front office can fully shift its focus to a potentially eventful offseason ahead.
Trae Young and Dejounte Murray failed to produce a playoff series win during their first two seasons together, and there's a real possibility they won't be around for a third. In fact, NBA insider Marc Stein deemed it "likely" that one will be traded away this summer.
Which guard goes remains an unanswered question, of course, as does what's included in the package that outgoing player returns. The Hawks obviously need assets, but assuming they hang onto Young or Murray, the plan probably isn't to bottom out. Then again, immediately flipping those assets for a plug-and-play option would carry its own risks.
The road ahead, in other words, is entirely murky, but we'll do our best to navigate it by identifying—and ranking—the top three trade targets on Atlanta's wish list.
3. Andrew Wiggins, Golden State Warriors
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If the Hawks are moving forward with one of Murray, who turns 28 on Sept. 19, or Young, who will turn 26 on the same day, they'll want to be competitive sooner than later. The simplest strategy for making that happen is fixing a defense that routinely ranks among the Association's least efficient.
The Hawks could badly use an athletic, lockdown defender on the perimeter. But since they still owe two future firsts (and one future first-round swap) to the San Antonio Spurs from the Murray trade, they have a limited budget with which to find that stopper. They'll have to go bargain-hunting and take a chance on someone whose trade cost is lower than their potential impact.
Andrew Wiggins could be that player. At his best, he's an all-purpose stopper with the length, strength and mobility to silence perimeter scorers of nearly all shapes, sizes and play styles. The issue is he isn't always at his best, and his inconsistency (in both availability and production) might motivate the Golden State Warriors to shed his remaining contract (three years, $84.7 million with a player option for the final season, per Spotrac).
In a perfect world, Atlanta would be able to land Wiggins for little more than financial relief and then watch him rise to (and sustain) the type of two-way form he flashed during the Warriors' run to the 2022 NBA title. He isn't an obvious difference-maker at the moment, but he has difference-making potential, and that will be hard to find given the constraints on the Hawks' trade budget.
2. Alex Caruso, Chicago Bulls
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Any team hoping for a defensive upgrade this summer will inevitably look toward Alex Caruso.
The 30-year-old was an All-Defensive first-team selection last season and has a strong argument for All-Defensive consideration again this season. He's also a strong complementary contributor on offense, an energizer all over the floor and an absolute steal with a $9.9 million salary for next season, per Spotrac.
While the Bulls held onto him at the trade deadline, they could always have different plans this summer. He works best on a team built to win right now, and Chicago isn't doing a whole lot of winning.
Granted, neither is Atlanta, but maybe that changes if the defense improves, which it definitely would with Caruso added to the fold.
1. Draft Picks
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Unless the Hawks wind up dealing both Young and Murray, they probably won't put the franchise's focus solely on the future.
Saying that, though, a trade involving either of those guards would have to include some draft picks going back to Atlanta. Even if Atlanta is uninterested in a rebuild, it needs to address its draft pick shortage, if only to be in position to make an acceleration-type trade once this roster shows it's ready to rise.
Young would command more than Murray, but either should command multiple first-round picks. Both are under contract for at least two more seasons—Young has a player option for 2026-27, Murray has one for the following campaign—and each has produced at an All-Star level when given the opportunity to run an offense. Young booked his third All-Star trip this season, and Murray, an All-Star in 2021-22, performed like an All-Star once Young went down with a ligament tear in his finger.
Essentially, the Hawks don't need to make a deal for the sake of doing something; they have to find significant trade value in return for either of these players. Their path forward is uncertain, so they need the optionality draft picks provide, as Atlanta could use them either as trade chips down the line or to help usher in a youth movement if it's clear this team needs a total reset.
