Just this past summer, the Atlanta Hawks were fighting with the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals with a spot in the NBA Finals on the line. Ultimately, the Hawks lost this series 4-2, but the future looked very bright for this young Hawks franchise.
Now nearing the end of the 2021-22 season, the Atlanta Hawks find themselves just 31-33 and struggling to remain in the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference.
So much has gone wrong for this franchise in the last several months, even though they returned almost the same roster from last year and a loss on Monday night to the Detroit Pistons in overtime does not help their chances of making the playoffs!
Inconsistencies outside of Trae Young has really caused the Hawks to regress from where they were a season ago and now just 1.5 games up on the Wizards for the 10-seed in the Eastern Conference, Atlanta is going to have a lot of work to do in the offseason since any chance of going on a playoff run seem minimal right now.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Pacers-Pistons Trade Is Focused On Jerami Grant
Between Trae Young, John Collins, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Danilo Gallinari, Clint Capela and Kevin Huerter, the Hawks’ combined payroll is about $125 million and this is not counting the remainder of their roster!
At the trade deadline, the Hawks stood idle, but they did entertain the idea of trading Bogdan Bogdanovic and/or Danilo Gallinari. Could this interest come back in the offseason?
The need for another star next to Trae Young has also become very apparent for this organization, which is why the Hawks could be very engaged in trade talks once the season ends.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Pacers-Pistons Trade Is Focused On Jerami Grant
One player the Hawks have been linked to this season and is a possible trade candidate in the offseason is Jerami Grant. The Pistons flirted with the idea of trading Grant this season, but they ultimately decided to hold onto their star forward after not receiving the exact value that they were wanting.
Revisiting trade scenarios involving Jerami Grant is a high possibility for Detroit ahead of the 2022 NBA Draft and the Hawks could be a team that aggressively pursues him. Let’s take a look at a trade proposal put together by Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz that sends Grant to the Atlanta Hawks to team up with Trae Young.
