Hawks among betting favorites to land an old friend via trade

The Hawks have an incredibly pivotal offseason coming up this summer, and it begins on Wednesday with the NBA Draft.

Owners of the No. 1 overall pick, Atlanta has the chance to add a franchise-altering player. Most expect it to be one of Alex Sarr, Donovan Clingan or Zaccharie Risacher.

As soon as the draft is over, the Hawks will then immediately turn their focus to what some would argue is the bigger domino. Everyone expects the club to move one of their All-Star point guards.

When the Hawks decide who to build around, Trae Young or Dejounte Murray, the rest of the offseason will begin. Clint Capela and De’Andre Hunter are rumored to be on the trade block.

A potential trade package could include an old friend. The Mavericks have been tabbed as suitors for Capela, and the Hawks have the second-best odds to trade for Tim Hardaway.

The Washington Wizards are the favorites to win the Tim Hardaway Jr. sweepstakes, per @BovadaOfficial

Washington Wizards +225
Atlanta Hawks +240
Detroit Pistons +325
LA Lakers +700
Portland Trail Blazers +700
Brooklyn Nets +700
Milwaukee Bucks +950

(Via… pic.twitter.com/q3gw1mZMFD

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 24, 2024

Before we get into this, please ignore the “Tim Hardaway sweepstakes” because that’s utterly ridiculous.

Let’s dig into this possibility, though. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Dallas will “promptly resume their long-running search for a trade partner to take Hardaway on, which is more likely than ever to come to fruition.”

Hardaway struggled for much of the season, particularly in 2024. He still somehow averaged the third most points on the Mavs in the regular season with 14.4 but was effectively useless in the postseason. He hardly cracked the rotation and only had one impressive outing. In Dallas’ Game 2 victory over OKC in the second round, Tim Hardaway Jr. logged 17 points off the bench, hitting 6-of-10 shots from the field. He had his moments last season while shooting 35.3 percent from downtown, but his struggles kept him on the bench down the stretch.

The Hawks, who are scared to death of crossing the luxury tax line, don’t seem like a natural trade fit for an expensive Tim Hardaway Jr.

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