After a thrilling draft night, it has been a quiet free agency period for the Hawks. They lost Dewayne Dedmon and have yet to make any additions of note. That changed (somewhat) on Wednesday when Adrian Wojarnowski finally blessed us with some Hawks news, announcing the acquisition of Chandler Parsons from the Grizzlies.
Memphis has agreed to trade Chandler Parsons to Atlanta for Solomon Hill and Miles Plumlee, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 3, 2019
On the surface, the trade looks like nothing more than a swap of below-average players that are being grossly overpaid and on expiring deals. But we know by now, every move has a purpose with Travis Schlenk, and this one is no different. By moving Solomon Hill and Miles Plumlee, the Hawks open up a roster spot to make a free agent acquisition. They still have more than $13 million in cap space remaining.
Atlanta will pay just over $25 million to Chandler Parsons in the final year of his deal. The 6’9″ forward looked to be on an All-Star track after three productive seasons in Houston, earning him a gaudy four-year, $94 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks – where his career took a turn for the worse. The now 30-year-old has not played in more than 66 games in a season since signing with the Mavs and has appeared in 61 total games over the last two years, mostly due to lingering knee problems.
Memphis was willing to take on the contracts of both Plumlee and Hill in hopes they can buy at least one of them out. The Grizzlies could not come to a buyout agreement with Parsons, which led to the trade.
Parsons should not be expected to play a substantial role in Atlanta, especially since that would mean taking minutes away from rookies Cam Reddish and De’Andre Hunter. However, he has much more potential as a contributor than Hill or Plumlee. While this transaction won’t move the needle for Hawks fans that have been underwhelmed with free agency, it does foreshadow that another move is on the horizon.