The Atlanta Hawks haven’t made a move ahead of Thursday’s NBA Trade Deadline, but the two blockbuster trades that did happen will have a profound impact on the club.
In the less stunning of the two, the Kings agreed to move De’Aaron Fox to the Spurs as a part of a larger three-team trade. Here are the full trade details:
Spurs: De’Aaron Fox, Jordan McLaughlin
Kings: Zach LaVine, Sidy Cissoko, three first round picks (2025 CHA, 2027 SAS, 2031 MIN), three second round picks (2025 CHI, 2028 DEN, 2028 own back)
Bulls: Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, their own 2025 pick via SAS
How does the De’Aaron Fox trade impact the Hawks?
Atlanta owns Sacramento’s first-round pick, which is top 12 protected. The Kings getting Zach LaVine back in this deal signals that they’re not willing to dive right into a full-fledged rebuild. They still want to compete this season.
LaVine will rejoin DeMar DeRozan, as the pair played together in Chicago, along with Domantas Sabonis. Currently, the Kings are tied for 10th in the Western Conference and are 24-24 this season. At the very least, the hope is that Sacramento can make the play-in tournament, leaving the Hawks with a solid chance of having a pick in the middle of the first round in this year’s draft.
For the more stunning of the two, and quite possibly the most shocking trade I’ve ever seen in any sport — Luka Doncic is now with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Lakers: Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, Markieff Morris
Mavericks: Anthony Davis, Max Christie, 2029 LAL 1st
Jazz: Jalen Hood-Schifino, 2025 Clippers 2nd, 2025 Mavericks 2nd
How does the Luka Doncic trade impact the Hawks?
Everyone is wondering, why the hell would the Mavericks do this? And they’re right, but this might actually benefit the Hawks in the short term. Atlanta owns LA’s unprotected first-round pick and Doncic has not returned from an injury he suffered on Christmas Day.
Until he returns, the Lakers, who already struggled defensively in the front court, are going to be an interesting watch as they try to navigate their schedule without Anthony Davis. Hell, even when Doncic joins the team, how does the fit work? The Lakers need defense, and they just traded away their best defender.
Right now, the Lakers are in 5th place in the Western Conference, but they’re only 4.5 games out of 11th. The Lakers falling out of the playoffs is 100% on the table, which would only benefit the Hawks. Of course, in the long term, everyone is happy in LA with Doncic, but chemistry doesn’t happen overnight. It’s actually possible the Lakers are worse initially with Doncic before reaping the benefits later in his tenure.
—
If both of these situations go favorably for the Hawks, they could have two first-round picks, one being very valuable if the Lakers fall off.
—
You must log in to post a comment.