The Atlanta Hawks had a busy day at the trade deadline, completing three separate deals and sending off some Hawks’ mainstays from the last several seasons.
The first domino to fall was Atlanta trading swingman, De’Andre Hunter, to the Eastern Conference leading-Cleveland Cavaliers. The Hawks received back Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three 2nd-round picks (CLE-2027, CLE-2029, CLE-2031) & two 1st-round pick swaps (2026 & 2028-complicated to say the least).
Hunter was in the midst of a career-year for Atlanta, averaging 19 points off the bench, and was a serious contender for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award. The Hawks’ front office cut bait with their former-fourth overall pick, who arrived in Atlanta with high expectations, following a National Championship at the University of Virginia. Hunter was decent overall when you look at his numbers in Atlanta, but injuries and inconsistent play were the most likely reasons why the team sold Hunter at his highest.
On the heels of the Hunter trade, the Hawks also sent away their Serbian-sharpshooter, Bogdan Bogdanovic, to the Los Angeles Clippers, in exchange for Terance Mann and Bones Hyland*. Atlanta also traded out three second-round picks (MIN-2025, MEM-2026 [protected], & LAC-2027) to the Clippers in addition to Bogdanovic.
Bogdonovic was quite the opposite of Hunter for much of this season. Following an impressive Olympic-run with the Serbian National Team, it looked like he would start the season on a torrid pace, yet, Bogdanovic looked fatigued and ended up being on the injury report for most of the season thus far. Bogdanovic only appeared in 24 games this season, and was averaging a career-low 10 points per game.
The addition of Hyland and Mann gives the Hawks two more versatile defenders, and potentially a nice long-term option at back-up for Trae Young. Combine that with the depth that LeVert and Niang bring as well, and Atlanta did get deeper as a team.
LeVert was averaging 10.2 points per game in 24 minutes of action for the Cavs this season. Niang chipped in 8.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in 21 minutes for the Cleveland. Mann was averaging 6 points per game and Hyland with 7.2 points a game, for the Clippers this season.
The final deal of the day was trading away another 2nd-round pick (HOU) & Cody Zeller, who never dressed out for the Hawks, to the Houston Rockets and the rights to Alpha Kaba.
What do you guys think of the Hawks’ moves above? Dope? Kind of good? Meh? Who cares? Let us know in the comments
**Bones Hyland has sense been waived as of 2/8/25
