The Atlanta Hawks trade that helped define two other franchises
The Atlanta Hawks are in the early stages of the “Trae Young era” and have already shown tremendous promise. Young, heading into his fourth season, just signed a monster extension worth up to $207 million and he wasn’t the only one. John Collins also cashed in with a $125 million extension while Clint Capela got another two years and $46 million added onto his deal.
They’ve come a long way in a short time, going from having the fourth-worst record in the NBA to being the fifth-seed in the East.
It’s a testament to their solid drafting over the last few years. But it was a draft pick they didn’t keep that ended up shaping not one but two franchises in the 2000s. It would have certainly changed the Hawks path had they followed their approach of today.
What if the Atlanta Hawks had kept Pau Gasol after drafting him 3rd overall back in 2001?
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“With the third pick, in the 2001 NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks select…Pau Gasol…” were words said by then-Commissioner David Stern.
Soon, those words were followed by an acknowledgment by Hubie Brown that Gasol would be headed to the Grizzlies for forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim, a Georgia native.
The Hawks general manager at the time, Pete Babcock, spoke on the logic behind the deal.
"“We wanted to acquire talent with this draft pick that would make us the best we could be over the next five-plus years. We don’t have to wait for Shareef to develop, and he has a big upside because he’s only 24.”"
When Atlanta traded the third-overall selection in the 2017 NBA Draft, Luka Doncic, to the Dallas Mavericks for the fifth-overall pick, Trae Young, and the pick that would become Cam Reddish, it was met with skepticism. And that might be putting it lightly seeing as how Young’s critics have just begun to come around.
Both Doncic and Young were polarizing before entering the NBA with questions over how their games would translate. And while translating their game to the NBA was the biggest question for both, Doncic’s size advantage made him the better prospect in many eyes.
It was different when Gasol was drafted. Foreign-born players had been around since at least the 60s, and Hakeem Olajuwon was the first-overall pick back in 1984. But they didn’t become prominent in the NBA until after the Dream Team won gold in 1992 and it wasn’t until 1998 when Dirk Nowitzki (first overall) became the first European-born player to be taken in the lottery.
Gasol would be the second lottery pick and joined Nowitzki as the first European All-Stars.
Abdur-Rahim came in averaging 20.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists. He joined a rebuilt core featuring Jason Terry, Theo Ratliff, and Tony Kukoc.
Atlanta went 68-96 in two full seasons of Abdur-Rahim and Terry before the former was traded t to the Portland Trailblazers for Rasheed Wallace and Wesley Person during the 2003-04 season by then-general manager Billy Knight.
Meanwhile, after six-plus seasons and only three first-round exits to show for it, Gasol was shipped to Los Angeles for a package that would include his younger brother, Marc.
The focus is often (rightfully) on Gasol helping Kobe Bryant and the Lakers win back-to-back titles. But more should be given to how important the trade ultimately was to the Grizzlies “Grit-and-Grind’ era.
Within two years, the younger Gasol would be joined by Mike Conley and later Zach Randolph to form the core of an identity the franchise is best known for today.
That’s quite an impactful trade despite it not quite working out for the Hawks. In fact, it’s often referred to as one of the worst in franchise history.
"“We intentionally tore our team apart. It was painful to go through, but we were very methodical and stayed with our plan,” said Babcock."
It’s funny but one might mistake that quote for something that could be attributed to current Hawks General Manager Travis Schlenk. This roster will look nothing like the one he inherited as the Hawks core has come together over these last three seasons.
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However, we have already seen better results from the latest Hawks trade to include the next European superstar. It will be interesting, however, to see which one of Young and Doncic come away with a ring first. As for the Gasol trade, it will probably always be one of the biggest what-ifs in Hawks history, if not NBA history.