After the Atlanta Hawks’ disappointing exit in the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs it was made very clear, by their performance on the court and the front office, that the Hawks need another star and will make the necessary changes to not have the same outcome in the 2022-23 season.
Now, the Hawks may have the opportunity to sign free agents such as Zach LaVine or Bradley Beal, if he opts out of his player option, but what if they decide to stay with their current team, or not sign with the Hawks? Well, there are star players Atlanta could certainly trade for as well such as Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, and others.
However, even though Trae Young is the only certainty on the Atlanta roster next season, Brad Rowland, host of the Locked On Hawks Podcast, told Chris Goforth on The Jon Chuckery Show Wednesday night that there are three players the Hawks don’t really want to trade unless it’s for another star player.
1.) Onyeka Okongwu
Onyeka Okongwu was drafted sixth overall in the 2020 draft by Travis Schlenk and this Atlanta front office, and has shown many flashes and even put together some consistent stretches of games where he has shown he can be a very productive player in this league. Rowland thinks that is the main reason the Hawks won’t move him this offseason saying “I think Okongwu would be the guy that they probably want to move even less than anybody else because he’s the guy they invested in with this front office, and he is certainly a young player that’s shown a lot of flashes.”
Okongwu averaged eight more minutes this year than he did in his rookie campaign, and with those minutes he basically doubled his points and rebounds, going from 4.6 to 8.2 points per game, and went from 3.3 rebounds to 5.9 rebounds per game. Okongwu established himself as the backup center last season, and if the Hawks decide to move on from Clint Capela, Okongwu would easily slide into the starting center spot. Or if the Hawks keep Capela, he’s a great backup center until it’s his time to start.
2.) John Collins
After many trade rumors and reports the Hawks finally locked up John Collins to a long-term deal last August as they signed the 24-year-old power forward to a five-year, $125 million deal. Now, that deal hasn’t necessarily stopped all the trade rumors and reports, but Brad believes Collins is another guy the Hawks won’t move on from unless it’s for a star-caliber player simply because of his contract and because he’s a really good young player. “If you wanna trade John Collins you can get a lot for him. He’s a very good player, he’s young, and on a good contract, puts up numbers.”
Collins also has very good chemistry with Young, and has proved to be a leader on this team. In Collins’ brief five-year career he’s averaged 16.5 points per game and 8.3 rebounds. Collins' current production, his still very high upside, and age is the reason why the Hawks won’t move on from JC unless they are getting a star player in return.
3.) De’Andre Hunter
De’Andre Hunter is not only the Hawks' best defender, but next to Young, Hunter has arguably the best potential. The three-year veteran came out of Virginia with already elite defensive skills, but his flashes of his offensive abilities show that if he can stay healthy he can be one of the best if not the best two-way player in the NBA that all teams covet.
At age 24, Hunter is another promising piece on the Hawks that Tony Ressler and Travis Schlenk want to keep around Young as they try to build a championship squad. Rowland has the same sentiment. “I can’t imagine a scenario where they’re trading Hunter or Okongwu for example just for a marginal piece, it would have to be as part of a big deal for a more big name kind of maybe fringe star level player, otherwise those guys probably stay put.”
Again, Young is the only true untouchable player on the Hawks right now, but I think it’s a pretty safe bet to make that Okongwu, Collins, and Hunter will all be with Atlanta next season. And if they aren’t well that means the Hawks made big moves, and just may have gotten themselves another big star to play with Young.