There was a belief that during this year’s NBA trade deadline, Atlanta was going to blow up the team by dealing star center Al Horford and former all star Jeff Teague. Instead, they mostly stood pat as the deadline passed and the only two players who left Atlanta were Shelvin Mack and Justin Holiday. This was the right move and will pay off in the long run.

The Atlanta Hawks have been mostly pegged as a disappointment this year due to not performing close to last years 60 win season. While, Atlanta currently constructed, is not a championship contender trading away a star player for peanuts would have been a foolish decision. Al Horford will be 30 years old when he’s a free agent and signing him to a huge five year 146 million contract may be tough to swallow, but his game is projected to age nicely. Horford doesn’t rely on athleticism too much so if he slows down a little, he will still be able to score effectively while also using his crafty passing skills to keep the offense going. Al Horford is one of the rare centers who can shoot the three pointer, a commodity that will only become more valuable in today’s fast paced game.

Atlanta has its big man combo. Horford and Millsap keep the offense going and keep defenses guessing. There’s nothing they can’t do. Atlanta’s only struggles with their big man combo has been lack of rebounding. Atlanta actually ranks last in rebounding and it’s amazing this team is as good as it is when they’re so terrible at such a crucial aspect of the game. Tiago Splitter was brought in to help quell this issue but he’s had hip issues all season and is now out for eight months due to needing surgery. This presents another issue with people demanding Atlanta blow it up, this team hasn’t even been healthy this season. Their biggest acquisition in the off season has played injured to this point with his mobility greatly suffering. He hasn’t been able to bring the interior defense and rebounding Atlanta needed from him but if he returns fully healthy next season, perhaps Atlanta can jump a few spots in the rebounding category. One of their other key players, Kyle Korver, has been recovering from a broken leg and only recently has regained his three point stroke. This team hasn’t been complete all season and is still adjusting to losing one of its starters in the offseason.

The biggest noise during this trade deadline was whether Jeff Teague would be traded as Atlanta is ready to hand the offense to backup point guard, Dennis Schroder. Schroder has been inconsistent throughout his career but he’s young and hasn’t logged heavy minutes yet. It would be smart to see what they have in him as he’s previously stated he wants to be a starter. Jeff Teague has been excellent in Atlanta but his drive and effort level has always been questioned. When he’s driving to the basket and playing high level defense this team is tough to stop but that Teague has hardly showed up throughout his career. Atlanta never really wanted to keep him in the first place as they reluctantly matched Milwaukee’s contract offer to him and he is a player from the old Atlanta regime but giving away a former all star for nothing is never a good decision. According to reports, Atlanta never received a substantial offer for him due to his down season and injured ankle. The Hawks have Dennis Schroder locked up under his rookie deal for one more season. Jeff Teague will also have one year left on his cheap contract. There’s no need to rush this transition. Atlanta can gauge his value again this summer and during the 2017 NBA trade season and if they never get worthy deals, they can simply ride out his contract and use that cap space in the summer of 2017.

NBA teams have learned over time that sometimes the best deal is the one that wasn’t made with the Klay Thompson/Kevin Love swap that never happened. Atlanta made the wise choice by going down the same road. This team can develop young players with its current strong core and wait for the right time to strike. Atlanta has a knack for getting the most out of its players (Kent Bazemore is having his best season). This free agent class is going to be very weak and center heavy. Atlanta will likely sit out this offseason focusing on resigning Horford and Bazemore (look for him to command a four year 44-48 million dollar contract). Atlanta should use whatever little cap space they will have to sign another quality wing if they don’t intent on using Tim Hardaway Jr. more often. Perhaps Marvin Williams would welcome a return to Atlanta now that he’s no longer remembered as former no. 3 pick Marvin Williams. He would be able to play quality backup power forward minutes behind Paul Millsap while also shifting to small forward against larger wing players.

Atlanta should continue focusing on what they’ve been doing and use their time and cap space on the right acquisitions to become the Eastern Conference Spurs. Atlanta will likely never attract another star through free agency as it’s not a huge professional basketball city so they will have to focus on beating other teams by extracting all that they can out of their players. They will have to find a great wing player to take them to the promise land and they probably can’t make the cap space this offseason to steal Harrison Barnes away from Golden State. This isn’t Atlanta’s time just yet but they can get there with the right moves.

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Much like many people predicted this NBA trade deadline was relatively quiet. A few key pieces were exchanged but for the most part no NBA team went through significant changes besides the Detroit Pistons. Much like every trade deadline, there were several winners and losers.

 

Winners:

The Detroit Pistons: Detroit made two trades for key players while hardly giving anything up. Granted, two of their three new players are risks. Donatas Motiejunas has had back issues most of the season and Detroit is relying on their excellent training staff to help fix the issues. A late first round pick in a weak draft is a worthy exchange for a shooting big man who can do damage in the post as long as Detroit is able to sign him to a reasonable contract in the off season. The Tobias Harris trade may be a take one step back to take two steps forward move. Losing Jennings as a backup point guard will hurt since the next option is Steve Blake and Ilyasova’s floor spacing will make things harder for the Reggie Jackson/Andre Drummond pick and roll. But Tobias Harris may be exactly what this team needs in the future. He can jump between the 3 and 4 position and his defense issues can be fixed if he stops playing so stiff and upright. It’s possible Harris can become the playmaking 3/4 Detroit needs. Detroit also saved themselves from overpaying some mediocre free agent this summer by trading for a more reasonable salary. Stan Van Gundy’s new team is really starting to take shape.

 

Washington Wizards: This will probably be the only bright spot in such a depressing season for the Wizards but getting Markieff Morris for multiple years for just a first round pick is an excellent move. This will prevent the Wizards from having to overpay for Ryan Anderson in the offseason. John Wall will get Morris plenty of open looks all over the court but this trade is only a win if Morris leaves his baggage in Phoenix. He’ll be closer to his brother here playing in the same conference but Markieff has been the more problematic twin and this will be a good opportunity to see whether it truly was just issues with the Phoenix front office or whether Morris is just an all around headcase.

 

Memphis Grizzlies: Most people have labeled the moves by Memphis as losses but Memphis lost their star to a broken foot and this was likely a lost season either way. Trading away two of their starters who were underperforming isn’t as big of a deal as it seems. Jeff Green was a poor fit almost from the start and while Courtney Lee was their only good shooter, he was also likely leaving in the off season as the team looks towards a new chapter. In total Memphis acquired five picks and while none of these are guaranteed to turn into NBA quality players, Memphis needs to collect assets in a time when they don’t have any. Marc Gasol isn’t getting any younger and Michael Conley might go elsewhere this offseason if Memphis second guesses giving an aging point guard over a 100 million.

 

Losers:

 

Utah Jazz: The Jazz failed in their quest to obtain a starting quality point guard. They weren’t able to lure Jeff Teague away from Atlanta. Dante Exum is out for the season and they still don’t have a reliable option to run the offense. They settled for Shelvin Mack instead who will help but isn’t the long term fix that Utah needs.
Chicago Bulls: This team is still losing and no one seems to be quite sure what to do with it. There were reports of a Pau Gasol, Tony Snell for Ben Mclemore, Kosta Koufos trade that could’ve helped the Bulls look toward the future. Instead Chicago chose to stick with this core that has shown it can’t work together under the current offensive system. The Chicago Bulls can’t use the injury excuse forever. This team has lost its identity and the front office seems to be just as confused as the team. Rather than make a deal to fix their front court issues the Bulls did their usual cutting costs maneuvers. Justin Holiday is a decent player but he doesn’t fit into Fred Hoiberg’s offense. Dealing Kirk Hinrich for the second time leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouths. He’s given this organization a lot and he was dealt twice to cut costs.