The Atlanta Hawks are going to have a lot of decisions to make this summer. Things got even more interesting for the franchise earlier this offseason when they surprised everyone by winning the NBA Draft Lottery with only a 3% chance to do so. That adds to a list of questions the Hawks have to answer this offseason. Atlanta must figure out what to do with their backcourt of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray as well as the futures of other players that have been rumored to be on the trade market such as Clint Capela and De'Andre Hunter. Atlanta's roster is likely going to look much different when the new season starts in October.
While there could be a lot of moving pieces on the Hawks in the coming months, who could be some of their trade targets that they could look for in return? New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram has been mentioned a lot as a possible target for the Hawks, but what about Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges? Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz has the Nets forward as the Hawks's "dream" target this summer:
"The Hawks' best path forward is to split up the Trae Young/Dejounte Murray combo, improve the team's overall defense and try to improve the future salary outlook for a team that missed the playoffs yet projects to be in the luxury tax this upcoming season.
Moving either Young or Murray in a deal for Mikal Bridges would solve a lot of this team's issues. Bridges, 27, is a premier wing defender who could help fix a Hawks defense that finished 27th overall this past season. He'd be the ideal piece to place next to Young as someone who can lock up opposing wings and play a secondary scoring role.
Bridges' contract (two years, $48.2 million) is one of the best in the NBA. If the Hawks choose to move Young and keep Murray as their franchise point guard, Atlanta would only be paying Bridges and Murray a total of $48.8 million next season, or less than Bradley Beal will make from the Phoenix Suns by himself.
There's a lot of talent in Atlanta, especially with the No. 1 overall pick coming in. This team needs a reshuffling, however, with the addition of a player like Bridges sure to propel the Hawks back into the playoffs in 2025."
I think Bridges would be a perfect fit alongside Trae Young and Jalen Johnson and the Hawks should try to trade for him if he does become available, which he has not been up to this point. A potential defense with Bridges, Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu, and Alexandre Sarr (if the Hawks take him No.1) would raise this team's ceiling considerably.
What would a trade for Bridges look like though? The Hawks are out of draft capital due to trading it away for Murray two summers ago and the Nets are not going to take just Murray in a deal for Bridges. If the Nets re-sign Nic Claxton, they probably would not want Clint Capela or Okongwu. De'Andre Hunter could be included, as could young players like Kobe Bufkin and/or AJ Griffin. It would be a tough deal for the Hawks to make and there would be plenty of other suitors around the NBA should Bridges be made available.
Would Atlanta have to include the No. 1 pick in a deal for Bridges? Bleacher Report's Dan Favale had aninteresting proposalthat involved the Brooklyn Nets:
The Trade
Atlanta Hawks Receive: Mikal Bridges, Dorian Finney-Smith, Phoenix's 2027 first-round pick, Memphis' 2028 second-round pick
Brooklyn Nets Receive: Clint Capela, No. 1 pick
Why The Hawks Do It
"This package slingshots Atlanta out of the sub-middle and into the meat and potatoes of the Eastern Conference—all while restocking its asset pool.
Bridges will remain one of the league's premier bargains for the next two years and would infuse the rotation with excellent off-ball movement, secondary creation and defense that should tick back up toward All-NBA level once he's no longer the No. 1 offensive option. Finney-Smith would add yet another combo forward who doesn't demand the ball to Atlanta's ranks. Between him, Bridges, De'Andre Hunter, Onyeka Okongwu, Jalen Johnson and Murray (barring a trade), the Hawks could run out some hyper-versatile combinations.
Losing Capela would leave Atlanta without a true big, but that's OK. Rim-running rebounders can be approximated more easily than wing depth, and Okongwu, while not traditionally tall, is more than capable of sponging up additional minutes as the primary big.
Frankly, a core of Bridges, Murray, Johnson, Okongwu, DFS, Hunter, Bogdan Bogdanović and Trae Young kicks ass. The Hawks may have designs on getting cheaper or breaking up their backcourt this offseason, but this return would give them the option of pure addition rather than subtraction or recalibration. That 2027 Phoenix pick also has the potential to be juicy, both as an actual selection or trade asset.
Why The Nets Do It
General manager Sean Marks doesn't sound like someone who's prepared to shepherd the Nets through another rebuild. That makes (some) sense. Brooklyn doesn't control its own first-rounder until 2028, rendering another top-to-bottom reorientation galaxies from ideal.
Perhaps bagging the No. 1 pick would be enough to change the organization's tune. Marks and Co. would need to believe that Alex Sarr, Zaccharie Risacher, Nikola Topić or Reed Sheppard is a certifiable cornerstone, but that's the caveat of any high-end draft-pick pursuit.
This year's rookie class makes that call tougher. It's not impossible, though. Bridges won't be on a well-below-market contract forever. In fact, Brooklyn is one year away from grappling with his pre-agency (unless he signs an extension).
Landing a cost-controlled No. 1 pick for him, an expiring contract and might-be-great, might-be-nondescript Suns future first-rounder is a reasonable gambit for a team that doesn't have a clear path out of mediocrity as currently built.
Capela's inclusion here would largely be an afterthought, especially if Brooklyn selects Sarr. That's fine. He is entering the final year of his contract and could be rerouted or act as insurance against Nic Claxton pricing himself out of town during free agency."
I think this would be a fascinating trade for the Hawks, but I am not so sure the Nets do it. They have been unwilling to trade Bridges up to this point and while the No. 1 pick is enticing, there is not a clear top prospect in this draft. I still think the Hawks will want to trade Murray in this scenario and see what kind of assets they could get back for him.
While I do think Alex Sarr would be a great fit for the Hawks, this kind of return would signal to Young that they are all in on winning and I think this is a team that could compete in the Eastern Conference.
I am skeptical that Brooklyn would want to do this though, unless they just fell in love with a prospect at the top of the draft. Trading Bridges and Finney-Smith would signal them going further into a rebuild, but they don't have their own picks. Trading away both of these players would make them demonstrably worse, but they could do it if they really like a prospect at the top as well as being unwilling to give Bridges a lucrative contract extension.
This is a possible trade offer and one that would entice Atlanta, but I don't think Brooklyn would be willing to do this deal.
It is going to be a wild offseason in the NBA and the Atlanta Hawks are going to be at the center of it.
