Atlanta Hawks Labeled As The "Worst FIt" For Kevin Durant In a Potential Trade

There is the potential for this to be a wild NBA offseason.

A lot of teams have uncertain futures in front of them and they may need to make a lot of moves to try and restructure their rosters. Two of those teams might be the Atlanta Hawks and the Phoenix Suns.

Phoenix faces perhaps the most bleak future in the NBA. They don't have any draft assets, the Bradley Beal contract is arguably the worst in the league, and they are an aging team with little way to improve their roster. The one way they might can retool their draft equity and acquire more players is by trading Kevin Durant.

The Atlanta Hawks on the other hand have been mediocre ever since they traded for Dejounte Murray two years ago and they are likely towards a breakup of the Trae Young/ Murray backcourt. With that in mind, could the Hawks and the Suns find a way to be trade partners, with Durant heading to Atlanta? Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley thinks the Hawks might be the worst destination for Durant though and he explained why:

"The Hawks have been mentioned in the potential Durant sweepstakes, though it's hard to say exactly why. Atlanta could obviously use a player of his caliber, sure, but what does it have to offer to him (or for him, for that matter)? If he thought there were too many pick-and-rolls in Phoenix, it's hard to see him loving a Hawks offense that had the fourth-most possessions finished by a pick-and-roll ball-handler.

Durant is at the point of his career where he should be in unadulterated championship-chasing mode. That ain't happening in Atlanta. The Hawks, who've won two playoff series since 2016, just finished 10 games below .500 and lost the shared minutes of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray—their two best players—by 6.5 points per 100 possessions.

And who knows how much Atlanta would have to gut its roster just to bring Durant to town? The Hawks can't trade their own first-round pick until 2029, meaning they'd need a player-heavy trade package to get the Suns' attention. Considering they aren't overflowing with talent to begin with, Durant could wind up with little more than a skeleton crew for a supporting cast."

On a recent episode of the Lowe Post Podcast, ESPN NBA analyst Zach Lowe and Bobby Marks were speculating on hypothetical trades for Durant this summer and Lowe mentioned the Atlanta Hawks as a destination:

"Orlando would be the most fun, but it is not their M.O. The one that kinda makes sense, in theory is Atlanta, for one of the point guards, De'Andre Hunter, Saddiq Bey, just throw all of the wings in, but they just don't have any picks, they have the Sacramento pick and like one other future pick that they could trade, they just don't have any picks, but that is a fun little fake one."

This past season, Durnat averaged over 27 PPG on 52% shooting from the field and 41% from three and he played in 75 of 82 games this year. He also averaged nearly seven rebounds per game and five assists per game. The question would be how many more seasons of that can he give like that? It could be three or four, but its possible that its just one. He is likely going to be an All-NBA selection this year.

I think a Durant trade this summer would be fascinating to see. He is clearly still a great player, but his age and the fact he ony has two years on his deal might make teams hesitate to give up a lot for him. Phoenix sent Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, and four unprotected picks, as well as a pick swap in 2028. I seriously doubt that Phoenix could get that type of return back for Durant, but they won't get pennies either.

It will also be interesting to see what Phoenix would prioritize in a trade. They are stuck with Beal because he still has a no trade clause in his contract and given that contract, no team is going to want to trade for him, especially after the season he has had. They still have Booker unless he either demands a trade or Phoenix makes the decision to blow the whole thing up. I doubt they would do that though considering they don't have all of their own picks. Trading Durant seems to be the best possible path to acquiring assets.

What would the Hawks have to give up to get Durant?

Given that the Hawks are probably looking to trade one of Trae Young or Dejounte Murray, that would be the starting point. Atlanta could send Murray, De'Andre Hunter, AJ Griffin, and a 2030 first round pick to Phoenix for Durant. The Hawks could also include Clint Capela instead of Hunter, but Jusuf Nurkic still has two years left on his deal and that would not make sense for Phoenix unless they traded him. Murray could be the point guard for Phoenix, Hunter gives them a starting forward, Griffin gives them depth, as well as a young player to have as a potential piece for the future, and they get a first round pick.

Would that be enough? That is the question. I think it is the best that the Hawks could offer, but it might not be the best offer that Phoenix gets. There would be a lot of competition for Durant and teams like Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, and New York would be teams that could give the Suns a ton of picks. Nearly every team in the NBA would want Durant because he makes them instantly better and Atlanta would have a lot of other competition.

The Suns are also going to likely want Jalen Johnson back in a deal with Atlanta and while Durant is a better player currently, Johnson is 22 years old and looks like he has All-NBA potential. I think the Hawks would be reluctant to trade him for a 35-year-old Durant and they should be. I also think they would rather have a Young/Durant pairing than a Murray/Durant pairing.

This summer is shaping up to be one of the most interesting the NBA has seen in some time. Atlanta and Phoenix are likely going to be right in the middle of that.