Atlanta Hawks: Tim Hardaway Jr. Forcing Trade Deadline Decisions
By Adam McGee
Conclusion
If Tim Hardaway Jr. sees his Atlanta Hawks future decided before the end of the season, it will likely have more to do with Paul Millsap than him.
Although it’s plausible that Hardaway could be traded regardless of whether the Hawks move Millsap or not, it’s hard to imagine a Millsap move not also triggering the departures of Hardaway and Sefolosha.
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If the Hawks feel they won’t have enough to make any sort of post-season noise, they need to break it up and add whatever assets they can in the interim. With 30 wins already in the bank, an Atlanta team led by Dwight Howard and Dennis Schröder would likely still have enough gas left in the tank to squeeze their way into the playoffs even after shedding some key players.
In all honesty, that seems like the best outcome too. Keeping the fans engaged (and the revenue flowing) by extending the post-season streak to 10 years, while also getting a head start on an inevitable rebuild could help Atlanta to start their next phase without too pronounced of a step back.
For an organization that has modeled itself on the San Antonio Spurs, that would seem like the most appealing route for any kind of roster retooling.
If Hardaway isn’t traded, I’d expect the Hawks to take a close look at bringinghim back, but also wouldn’t imagine it would take too rich of an offer sheet for Atlanta to refuse to match.
Hardaway has already voiced his desire to stay in Atlanta, going as far as to tell Chris Nelson of the Detroit Free Press of how important he believes the Hawks have been in making him the player he is now.
"“Honestly, Atlanta has built me into a better basketball player, and I’m a lot more mature.”"
Although that’s undoubtedly true, the NBA generally isn’t a league with room for too much sentimentality.
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From Hardaway’s perspective he should be pleased at the value he has added to his next deal either way. For Atlanta, the question now focuses on whether they want to cash in on their development work paying off, or invest long term. Big decisions lie ahead.