Atlanta Hawks: Complete 2018 offseason grades
The Dennis Schroder trade
For the biggest move of the season, the Hawks were able to find a trade partner for disgruntled point guard Dennis Schorder.
Oklahoma City has agreed to trade Carmelo Anthony and a protected 2022 first-round pick to Atlanta for point guard Dennis Schroder and Mike Muscala, league sources tell ESPN. Anthony will be waived, and he will join team of his choice. Rockets are frontrunner.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 19, 2018
It eventually took a third team to complete this trade in the Philadelphia 76ers. It was Philadelphia that actually received Mike Muscala from the Hawks. To get Muscala, the 76ers traded Justin Anderson to the Hawks and moved Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder then sent Carmelo Anthony and a 2022 first round pick to Atlanta.
Melo was a Hawk for barely a week, and got waived to join the team of his choice, as expected. However, the team still made sure to get him a jersey.
Hey @carmeloanthony your jersey is on it’s way...good luck, fam! pic.twitter.com/Yzh04ZUzSp
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) August 9, 2018
With the trade, the Hawks not only got rid of an unhappy player, they also cleared $15.5 million per season over the next three years. Even more promising is the 2022 first round draft pick. The pick is lottery-protected, but if it does convey in 2022, it is a big deal as many think that could be the first year players straight out of high school could hit the NBA once again. If that is the case, the potential player depth for the 2022 NBA Draft could be enormous.
This is easily the biggest move of Travis Schlenk’s short tenure and it could pay dividends in both free agency and the draft. Schroder lands on a playoff team at the end of the day as well, so it was a win-win for both sides.
Grade: A