Atlanta Hawks: Splitter's surgery means a trade is coming

The Atlanta Hawks are going to have to make a trade in the next day and a half to account for the season-ending hip surgery of backup center Tiago Splitter.

The Atlanta Hawks have been one of the main teams constantly on the trade rumors mill heading into tomorrow afternoon’s NBA trade deadline. Atlanta has reportedly been hearing out potential offers for just about every player on their starting lineup, except for small forward Kent Bazemore. The two biggest names on the rumor mill for the Atlanta Hawks have been starting point guard Jeff Teague and starting center Al Horford.

While head coach Mike Budenholzer and general manager Wes Wilcox are wisely entertaining potential trade offers with their ball club, they may have to actually make a move by 3:00 PM ET Thursday afternoon now that backup center Tiago Splitter has elected to undergo season-ending hip surgery.

The Atlanta Hawks sit at 31-24 in fourth place in the Eastern Conference Standings post-NBA All-Star break. Atlanta will win close to 50 games again this season and should contend for a top four seed in the 2016 Eastern Conference Playoffs.

The issue with the Atlanta Hawks is that this year’s team isn’t going to challenge the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals should the Hawks even return this spring. Atlanta may very well struggle with the talented Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. There is even a chance that the Hawks may not get out of the first round depending on their matchup.

More from Atlanta Hawks

Essentially, Atlanta is looking for a ridiculous offer for either Jeff Teague or Al Horford. They’ll have to receive an offer they can’t refuse to part ways with either All-Star caliber starter.

However, with the frontcourt being diminished with Tiago Splitter’s decision to have season-ending hip surgery the Atlanta Hawks have some big decisions to make very quickly. Do they look for a quick trade to temporarily bolster their frontcourt in Splitter’s absence or do they attempt to blow up the current roster and send Horford and others for promising young assets?

Atlanta doesn’t exactly have to scavenge the market for a power forward or a center on an expiring deal. Since Al Horford and backup power forward Mike Muscala are heading towards free agency, the Hawks could look for a guy on the trade market that can help the frontcourt beyond this season.

Perhaps a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks for Greg Monroe, Miles Plumlee or John Henson could work for the Hawks? Maybe they make a deal with the Chicago Bulls for Pau Gasol, Taj Gibson, or Bobby Portis? Maybe they see what they can get from the Sacramento Kings or the Denver Nuggets, two teams with interesting frontcourt pieces that are probably not going to make the Western Conference Playoffs.

While the Atlanta Hawks may been kidding a bit with regards to actually trading either Jeff Teague or Al Horford, those discussions may become more serious as Atlanta isn’t going to make a lot of noise in the 2016 Eastern Conference Playoffs with Mike Muscala, Mike Scott, or even Walter Tavares making up for Splitter’s lost minutes in the aggregate.

After coming off a season of unprecedented success for the Atlanta Hawks franchise, it won’t sit well with the Philips Arena faithful to not at least field a highly competitive team come playoff time. Atlanta is too good of a basketball team to not at least make it to the Eastern Conference Semifinals this season.

Next: Dwight Howard wants to play for the Atlanta Hawks?

However, they are going to need to address their frontcourt depth if they want to have any shot of getting back to the ECF now that Splitter is going to miss the rest of the season. Whether or not they really wanted to begin with, the Atlanta Hawks are inevitably going to have to make a trade before tomorrow’s 3:00 PM ET deadline on account of Splitter’s surgery. Expect the Hawks to make some moves in one way or another in the next 18 hours.

Home/Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta Hawks: Splitter’s surgery means a trade is coming

By John Buhler | Feb 17, 2016

The Atlanta Hawks are going to have to make a trade in the next day and a half to account for the season-ending hip surgery of backup center Tiago Splitter.

More from Atlanta Hawks