Atlanta Hawks: Should They Be Sellers Before the Trade Deadline?
By Kit Anderson
Should the Atlanta Hawks consider moving veteran players like Paul Millsap before the trade deadline?
The Atlanta Hawks are headed into the all-star break and seem to be stuck in neutral. They currently sit 5th in a weak Eastern Conference but have traded Kyle Korver and had trade rumors surrounding Paul Millsap.
The most concerning thing for the Hawks is the fact that they sent Korver to the Cleveland Cavs the leading team in the Eastern conference and finals favorites. Strengthening your biggest threat in the Conference doesn’t send a good message to the team or the fans.
With that in mind should the Hawks explore trading soon to be free-agent Paul Millsap and other veteran players? The best way to answer this question will to be watching the team in the final games before the break. While the team has been posting a winning record for much of the season at times they have looked very un-cohesive and struggled to play solid defense as of late.
Losing to a Jazz team by twenty-five points, the Hawks are going to have to play better defense early and cut down on the amount of turnovers early in games. Almost every Hawks win has had two things in common Paul Millsap helping defensively and helping with ball movement and Dwight Howard dominating in the paint.
The Hawk’s success both now and in the playoffs depends on how well Millsap and Howard both lead a young Hawks team. Because of that Millsap should not be traded because if the Hawks keep winning they will always have a chance in a weak Eastern Conference.
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The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers look to be the most complete teams in the division and teams that would blow the Hawks off the court without Paul Millsap. Now isn’t the time for the Hawks to focus solely on their future because they have a young team now that is capable of winning in the playoffs.