Atlanta Hawks Trying to Trade Kent Bazemore
By Kit Anderson
The Atlanta Hawks are shopping veteran Kent Bazemore in hopes of moving his bad contract. Should the Hawks deal Bazemore if given the chance?
The Atlanta Hawks are actively shopping veteran Kent Bazemore and his bad contract. The Hawks moving Bazemore would be a great move for a team focusing on the draft. Trading up in the draft or trading down remain options for the team as well as trading any veteran player.
Kent Bazemore is due $18-million next season and will be the team’s highest-paid player. On a good team, Bazemore isn’t a starter but a very good sixth man.
If the Hawks find a way to trade the two bad years left on Bazemore’s deal in favor of taking on one or two bad deals set to expire they should pull the trigger. If they managed to trade him without taking on another highly paid deal it would be a miraculous trade.
Kent Bazemore is an average player, he plays tough defense and can shoot the three. He isn’t good enough to demand his current contract.
For the Hawks, this is the second player they are rumored to be moving with Dennis Schroder being actively shopped as well.
The team is in full rebuild mode and focused on moving up in the draft. The Hawks are focused on moving on from bad contracts as well and should have a good chance to move on from their players in a very fluid NBA off-season.
Watching the Hawks in the next 24-hours should be interesting as we close in on the NBA Draft. The Hawks have been very active in trade talks and will continue to explore many possibilities.
Trading Kent Bazemore would be good for the Hawks and their rebuild. But trading an awful contract like Bazemore’s will be a challenge.