The Atlanta Hawks have found themselves the subject of a number of trade rumors this season as the team remains hot and cold in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks appear to be a far cry from the team they were a season ago despite bringing a majority of the roster back for this year. That has brought trades into the picture as head coach Mike Budenholzer stressed that nothing was imminent for the franchise with the trade deadline two weeks away.
According to NESN.com, the Boston Celtics are the latest team to show interest in trades with the Atlanta Hawks. Boston has reportedly inquired about both Jeff Teague and Al Horford heading into the deadline. The Celtics have been tossed into many trade deals in the league considering the number of draft picks they have stored up so much of this could just be hearsay. Acquiring Teague seems like an odd option considering Boston's success this year has come from the dual point guard threat of Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Smart. Horford is a gamble to get because of his expiring contract. NESN.com believes the center will earn a contract of at least $20 million per season. He will not come cheap in a trade and Boston risks giving up a lot for a departing player.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports got the ball rolling on potential trades for the Hawks stating that the team was fielding offers for Teague who has been struggling most of the season. Dennis Schroder is another player that has come up in trade talks as both he and Teague have struggled with consistency. The Hawks have previously denied the idea that Horford would be available in deals as the intention is to re-sign the center in the offseason.
The Hawks need a turnaround. Whether that comes in a trade or not is the question. They are fresh off a loss to the Miami Heat and now sit in second place in the division. They are not looking like the team that went on a 19-game win streak last season and finished second in the Eastern Conference. It is unclear if a trade would solve the issue or if everyone on the roster simply needs to start playing better. Kyle Korver is struggling from long range. Kent Bazemore has been inconsistent. According to Budenholzer, the issue of the Hawks slump is on offense, not defense.
"We've got some things that are going in a good direction," Budenholzer said, via MyAJC.com. "Defensively we are playing a lot better. We are going a lot of things well defensively. I think offensively, I don't think any of us feel great about how we are playing. It's a lot of little things. It's not any one big, glaring thing. Each of collectively have to be a little bit better, individually we all have to be a little bit better. I think we all feel like we are capable of that."