Hawks reportedly interested in Suns' Jae Crowder

Charania reported that the Hawks and Suns talked about Crowder deals recently. 

"Atlanta has seen if there's a path to bringing Crowder into a big three of Trae Young, Dejounte Murray and John Collins," said Charania.

While calling a player like Collins part of a "big" anything is a stretch, it's notable that the Hawks see Collins as a piece to build around and not a player who would be swapped in a Crowder deal. Collins' name was in trade rumors all summer and for much of last season, despite signing a five-year contract last summer. After trading for Murray, though, the Hawks dealt Kevin Huerter to the Sacramento Kings instead, allowing them to get under the salary cap and perhaps relieving the pressure to move Collins' $100 million-plus contract.

Whom might the Hawks send Phoenix's way in a Crowder deal. The Athletic's John Hollinger had a suggestion:

Hunter, the No. 4 pick in the 2019 draft, has endured an injury-plagued last two seasons in Atlanta, missing over half of the team's games. He's supposed to be a defensive specialist, but his defensive numbers aren't good. In addition, the Hawks had easily the worst defense among playoff teams last season, giving up nearly 115 points per 100 possessions. (For context, the Celtics and Warriors gave up 106.9 points per 100 possessions, and Atlanta gave up 114.9.)

It's not clear what Phoenix wants in return for Crowder, but the Suns have decided to start Cam Johnson at power forward and move on from their veteran. Hunter would be a high-upside bench piece who would back up both forward positions, a chance for Phoenix to get younger while still remaining competitive. Meanwhile, while Crowder has been a power forward almost exclusively with the Suns, he was mostly a small forward before that and has the three-point stroke to keep the floor stretched.

All we know for sure is that Crowder is ready for a change.