Should a Kristaps Porzingis trade be on the Hawks’ radar?

The Hawks have plenty of motivation and resources to make a substantial move to surround Trae Young with another star, begging the question: Should a Kristaps Porzingis trade be on Onsi Saleh’s radar?

According to Brett Siegel, the Celtics have been engaged in trade conversations with several teams regarding the Latvian big man. Siegel described them as “playoff-contending teams in both the Eastern and Western Conferences.” More recently, Siegel did link the Hawks to a Porzingis trade.

“As he enters the final year of his contract, Porzingis has drawn interest from several teams in both conferences. The Pelicans, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Atlanta Hawks, and Toronto Raptors are a few of the 10-12 teams that have been in contact with the Celtics recently, sources said.”

A lot of Hawks fans probably want nothing to do with Porzingis, and I understand. He’s a 29-year-old who is seven feet tall and has dealt with injuries and a mysterious illness. Those kinds of trends don’t usually go the other way for soon-to-be 30-year-olds. There’s also the question of his $30.7 million salary next season.

Now that we have all of that out of the way, let’s get to some of the positives that would come with a Kristaps Porzingis trade. I imagine Brad Stevens isn’t looking to get taken advantage of in trade talks; typically, it’s the Celtics GM who is taking advantage of other executives. But if he wants to get rid of Porzingis, he doesn’t really have a lot of leverage. It would most likely be a salary dump type deal that doesn’t net the Celtics much draft capital.

On the court, the Hawks would fill the hole left by Clint Capela, but in a different way. What Porzingis lacks in defense and rebounding, Onyeka Okongwu makes up for; while what Capela lacked offensively, specifically floor spacing, Porzingis makes up for.

OO and Porzingis could be on the floor at the same time because of the latter’s ability to shoot beyond the arc. Porzingis averaged nearly 40% shooting from three-point range over the last three seasons.

With Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu occupying the frontcourt, the Hawks need to add a stretch big. A Kristaps Porzingis trade might not be the wisest use of resources to fill that void, but I do think it’s worth mulling over depending on Brad Stevens’ asking price.