Cavs trade for Hawks guard: Laying out the trade
The Atlanta Hawks made a trade this offseason similar to the one that the Cleveland Cavaliers made, flipping assets for a second lead guard. In Cleveland that pairing has flourished, with Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell playing well off of each other. In Atlanta, the pairing has been much more tortured, with Trae Young struggling to synthesize with Dejounte Murray.
It’s very possible the Hawks look to make major changes, at a minimum flipping a few role players and at the maximum listening to trade offers for John Collins. Either way, they will likely look to move shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic for both a different look this season and more cap flexibility this summer. Perhaps this kind of a package, then, would interest them:
The Hawks get a player with some of the same strengths as Bogdanovic, but LeVert is a better passer and a worse shooter. This deal does shave some money off of the Hawks’ payroll, giving them breathing room under the luxury tax, and with LeVert on an expiring contract potentially opens up cap space this summer.
There are some small reasons for the Hawks to do this deal; it’s not a slam dunk, but it’s unlikely they’re finding one of those for Bogdanovic. Looking to the other side of the table, would the Cavs say yes to this trade?