The three days leading up to the trade deadline are often the busiest. It seems everyone is trying to get a piece of the Atlanta Hawks, especially Jeff Teague but also Al Horford and Kyle Korver. The Orlando Magic are willing to part with Tobias Harris or Victor Oladipo, while the Cleveland Cavaliers are putting both Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov on the trading block.
The Hawks seem to be looking for a way out from their current situation. They don’t mind making the playoffs, but they feel it’s time to break up the group that did extremely well last season and is kinda underperforming in 2015-2016. Teague has been the hottest name involving trade rumors for the last couple of months, often mentioned next to Horford in that respect. But the Hawks are asking for too much considering all those interested have yet to agree on a deal.
The Hawks’ slump this season is often connected with Kyle Korver having a bad season. Maybe it’s an injury, and maybe it’s simply age (almost 35) having its effect, but Korver is hitting under 40% from beyond the arc for the first time in seven seasons, scoring just 9.3 points per game, with his net rating numbers falling quite steeply, although he’s not alone in that aspect.
The Cavaliers do seem happier since Tyronn Lue replaced David Blatt, but it hasn’t made them unbeatable, and the team is still with its set of problems that shouldn’t stop them from winning the East, but when constantly compared to the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs, everyone, including them, feel like there needs to be a change.
Two players they seem to be willing to part with are Shumpert, who signed a four-year, $40 million extension in the offseason, but hasn’t been doing too well this season, and Mozgov, who is a free agent in a few months, and the Cavs have no intention of keeping him. They have their sights set on Korver and think they can get him with Shumpert while clearing some cap space, although they do like Ben McLemore from the Sacramento Kings as well.
The Magic are 23-29, still trying to make the playoffs. And they feel that moving for Teague could be the answer for them. They’re willing to part with Oladipo, the second overall pick in 2013 who they seem a bit baffled in how to use best and seems to be stuck in his development, or Harris, who signed a $64 million, four-year extension in the offseason, but is averaging just 13.7 points per game compared to 17.1 last season.