On Tuesday, a day before the NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics agreed to a trade. The Brooklyn Nets got looped in as a third team.
Kristaps Porzingis and a second-round pick (via BOS) will go to the Hawks, Terance Mann and the 22nd pick will go to the Nets, and Georges Niang and a second-round pick have been sent to the Celtics.
The deal gets the Celtics below the second apron, allowing them to hold pat and not make any other moves this offseason, if they so choose. The Hawks, meanwhile, will have Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Trae Young, Zaccharie Risacher, and Porzingis, allowing them to compete in a very weak East.
The San Antonio Spurs are owed a first-round pick from the Hawks in 2027 and a swap in '26, although with Atlanta adding win-now talent next to Young, those picks sent to the Spurs are expected to lose some value as Atlanta improves.
Of course, with Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, De'Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell, and others, the Spurs might not want to add rookie talent in 2026 and 2027, instead opting to trade those picks for a win-now player.
When the Hawks traded Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans, there was hope that the Spurs would be able to select in the lottery in 2025, 2026, and 2027, although this trade throws a cold towel on speculation, which likely was only ever realistic for a few short weeks, anyway.
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