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NBA rumors: Why Hawks won’t be trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo

The Atlanta Hawks have a bright future and have set themselves up to make moves if they need to. With Giannis Antetokounmpo looking to be the next big star on the move, the Hawks could put in a bid for him, but as of now, it doesn't look like they are interested in a deal, according to NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer.

“The early indications are that Atlanta has not joined the Giannis chase and does not intend to,” they wrote. “The Hawks do have control of Milwaukee's picks in the next two drafts but have shown no interest to date in surrendering control of them. The Hawks are likewise said to be unwilling to surrender Jalen Johnson in a theoretical Antetokounmpo deal … even though Johnson's agent Rich Paul said in one of his recent podcasts that the Milwaukee native is precisely whom the Bucks should target.”

Johnson is set to be the cornerstone of the Hawks, and with the way he's been playing, there's no surprise that they'd be willing to trade him. As far as the picks that they own from the Bucks, those can end up being valuable pieces for the Hawks, especially if Antetokounmpo is traded.

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In the event that the Hawks could keep Johnson and pair him with Antetokounmpo, the Hawks still don't have any interest in a deal.

“Sources say that Atlanta has some level of reservation regarding the skillsets of Antetokounmpo and Johnson and how they would match after trading away Young in early January to make the 24-year-old their new centerpiece,” Stein and Fischer wrote.

In the end, it doesn't look as if the Hawks want to be bothered in making a deal for Antetokounmpo, and are more focused on staying flexible financially, making smart deals, and building through the draft.

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