The Atlanta Hawks are 30-24 which has them in fifth place in the Eastern Conference right now. Clearly the Hawks are a playoff team this year but it is also quite clear that they aren't as good as last year's team that won 60 games and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Because of the step back the Hawks are considering blowing up the core of the team and starting over and that may involve trading Al Horford before the deadline, according to Kevin Arnovitz and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
The Hawks have already been entertaining the idea of trading point guard Jeff Teague because he has taken a step back this year but now it seems as though almost everyone is on the table. Horford is an interesting one because he is in the final year of his contract with Atlanta and will be a highly sought after free agent this offseason. The Hawks still have the option of re-signing Horford to a max contract but they are unsure whether they want to do that because that contract would pay him almost $33 million in his age 35 season.
The Hawks are reportedly having serious internal discussions about whether they want to keep the core together for a possible run this season or if making trades right now is the most prudent decision. Head coach Mike Budenholzer also happens to be the president of basketball operations and he reportedly isn't so inclined to break up a team that made it to the conference finals less than a year ago.
If the Hawks don't intend to give Horford a max contract this offseason then the wise thing to do would be to trade him and at least get something in return for him. Horford will definitely be offered a max contract by other teams and it would be a shock if he turned down a max contract in what will likely be the last big deal of his career. If Budenholzer wants to hold on to Horford and the rest of the core to see how far they could go this season that may not end well as they are a middle of the road team in the East.
Horford and Teague aren't the only players the Hawks are considering shipping though as Kyle Korver is another name being thrown out there. As for who might have interest in Horford should he be seriously shopped, well the short answer is everybody. On a deeper level though, the Orlando Magic, the Boston Celtics and the Denver Nuggets have reportedly been the most aggressive in "looking to acquire a veteran difference maker." Teague, Horford and Korver are some of the bigger names on the trade market with the deadline about a week away so it seems as though the Hawks could be huge players over the next 10 days or so.
