The Hawks have a good thing going... as long as they don't screw it up by trading for Anthony Davis

I'm thinking of the Jonah Hill line in "Moneyball" when his character tells Brad Pitt (as Oakland A's exec Billy Beane): "I think it's a good thing that you got [Johnny] Damon off your payroll. I think it opens up all kinds of interesting possibilities." That's the Atlanta Hawks right now. It's not a good thing that they got Trae Young off their payroll by trading him to the Wizards on Wednesday; it's a great thing. It indeed opens up all kinds of interesting possibilities.

Just as long as the Hawks understand that Anthony Davis is not one of them. 

Davis could well be leaving the Mavericks over the next four weeks, a year after they gave up the face of their franchise to get him. The Hawks are a potential suitor. This was reported by The Athletic a day before the Young deal:

The Hawks have also made it clear that the notion of adding Davis while Young remains on the team is a non-starter because of salary alone; those two are owed more than $100 million combined this season. But if Young lands elsewhere in the coming weeks and the Hawks' stance shifts as a result, Davis would certainly fill a need in Atlanta. Veteran center Kristaps Porziņģis, who has made a significant impact when healthy, is set to be a free agent this summer.

Now that Young has indeed landed elsewhere, you can see the handwriting of a stupid move on the wall. The Hawks, who are 18-21 and in ninth place in the East, have shown just enough in their non-Young games this season to convince themselves that a player of Davis' caliber could push them into fringe contention in an Eastern Conference pretty much any healthy team has a shot at winning. 

We don't need to do the "Davis is one of the most dominant player in the league when he's healthy" dance anymore. Everyone knows how good he is. And everyone knows he is never going to be healthy. Well, Nico Harrison still might not know it. But everyone else does. The guy hasn't managed to play 55 games in four of his last five seasons. He's already missed 18 games this year. He literally got hurt in his first game with the Mavericks after they traded Luka Dončić for him. 

If the Hawks were to fall into this trap and trade for Davis, and then worse, extend him this summer when he'll be 33 years old, they'll have nobody but themselves to blame when it goes bust. And it will go bust. Hell, even if Davis were to somehow turn injury-proof, the cost to get him would be massive. 

Understand, the Hawks cannot re-aggregate CJ McCollum or Corey Kispert, the guys that they got from the Wizards in the Young deal, as part of any future trades this season. The only means they have to match the $54 million Davis is making the season in outgoing salary is basically to flip Kristaps Porziņģis, 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher and Luke Kennard. 

But again, you can see the Hawks galaxy braining this thing by telling themselves that Porziņģis is rarely healthy himself, so why not flip for a better player in Davis? Risacher is probably never going to be more than a rotation player. McCollum and Kispert can replace Kennard's shooting. Hell, let's do it!

No, let's not. Instead, let's take a step back and think about what a good position the Hawks have managed to put themselves in. Instead of doling out the $49 million player option that Young is due next season, or the $58.4 million that Davis is guaranteed next year even if they didn't extend him, the Hawks are positioned to have somewhere in the range of $30 million in cap space this summer on top of a high lottery pick (possibly No. 1 overall as it's coming from New Orleans, which is currently tied with the Kings for the second-worst record in the league) in a stacked 2026 class. 

If the Hawks play this thing right, they can start to build around the two things everyone desires in today's league: Long, athletic defense and depth. Just getting Young off the roster helps the former, and not giving away three pieces for one in Davis, and possibly draft capital on top of that, helps the latter. Jalen Johnson is the guy to build around now. He's only 24. Risacher is 20. Dyson Daniels 22. Onyeka Okongwu 25. There is time to let this thing breathe. 

Or, Atlanta can try to seize the moment with a different deal before the February deadline or this summer. It has a bunch of future draft capital and flexibility on its side, all the good young players we just listed, and while McCollum can't be re-aggregated in a trade this season, he can be flipped straight up, and his $30 million number could play for a lot of guys (Michael Porter Jr., who is making $38 million, would qualify). 

If the Hawks are looking for a Young replacement at a lower usage rate and price point, Coby White is a free agent this summer. They could leverage the Bulls into a deal right now by threatening to sign him outright in July. Quentin Grimes. Collin Sexton. Anfernee Simons. There are a lot of these guys. I just wrote about how small guards who don't play defense are on the fast track to extinction, but that's as a max-salary player in the vein of Young. You still need guys who can create and make shots. It's all about how much they cost. 

Overpaying for them is when you get in trouble. Overpaying for anyone, in fact, is how you get in trouble in this highly punitive apron era. Davis would be a massive overpay for a Hawks team that has created a cap sheet teams would kill for. Johnson is set up to be Atlanta's highest paid guy next year at $30 million. Daniels is set for $25 million. After that, you have a bunch of guys in the teens. 

The Hawks could, just as an example, trade for Coby White at the deadline, and then re-sign McCollum and/or Porziņģis this summer at a far lower number than they're making this season. Now add in a mid-level exception player. And possibly the No. 1 overall pick. 

Or, go another way. Trade for a center now as they're not as readily available as guards. Ivica Zubac would be a dream. Davis is the Dallas center we're talking about, but Daniel Gafford is a far more attractive target for the Hawks. Then go sign one of those guards with mid-level money. Either way, this is how you end up with a roster than goes 10 or 11 deep with solid NBA players. 

All of this is available to the Hawks right now. They are young, flush with assets, and have a new lease on life in a post-Young era. That is, unless they screw it all up and trade for Anthony Davis.