Why the Hawks shouldn’t make the same mistake and trade for Lauri Markkanen

One of the biggest moves of the NBA offseason took place Friday night, when the Atlanta Hawks sent Dejounte Murray to New Orleans in exchange for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance and two first-round picks. It was an inevitable decision the Hawks had to make between Murray and Trae Young and Hawks management appears to have made its choice.

With the moves the Hawks made this week, they are building a better team around Young, something they hadn’t done thus far in his career or at least since reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. The Hawks got valuable picks for the 2025 and 2027 drafts that they didn’t have, and added one of the best young defenders in the NBA, Daniels, a perfect complement to Young in the zone back. Atlanta drafted Zaccharie Risacher with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, demonstrating its intent to add defense and size this offseason. It appears the Hawks have a plan in place for their roster and they’re not done adding pieces yet.

What they shouldn’t do is rush in again and try to make another big trade. That’s what they did when they traded for Dejounte Murray in the summer of 2022 and they can’t risk doing it again. Atlanta made two crucial mistakes that summer: 1) they rushed and thought they were closer to the competition than they actually were and 2) they traded for the wrong player by no one from Murray. Murray is a good player in his own right, but he wasn’t a good fit for Young and the Hawks overpaid for him.

Yesterday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Utah Jazz were listening to trade offers for All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen.

This summer, there have been no reports yet linking the Hawks to Markkanen, but he has already been mentioned as a potential trade target. Back in December, Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer had this to say about a possible Markkanen trade and mentioned Atlanta:

“Lauri Markkanen did indeed emerge as an intriguing, if unlikely, candidate before the February buzzer. The Jazz were intent on making a bigger push in the Western Conference after Markkanen became an All-Star in his first season in Salt Lake City, league sources told Yahoo Sports, while Utah traded Portland for Damian Lillard and then Jrue Holiday before the end of the season. Moving on from Markkanen would mark a dramatic change in direction from trying to add an All-NBA caliber point guard to lead Utah’s offense alongside Markkanen’s versatile skill set.

But Markkanen’s status has already generated and will continue to generate significant buzz around the league if Utah continues to meet the demands of its rivals. It would be malpractice for management not to at least understand what it would take to get Markkanen. League personnel believe three teams in particular value the Finnish forward at this early stage of trade talks. Two of those apparent suitors, Sacramento and Atlanta, make sense given the Kings’ and Hawks’ respective approaches for Siakam. The third team league personnel continue to mention to watch for a potential Markkanen approach is Oklahoma City, suddenly second in the West with a treasure trove of first-round picks.

The consensus has been that Utah might not move Markkanen unless they receive a massive offer and that’s usually the kind of deal Danny Ainge makes. Markkanen is entering the final year of his contract and is expected to land a massive contract extension. If Utah doesn’t want to give him that contract, they could try to offer him the right deal. He is perhaps the best player on the trade market and this has been a remarkable career turnaround for Markkanen. After being a solid but not great player with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers, Markkanen was an All-Star with the Jazz. This season, the 7’0 forward averaged 23.2 PPG and 8.2 RPG while shooting 48% from the field and 40% from three. He is one of the best offensive players in the game and it would be easy to see why teams would want him.

While I think Markkanen is a better fit for the Hawks than Murray, Atlanta would have to pay more for him and use the rest of their assets to get him. That would likely cost the Hawks the 2025 pick they acquired from the Lakers, the 2027 pick they acquired in the New Orleans trade, and their own 2028 picks. Atlanta would be making the same mistake they did two summers ago when they traded for Murray. Markkanen is a good player, but he’s not going to turn the Hawks into a Finals contender overnight. If the Hawks got him, they’d still be behind Boston and New York in the Eastern Conference, and depending on what Philadelphia and Milwaukee do, they could be behind them. Markkanen gives them size and shooting, but his defense isn’t his strong suit. He would undoubtedly be a prolific offensive player alongside Trae Young, but the only way massive trades like this work is if you’re a Finals contender and I don’t think Markkanen is.

The bottom of the Eastern Conference is where Atlanta should be a playmaking team with its current roster and could even be a top-six seed if things go their way. This is a better team around Young and all the pieces fit better, much like the 2021 Conference Finals team. I’m not saying this team will do that, but the structure of the team makes more sense than it did the last two seasons. There are still moves for the Hawks to make this offseason, including potential deals for Clint Capela, Larry Nance and possibly De’Andre Hunter. The Hawks should continue to add the right pieces to their team, but making a blockbuster offer for Lauri Markkanen shouldn’t be one of those moves. Atlanta should remain patient and continue to build its roster, which it did this offseason. It appears Atlanta finally has a plan to build a roster around Young and they shouldn’t step on the gas too soon.