The Hawks made two trades Thursday on the day of the NBA Trade Deadline.
In one four-team trade, the Hawks acquired Saddiq Bey from the Detroit Pistons, sending Detroit a 2023 second-round draft pick (the second-most favorable of Atlanta, Brooklyn, and Charlotte), its own 2024 second-round draft pick (provided such pick is among 31-55 in the 2024 NBA Draft) and its own 2025 second round draft pick (provided such pick is among 31-40 in the 2025 NBA Draft) to Portland. Atlanta also sent its 2026 and 2028 second-round draft picks to Golden State.
Hawks General Manager Landry Fields liked the prospect of deepening the rotation with the addition of the 6-8 forward.
"(Saddiq) is a young guy who is up-and-coming who gives us a lot of that depth at the wing with the versatility that he has," Fields said.
In 52 games for the Pistons this season, the third-year swingman averaged 14.8 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 34.5 percent from three.
"He's a guy who can put the ball in the basket, who can help spread the floor for you," head coach Nate McMillan said of Bey.
In another move, the Hawks acquired center Bruno Fernando, who previously played two seasons in Atlanta, and guard Garrison Mathews from the Houston Rockets, in exchange for Justin Holiday, Frank Kaminsky and the 2024 and 2025 second-round draft picks that the Hawks acquired in a previous trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Fernando's arrival gives the Hawks an extra rim protector – he has averaged 1.0 block per game while playing just 11.5 minutes – and in Mathews, the Hawks get a career 36.6 percent three-point shooter who can both shoot with volume and shoot after moving without the ball.
"(The ability to) equip our team with guys we really like – and still maintain core pieces – was really important to us," Fields said.
In a way, maintaining core pieces may be the most notable aspect of the Hawks' trade deadline, where they neither added to nor subtracted from a starting five of Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, De'Andre Hunter, John Collins and Clint Capela.
The Hawks' current 29-30 record puts them an arm's reach from McMillan's stated goal of finishing in the top-6 seed of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, but the Hawks' regular starting five has done exceedingly well when healthy. In fact, they have outscored their opposition by more points than any other 5-player lineup in the East through games played Friday. In 30 games together, the quintet has outscored its opponents by 128 points in 500 minutes together.
In grouping two great rim protectors, two elite creators and a lockdown point-of-attack defender (who also shoots threes well), the Hawks' regular starting five offers a lot of versatility on both ends. These trade deadline moves should only add to the depth of bench behind them and give McMillan additional options if or when an injury should arise.
With 23 games remaining in the regular season, the Hawks now have a ready-to-rumble rotation that should enable them to make a push toward the Eastern Conference Playoffs.