Report: Celtics, Hawks have held trade talks as 2023 NBA Draft nears
The Atlanta Hawks are always a team that finds itself in the middle of trade rumors, and that is again the case leading into the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday night.
The Hawks were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs and have a couple interesting decisions to make with their roster as free agency approaches. Trae Young is the franchise player, but what's the best supporting cast to put around the All-Star caliber guard?
Atlanta made a bold trade to acquire Dejounte Murray last offseason. Murray wasn't a bad fit with Young, but it didn't make the Hawks a contender in the Eastern Conference, either. John Collins and DeAndre Hunter are solid wing players, but are they part of the long-term solution in Atlanta?
The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor published an updated 2023 NBA mock draft Tuesday, and in the Hawks section he included an interesting note about several teams that have held trade talks with Atlanta, including the Celtics.
"League sources have connected the Hawks to a whole bunch of teams in trade talks—the Celtics, Mavericks, and Raptors," O'Connor wrote. "One of the players Atlanta has interest in is Toronto’s Pascal Siakam, who would give the team some much-needed size around Trae Young. The Hawks front office is willing to trade anyone but Trae, so that means Dejounte Murray could be a valuable piece in negotiations. And perhaps we’ll finally see a John Collins move. A team moving into this spot might have interest in (Jalen) Hood-Schifino, whom scouts love because of his combination of size and playmaking ability."
Collins and Hunter are two players who could give the Celtics frontcourt depth, but both make $20-plus million through at least 2025-26. That would be too much salary for the Celtics to spend on players who don't make a significant impact on either end of the floor. Hawks center Clint Capela is a double-double machine, but his skill set would be redundant with Robert Williams on Boston's roster. Neither Capela nor Williams shoots 3-pointers, and Capela makes a lot more money. A.J. Griffin, a power forward whom the Hawks selected with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, is the type of shooting big the Celtics could use, but why would Atlanta give up on the former Duke standout so soon?
Unless the Hawks and Celtics are involved in some sort of three-team deal, it's hard to find a trade that works for both of these teams.
