With the Hawks and Cavaliers trade that sent Kyle Korver to Cleveland becoming official on Saturday, fans and observers are now speculating what’s next to come for Atlanta and what their future holds.
Many believe that the Hawks will soon trade veteran Paul Millsap, along with some of its other veterans, as signaled by their tough choice of moving on from Kyle Korver. Atlanta seems to be willing to rebuild its roster, causing the mass speculation.
Head coach Mike Budenholzer addressed the speculation on Friday (via Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution):
“My answer to that is I don’t think there should be any assumptions made about anything,” said Budenholzer, who also serves as president of basketball operations. “Organizationally, we have to make hard decisions. I think it’s important that each one of them puts us in the best situation, the best place, to be a great organization. In this case, we made a trade that wasn’t easy. It was a hard decision. This is a good team that we have. This is a team that has shown an ability to compete at a high level. Keeping it together is something … I just wouldn’t make any assumptions going forward.”
For the Hawks, a fire-sale may just be coming. The annual trade deadline is now less than seven weeks away, and several teams are reportedly expressing interest in their veteran players.
Also included in the recent deal with Cleveland was vet guard Mo Williams, who coach Bud wasn’t confident about keeping moving forward:
““Between injuries and the end of his career, I wouldn’t expect Mo to be a part of us going forward,” Budenholzer said.
