The Hawks and Pelicans are at it again. After one of the most pitiful trades in recent memory was pulled off by New Orleans last summer, when they gave Atlanta an unprotected first to move up in the first round and draft Derik Queen, the Pels are reportedly trying to buy that pick back from the Hawks.
The pick owed to Atlanta landed at number eight in the lottery, and according to Jake Madison of Locked On Pelicans, the Pelicans want it back, and they may be willing to part with the highly coveted Trey Murphy III to get their own first-round pick back and select Nate Ament out of Tennessee.
No matter how you feel about Ament, this would be an insane use of assets, and the Pelicans simply need to be stopped. The Hawks have clearly identified a front office that badly values assets, and they seem happy to keep taking advantage of a team that has already given them so much.
Hawks trading 8th pick for Trey Murphy III would sting for Celtics
But for the Celtics, this is fascinating for a few reasons. For one, they’ve long been rumored to have interest in Murphy, and he has been floated as a possible backup plan if their pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo falls flat.
It’s also interesting because the Hawks are one of the main teams that have been mentioned as a potential suitor for Jaylen Brown, with the 8th pick being mentioned as a likely centerpiece in that deal. This could hurt the Celtics in bargaining power, as it would almost certainly take a third team that could possibly help facilitate a Giannis/JB swap out of the picture.
Trade could signal that Celtics are all-in on Giannis
It would also hurt the Celtics by taking one of their favorite trade targets off the board and seeing him go to an Eastern Conference rival on the rise.
But this could also be indicative of the way things are going with the Giannis proceedings. Perhaps the Hawks have come to realize that they aren’t getting Brown, and that he’s being rerouted to a team like the Trail Blazers or Clippers. The Pelicans may also be aware of this and realize that their own Brown chase is futile, and also that the Celtics won’t be coming calling with an offer for Murphy.
These teams may be reading the tea leaves and seeing that a Giannis-Jaylen Brown trade is happening without their involvement, so they are moving on to other endeavors. Or, it’s perfectly possible that this has nothing at all to do with the Celtics, Brown, or Giannis, and it’s simply a matter of the Pelicans’ front office being up to more dumb stuff, and the Hawks being primed to take advantage yet again.
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