Atlanta Hawks’ biggest mistake at 2025 NBA trade deadline

One of the moves the Hawks pulled off prior to the trade deadline was dealing away Bogdan Bogdanovic to the Los Angeles Clippers for a package headlined by Terance Mann. The Clippers have been excellent defensively all season long, and with their roster taking shape, health-wise, they needed an infusion of offense, hence the addition of Bogdanovic.

For the Hawks, Bogdanovic has been an excellent marksman for all of the years he spent with the franchise. But Bogdanovic is 32 years of age and did not exactly fit the team’s timeline. It made sense for them to trade him. But was that the best return they could have gotten for someone who is a great fit on any contending team?

To make things clear, it was the Hawks that had to give up three second-round picks to send Bogdanovic to the Clippers. Yes, they were not the team that got draft compensation in return. Instead, they targeted Mann, the long-time two-way wing for the Clippers, and had to give up draft capital in exchange.

Now, Mann is a helpful fill-in-the-gaps glue guy; throughout the years, the Clippers have deployed him as a defensive specialist who can make the occasional three as well as handle the rock sporadically. Who will ever forget the time when he exploded for 39 points in a closeout game for the Clippers back in the 2021 NBA playoffs?

But that is a long time ago, and Mann hasn’t exactly expanded his game since then. Even with the departure of Paul George, Mann was not able to step into a larger role for the Clippers, instead receiving a demotion from head coach Tyronn Lue.

Considering that the Hawks’ main struggle thus far this season has been offense, with Trae Young bearing such a huge offensive workload. Young, as a result, has been suffering through one of his worst statistical seasons since his rookie campaign. Mann will not help much in that regard, as he is more of a complementary player, a finisher, if you will, instead of a creator that would make Young’s life easier.

Perhaps the main saving grace of this trade is that the Hawks acquired someone who is under contract until the 2027-28 season. But Mann is already 28 years old, so it’s not like Atlanta got a promising prospect in exchange for Bogdanovic. The hope is that Mann’s contract will be easy to fit for when the Hawks are in a better position to contend, but giving up three second-round picks feels like a bit too much in this deal.

Clint Capela is still on the roster in 2025?

There is nothing wrong with still having Clint Capela on the roster in 2025. But for the Hawks, Capela has been so involved in trade talks over the past few years that it boggles the mind that Atlanta couldn’t seem to find a taker for the veteran center.

Onyeka Okongwu has been crying out for a larger role for quite some time now, and trading Capela would cement Okongwu was their undisputed starting center for the foreseeable future. But now, it’s looking more and more likely that the Hawks will be losing Capela for nothing, as he will become a free agent at the end of the season.

The market for non floor-spacing bigs with injury problems may not be the biggest, but the Hawks’ mistake is holding on to Capela for far longer than they should have. And now, they will be unable to recoup even a second-round pick for him, which seems like a bit of an oversight, at least from an asset management perspective.

Atlanta does well on the De’Andre Hunter front

It’s a bit of a downer to fixate on what the Hawks did not do well prior to the trade deadline. Thus, it’s important to end on a high note and commend them for being able to get the return that they did for De’Andre Hunter.

For a while, it did not seem as though the Hawks will be getting much of a return for Hunter, who has been struggling a bit over the past few seasons. Hunter has also been dealing with some injury problems during that time. And his contract is not exactly easy to take on for any team looking to beef up their 3-and-D corps.

Hunter, however, has been playing very well off the Hawks bench. He was averaging 19.0 points on a career-best true shooting percentage prior to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ acquisition of him, and Atlanta did well to sell at his highest value.

The Hawks managed to trade away Hunter for Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three second-round picks, and two pick swaps — getting excellent value for the 27-year-old forward. This package allows them to remain semi-competitive, with LeVert and Niang playing huge roles off the Hawks bench, while potentially getting as many as five second-rounders (if the Cavs’ swaps convey) for Hunter is nothing short of a huge win.

LeVert and Niang played so well in their first two games for the Hawks, and they figure to feature prominently for the team moving forward.