Kent Bazemore has one of the worst contracts in the NBA, substantially limiting the Hawks cap space. With new ownership coming in, there is a good chance he is moved due to his poor play, despite his connection with Travis Schlenk and the Golden State Warriors. Here are the returns the team would be limited to getting:
Any second rounder
This is very unlikely, but if the Hawks are offered a second rounder and any player making under $6 million annually, dumping the salary is a must. It will be hard to find a taker for Bazemore’s services after a down season but other teams such as the Rockets and the Lakers showed interest in him during last summer’s free agency period. These deals are not about returning value, but rather dumping salary.
Hawks trade Kent Bazemore and two second rounders to the New Orleans Pelicans for Solomon Hill and a lottery protected 2019 first round pick
The Pelicans are desperate to upgrade in any way possible to surround Demarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis with more talent, and chances are Bazemore would fit into what they do because of his time with Golden State. Hill’s contract is not as bad as Bazemore, but he’s a worse player. The Hawks downgrade here, but get a first rounder to try to build despite the money, while still dumping some salary. Hill is a nice defender, so perhaps a change of scenery and some time in Coach Bud’s system could do him some good. He is still relatively young.
Kent Bazemore and two second rounders for Ryan Anderson
The Hawks may have a lot of trouble dumping Bazemore’s contract, but one option could also to take on more money and add a better talent. With the trade for Ryan Anderson, the Hawks add a deadly three-point shooter, something they have desperately lacked since trading Kyle Korver. Anderson is really expensive, but this trade would honestly save them money going forward, because they would not have to re-sign Paul Millsap and would no longer have Bazemore on the books. The Rockets showed serious interest in Bazemore and actually offered him more money than Atlanta in free agency.