Hawks dream 2026 NBA trade deadline scenario after already trading Trae Young

The Atlanta Hawks they may be coming off a 104-86 loss to the houston rockets on thursday night, but they are in a good position to make an aggressive move before the trade deadline. With Trae Young is gone nowThe Hawks have significant cap space to land a game-changing star who can help take this team to the next level.

Right now, the Hawks are still a middling team, still finding their day-to-day identity after trading away a star point guard who led the team from 2018 to 2025. The pieces they have in place point to them leaning toward a defense-first identity, and having a superstar who can excel on both ends of the floor is essential. Young just couldn’t be that guy because of his defensive deficiencies.

And good news for The Hawks have the funds for the draftyoung players and rising stars that every team would want in a potential trade for superstar talent. It’s no surprise that the Hawks have been mentioned as one of the most likely destinations Giannis Antetokounmpo now that the Milwaukee Bucks have reportedly become more open to trading their superstar than ever.

It always takes talent to get talent, which means yes The Hawks must accept that they will have to part with several of their top assets if they bring in Antetokounmpo or a similar caliber player. However, even Atlanta has to understand that there are some risks that come with acquiring the Greek Freak.

Hawks’ dream trade deadline: Buy Giannis without giving up Jalen Johnson

A superstar of Antetokounmpo’s caliber, a nightly 30-point, 10-rebound freak of nature who is unstoppable in the paint and has exponentially improved his mid-range game, rarely becomes available on the market. Luka Dončić is an exception. Traded nearly a year ago to the day, the Dallas Mavericks traded Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers without even generating league-wide interest. The Bucks don’t make the same mistake.

Antetokounmpo will likely enter free agency at the end of the 2026-27 season, meaning any team looking to sign him risks seeing him walk if he doesn’t live up to his expectations. The Hawks don’t live in the most glamorous market in the world, and Atlanta isn’t one of them one of his favorite shopping destinationsthree of which are the Miami Heat, New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors, at least according to reports.

But in terms of team ability, the Hawks will never find a better superstar to lead the way than Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo thrives when he’s on a team with a lot of athletic defenders, and the Hawks’ strength certainly lies in having a lot of wide wings or guards who can cover so much ground.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Deason Daniels are a fierce defensive pairing in the backcourt; they may not be Jrue Holiday’s best at chasing ball handlers, but they still do the job incredibly well. Alexander-Walker’s emergence on offense also makes him a fairly tall guard to fit alongside Antetokounmpo, as he’s shown a better ability to handle a huge scoring load.

Onyeka Okongwu has become quite the long five, making two threes a game on 36.4 percent shooting — more than acceptable numbers for a starting center. Antetokounmpo thrives next to a center who can shoot, and Okongwu is solid to pair with him in the frontcourt.

But no trade for Antetokounmpo would be worth it to the Hawks if it meant giving up Jalen Johnson in the process.

Johnson flourished one of the best all-rounders in the NBA, and is slated to play in his first All-Star Game in a few weeks. He’s currently averaging 22.9 points, 10.5 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game, and still impacts the game even when he’s not getting the ball simply because of his athletic presence, excellent court vision and vastly improved ball-handling skills.

Just 24 years old, the sky’s the limit for Johnson. But he’s been the Hawks’ 1A guy this season and they’ve struggled to climb over the .500 mark, which means being the number one option might not be the best for him and his team in terms of playing winning basketball. He is much more of a support player, a second option, in an elite team.

Trading him away for Antetokounmpo may give them a short-term boost, but it kind of defeats the purpose of bringing in Giannis if it meant he would be one of the best power forwards in the league to go around him.

If Antetokounmpo was on the roster, Johnson’s life would be much easier; for starters, opponents will pay more defensive attention to Giannis, freeing up Johnson to take on the smaller defender. He can either overpower those smaller defenders, or if they decide to put a slower guy on him, he has more than enough foot speed and leaping ability to make heads hurt.

And then there’s the matter of Johnson’s defensive hitting. The increased offensive load on his shoulders has made him more of a journeyman on that side of the field, but he has the athletic tools to be a much more disruptive and steady defensive player than he was this season. Not everyone can be LeBron James — a power forward who at one point was a DPOI-caliber defender — and that’s okay.

The Hawks should be much more inclined to trade the New Orleans Pelicans’ unprotected 2026 first-round pick if it comes to that; as enticing as Darrin Peterson, AJ Dibantsa and Cameron Boozer are, none of them are as sure of something as the currently 24-year-old Johnson.

A package built around Kristaps Porzingis the contract expiresZaccharie Risacher, Luke Kennard, the Pelicans’ unprotected pick, and any other draft assets the Bucks can claim should be as far as the Hawks are concerned. A trade for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert would also be acceptable, but there are currently trade restrictions that prevent Atlanta from aggregating those players with other contracts to bring in someone who makes more money.