Atlanta Hawks Also Shopping Tim Hardaway Jr.?

By Fansided and Andrew Snyder/FanSided via Soaring Down South
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It’s no secret that the Atlanta Hawks are open for business. Is Tim Hardaway Jr. also available?

The winds of change are blowing. The Atlanta Hawks are in the process of finalizing a trade that will send Kyle Korver to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Mike Dunleavy Jr., Mo Williams, and a protected first round pick in either 2019 or 2020.

They’re also listening to offers on Paul Millsap and Thabo Sefolosha. There’s no consensus on when exactly those two will get moved, but Millsap in particular has plenty of suitors. It’s not just Millsap and Sefolosha who should keep their cell phones on in case they’re traded imminently.

It sounds like the Hawks are also making reserve wing Tim Hardaway Jr. available for trade. On his podcast, The Lowe Post, ESPN.com writer Zach Lowe said “They’re already shopping Tim Hardaway for second round picks because they don’t want to pay him.”

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    This is another move that makes sense for Atlanta, if they’re going all in on a rebuild. Hardaway will be a restricted free agent after the season.

    If the Hawks don’t intend to bring him back in 2017-18, they might as well attempt to get something in return for him.

    Earlier in the season, it appeared that Hardaway would have a breakout year. He’s been a decent role player for the Hawks, but he’s cooled off since his hot start.

    A naive simpleton from Hoops Habit wrote this in early November (it was me).

    I doubt there were many people expecting Hardaway Jr. to be much of a contributor to the 2016-17 Atlanta Hawks, but here we are. Through four games he’s been outstanding, fitting into his role as a bench scorer perfectly. He’s currently averaging 14.8 points per game on 52.5 percent shooting and 42.9 percent from outside.

    He’s 9-for-21 from three-point range, including a 5-for-7 outburst against the Los Angeles Lakers this week. In the first game of the season against the Washington Wizards, he finished with 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting.

    I got a little too excited about a four game sample size. For the season, Hardaway is averaging 11.4 points per game on 44.4 percent shooting and 34 percent from three-point range. He’s been a solid contributor off the bench, but it would appear that he does figure into Atlanta’s long-term plans.

    If they can nab a couple of second picks for Hardaway, they might as well do it. The hot stove is heating up. I can only imagine what this Hawks team will look like after the Feb. 23 deadline.