Atlanta Hawks roundtable: What was your favorite transaction of the off-season?

In the doldrums of summer, the Peachtree Hoops staff came together for a 10-part roundtable series, answering a series of prompts with an eye toward the upcoming season.

Part one centers on our favorite transactions of the off-season.

Jeff Siegel: At the time it happened, the Allen Crabbe trade looked fantastic for the Hawks. They ended up squandering some of the value created by overpaying in the deal to move up for De’Andre Hunter, but the Crabbe trade itself was quite good -- they got a first-rounder for taking on Crabbe’s final year at $18.6 million and got another first for Taurean Prince, a player who may not have factored into their future plans anyway. Prince’s mercurial nature and inability/unwillingness to consistently play defense made him fully expendable for the Hawks and the club got about as much value as they could have hoped for in a trade.

Graham Chapple: For me, the jury is still out on the De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish selections (more so Hunter than Reddish, given the haul of assets Atlanta parted with to move up) so I’d prefer to hold reservations on those. To be honest, I’m not especially high on anything the Hawks did this summer -- it’s a bunch of ‘meh.’ The correct answer is probably the haul the Hawks got in the Taurean Prince-Allen Crabbe and picks deal but I’m actually a little higher on the Jabari Parker deal than others. I don’t like the player option for year two -- and there are obviously other drawbacks to Parker’s game -- but I like the gamble from Travis Schlenk on a guy that has obviously had it rough in the NBA so far and someone who has something to prove. It’s a low-risk, potentially high-reward deal (though, the player option takes some of that away). Again, I’m not mad on what the Hawks did this summer in retrospect but for the sake of saying something...

Rashad Milligan: I’ve talked myself into really liking the Jabari Parker signing. As a backup big on a team with a lot of new wings, this is a chance for him to continue building that momentum he started in Washington last season. He’s taken a lot of pride in his defensive makeover and hopefully Lloyd Pierce can turn his expectations into reality.

Zach Hood: Drafting Cam Reddish at No. 10. I’m high on Reddish, and think it’s entirely reasonable that he ends up being one of the better players in the 2019 draft class by the time it’s all said and done. Even if he doesn’t reach the ceiling of his star potential, the floor should be high given his shooting talent and defensive acumen/versatility to go along with great size and length for his position.

Toby Adeyemi: My favorite offseason transactions for the Hawks happen to be one of their latest in Brandon Goodwin. He was a star locally at Norcross High School, and he broke out his senior year with the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. He led the team with 18 and nearly five assists on his way to a regular-season Atlantic Sun Championship and multiple accolades. He averaged 21 a game last year in the G-League with the Nuggets and Grizzlies, which earned him a two-way contract with the Hawks this season. I believe he is their best addition this offseason because he has a perfectly defined role behind Trae Young. If he can translate his scoring ability from the G League and keep the Hawks offense flowing when Young’s out the game, he can be a real piece for the Hawks this season.

Sam Meredith: My favorite transaction of the offseason had to be landing Cam Reddish with the 10th pick of the draft. I think he has higher upside than about six players taken in the top ten. I don’t think Duke’s structure this season was very conducive to Reddish’s style or growth. I think almost every outlet undervalues his defensive skill-set, and with his size and measurables, he projects to be a solid NBA player who may have a chance to start down the road.

Matt Harris: The Hawks had a productive offseason but nothing that wowed me, which is perfectly fine for where the team is at. I would have to say the trade for Allen Crabbe was my favorite move of the offseason. The Hawks offloaded Taurean Prince and brought back two firsts, one of which helped them move up on draft day to acquire De’Andre Hunter. I’m a big fan of trading nonessential assets for first rounders, so this move takes the cake.

Glen Willis: There is not a single transaction that really stands out to me as being profoundly better than the others. Looking back, it seems they had a plan and they executed the plan. However, using the No. 10 overall draft pick to acquire Cam Reddish could, in time, deliver the most value of any of the transactions. Reddish has a lot of upside and lands with a team that already has enough offensive firepower such that he will not have to deal with significant expectations early in his career. If he is able to make the most of the opportunity and buys into the player development program of the Hawks’ coaching staff, Reddish could end up being another member of an exciting young core group of players with whom Atlanta looks to build for the future.

Andrew Kelly: The Taurean Prince trade with Brooklyn for Allen Crabbe and two 1st round picks. Though a good shooter, Prince was a significant net negative on the court for the Hawks. Even if he returns to his rookie season defensive impact in Brooklyn, it wasn’t going to happen in Atlanta. Schlenk was correct to avoid a contract decision in the summer of 2020. A return of a 2019 1st round pick, a protected 2020 1st, along with Allen Crabbe’s expiring contract, is a big win. When healthy, Crabbe has been a productive rotation player and could have an impact off the bench next season.

Dylan Hughes: Taking Cam Reddish at No. 10 overall. To me, Reddish seems like a player that have a lot more success in the NBA than he did in college. In his lone season at Duke, where he shared the floor with non-shooters in R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson, and Tre Jones, there wasn’t a ton of space to operate. Reddish shot just 51.2 percent at the rim and 27.7 percent on 2-point jumpers (via Hoop-Math). He shot below average from 3 as well at 33.3 percent. In an offense with a lot more space, however — sharing the floor with the likes of Trae Young and Kevin Huerter — Reddish will see more open looks and space to operate in off of closeouts.

Greg Willis: The trade with Brooklyn stands out to me. Taurean Prince is a talented player but perhaps not an ideal fit in Lloyd Pierce’s system and was only a year away from free agency. Getting two first round picks for him in the deal is a huge win, as the expiring contract of Allen Crabbe has no impact on the team’s ability to continue building the team over the next several seasons. The Hawks have accumulated a strong collection of young players through the draft recently and are positioned to keep adding more in the near future.

Brad Rowland: For me, it’s the trade with Brooklyn that brought two first-round picks. One of those selections is already gone as part of the trade to land De’Andre Hunter but, from a process perspective, I liked Travis Schlenk capitalizing early (remember, the deal was in early June) to land the equivalent of first-round value for both Taurean Prince and for taking on Allen Crabbe’s contract. It wasn’t an A-plus-plus-plus-plus move in the way the Dennis Schröder trade was last summer, but it was clearly a positive transaction in my view.