Report: Hawks and Pacers had “exploratory talks” involving Cam Reddish and draft picks

As rumors begin to swirl in the lead up to the 2021 NBA Draft later tonight, teams are sniffing around for partners to move assets and the Atlanta Hawks are no exception. With the recent signing of Bogdan Bogdanovic and the emergence of both Kevin Huerter and De’Andre Hunter in the past season, one could start to wonder about the future of Cam Reddish with the Hawks, who has come on more slowly than his young wing teammates.

This report from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype begins to provide some smoke that the Atlanta Hawks are indeed fielding offers trying to move up in tonight’s draft by dangling Reddish in a possible deal.

It’s important to remember these are just exploratory talks, which are customary of this time of year and not indicative of any imminent deal. In that same report, the Pacers were also involved with the Lakers in a different set of talks, so this type of communication is not exclusive between both the Atlanta and Indiana franchises in any case.

But general manager Travis Schlenk has certainly never been shy about making draft day trades, such as in a 2018 draft day trade that netted both Trae Young and a 2019 pick that would become Cam Reddish. With Atlanta rapidly ascending toward the elite class of the Eastern Conference, the front office may feel pressure to move Cam Reddish now in advance of financial decisions on future restricted free agents Young, Huerter and Hunter, as well as John Collins who will see a decision made on his future within a few weeks’ time.

Stay tuned.