Report: Hawks to acquire Tristan Thompson from Celtics

This report has been changed and the Hawks will now acquire Delon Wright from the Sacramento Kings and Boston Celtics.

The Atlanta Hawks had a successful draft day by most accounts, and Friday afternoon, they continued making moves. The Hawks, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, have reportedly agreed to trade Kris Dunn, who opted into his $5 million contract for 2021-2022 this week, Bruno Fernando, and a 2023 second-round pick for Boston Celtics veteran center Tristan Thompson.

Thompson obviously represents depth at the center position, as Clint Capela is still on the roster and coming off a strong season in which he led the NBA in rebounding. Thompson averaged 7.6 points and 8.1 rebounds in 54 games for Boston last season, and started 43 of those games.

Dunn’s 2020-21 campaign was notably a lost season, so he will potentially get a fresh start with the Celtics, though the offseason is young and he could be moved again. Fernando also struggled to see the floor in 2020-21 with the emergence of rookie Onyeka Okongwu.

Thompson will presumably slide into the backup center role while Okongwu recovers from his shoulder surgery for the first two to three months of the regular season. Thompson has long been a solid defensive player going back to his days on the Cleveland Cavaliers championship-contending teams with LeBron James.

Stay tuned.