Hawks continue to be linked to Jaylen Brown as Giannis trade conversations escalate

The trade conversations surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo have escalated significantly over the last few days. While Miami looked like the clear frontrunner, Boston is making a late push and is now being viewed as a legitimate threat.

For that to happen, Jaylen Brown would have to be involved — which is where the Hawks enter the picture. Atlanta has been linked to the five-time All-Star multiple times over the past several months, but it always felt more like offseason fantasy than reality. Until now.

“One of the loudest questions circulating throughout the league at the moment: Miami might still be widely regarded as the most likely destination for Antetokounmpo … but what sort of market is going to form for Jaylen Brown to join the trade construction as a third team if the Bucks and Celtics advance to a serious stage in Giannis-to-Boston talks,” Jake Fischer reports for The Stein Line.

“Portland, Houston and Atlanta are teams routinely mentioned as suitors with Brown interest, but the sheer salary numbers do add a layer of complexity to any talks. Brown, who turns 30 in October, just assembled a career season but also has three years and $183 million left on his current contract.”

Brown’s massive contract adds a layer of complexity to any three-team construction, but the Hawks have always had the draft capital, young assets, and cap flexibility to make a move of this magnitude work.

Atlanta owns two first-round picks in this year’s draft — 8th and 23rd — along with another valuable selection next year in the form of a top-five protected pick, the worse of the Bucks and Pelicans. On the player side, Milwaukee could choose from the likes of Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu, Zaccharie Risacher, and Asa Newell. Jalen Johnson will not be part of any trade conversations.

The cap side is where things get complicated, but the Hawks would have significant space if they decline their option on Jonathan Kuminga and move on from free agent CJ McCollum — both decisions that become considerably easier if Jaylen Brown is added to the roster.

The Hawks aren’t being forced into anything. They proved over the second half of last season that they’re already one of the better teams in the East and are perfectly comfortable continuing to build through their stockpile of draft assets.

That said, opportunities to acquire a top-10 talent in the NBA — a player coming off a career year in which he averaged nearly 30 points, five rebounds, and five assists per game — don’t come around often, especially for an organization like Atlanta. Nobody can blame them for being seriously interested. And if they can get this done without surrendering the eighth pick in this year’s draft, this roster instantly becomes one of the more formidable in the Eastern Conference.

—

(Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire)