Atlanta Hawks

If the 2016 NBA trade deadline stays quiet, this is the team to blame

Published Feb. 18, 2016 11:49 a.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

As of roughly three hours before the 2016 NBA trade deadline, all is quiet on almost every front. There's the occasional rumor leaking from franchises that can't keep a secret, of course. But most reports on Thursday indicate that this could be a rather boring day for trades.

And if that ends up being the case, we can all (reportedly) blame one team: The Atlanta Hawks.

Other than Dwight Howard, who brings his own headaches in any potential trade, the Hawks have two of the best players who were reportedly on the market in the aforementioned Al Horford and Jeff Teague. And rumors swirled that Atlanta was considering abandoning its current direction, trading Horford and Teague, and starting over in the face of LeBron James and the Cavs in the East and Steph Curry and the Warriors in the West.

The entire league has been waiting on the Hawks to make a move. Now, they've decided against doing anything? That might be a prudent basketball decision, but we're not here for pragmatic quiet. We want trades, and we want them now.

Then again, there's a distinct chance this is the Hawks sending out a massive smokescreen. "No, of course we're not going to move Horford or Teague. They're just too valuable to us," reads the report. The subtext: "Unless you bowl us over with an amazing offer, that is!"

Regardless of what a team might leak to the media in the hours leading up to the deadline, remember this one thing: They're always taking and answering calls until the last minute if only to survey the market. Horford, Teague and almost any other player in this league can be had before Thursday's deadline — for the right price.