Atlanta Hawks

LeBron, Curry may convince East contender to blow up their roster

Published Feb. 9, 2016 5:49 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Atlanta Hawks won 60 games last season and are a respectable 30-24 this year. But with the NBA's trade deadline only a couple weeks away, it's possible they break up their core and start all over again (via ESPN):

The Atlanta Hawks are engaged in serious internal discussions ahead of the Feb. 18 trade deadline about the future direction of their team and their core players, including three All-Stars from their historic 2014-15 team: Al Horford, Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver. After winning a franchise-high 60 games last season, the Hawks are currently 30-24 and fifth in the Eastern Conference after consecutive losses to the Orlando Magic on Sunday and Monday. Atlanta is clustered with a scrum of seven teams separated by only 4½ games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors.

Why would Atlanta be willing to deal Al Horford, Kyle Korver or Jeff Teague? Well, there's a slim chance they win a playoff series as currently constructed, let alone challenge LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in a seven-game series.

And if taking down the Cavs is a pipe dream, winning it all is impossible. The Hawks are an easy out for whichever team emerges from the Western Conference, including the Golden State Warriors or San Antonio Spurs.

Paul Millsap is under contract for the next three years, and currently having one of the best seasons of his career. For the time being, it makes sense to keep him around:

But Horford is a free agent this summer, Korver is 34 years old and a free agent next summer and Teague is (arguably) blocking Dennis Schröder's path to greatness.

The Hawks are one of the worst rebounding teams in the league, and despite having a top-five defense, their offense ranks 24th since January 1st. That's not good enough. The smart move is to cut ties with the valuable pieces on Atlanta's roster before a) they lose them for nothing, b) nobody wants them anymore.