In addition to having made Schroder available, the Hawks have also been motivated to move
Kent Bazemore – their other highest-paid player – since last summer, sources tell Jake Fischer of SI.com. Fischer adds that Atlanta is currently viewed as the most active team on the “explorative” draft trade market.
The
Hawks have made
Dennis Schroder available in trades, league sources tell
Jeremy Woo of SI.com. However, according to Woo, the point guard has been difficult to move due to concerns about his attitude, along with the $46.5MM remaining on his contract.
Schroder had already been considered a trade candidate due to comments he made earlier in the offseason. As we detailed
last month, the 24-year-old expressed a desire to compete for a title and a dissatisfaction with the Hawks’ performance in the 2017/18 season. While reports at the time indicated that Schroder hadn’t formally asked for a trade, he didn’t sound like a player excited about the prospect about going through a rebuild in Atlanta.
Schroder averaged a career-best 19.4 PPG last season to go along with 6.2 APG and 3.1 RPG. Typically, when a player entering his mid-20s is producing at that level and is under team control for three more years at a relatively affordable rate ($15.5MM annually), he’s a building block for a rebuilding franchise, rather than a trade chip. However, the Hawks’ current management group didn’t draft or extend Schroder and may not be attached to him. Additionally, the point guard’s hints that he wants out of Atlanta don’t bode well for a long-term union.
Complicating matters further is Schroder’s pending legal case. He was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge
last September, with Georgia officials
recommending in Marchthat he be prosecuted for felony aggravated battery. Schroder
figures to face disciplinefrom his team and/or the league when that case is resolved.
The Hawks’ ability to find a taker for Schroder could have an impact on their draft plans this week. As Woo writes in his mock draft, the team is believed to be high on
Trae Young.
Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders corroborates this account, writing that more and more league sources believe Young is the Hawks’ top target. If Atlanta uses the No. 3 pick on Young, or trades down to select him, it would negatively affect the club’s leverage in trade talks involving Schroder.
