There are good reasons why the Hawks should trade Kent Bazemore before the Feb. 8 deadline. He’s a highly paid veteran on a rebuilding team. Bazemore was caught in between two Hawks eras: playoff pushes under then-VP Mike Budenholzer, and rebuilding via the draft under GM Travis Schlenk.
Certainly, if the Hawks can get a first-round draft pick or a bona fide young prospect for Bazemore, they’d have to strongly consider it. But there are good reasons to keep Bazemore, too. He’s a solid NBA wing, and he’s the kind of player the Hawks need around to help prevent their young players from forming bad habits from losing so many games.
Bazemore is a good NBA wing in large part because of his defense. Every metric confirms what the eye test says: Bazemore is a very good wing defender.
Bazemore's steals and blocks percentages rank in the 97th and 91st percentile, respectively, for his position, according to Cleaning the Glass. Few players produce as many defensive deflections: Bazemore's 5.1 per 48 minutes rank tied for sixth-most among players with at least 1,000 minutes played, according to NBA tracking stats.
CTG also ranks Bazemore in the 80th percentile for defensive rebounding among wings. And ESPN's Defensive Real-Plus minus, which adjusts for quality of teammates and opponents, ranks Bazemore sixth among players listed as shooting guards who play at least 25 minutes per game and 16th among all wings.
Bazemore isn't a top-level starter because of the holes in his offensive game. He's shooting a career-best 38.4 on 3-pointers, but his effective field-goal percentage is only 50.4 (league average for all players is 52.1). That's in large part because he still struggles to finish at the rim: CTG ranks Bazemore in the 30th percentile in accuracy on those shots. (Bazemore and the Hawks probably would benefit from him shooting 3's at a much higher frequency.)
Bazemore has been effective as a secondary playmaker. His turnover rate (17.2 percent) is high, but his assist rate (19.9) is excellent for a wing (89th percentile, according to CTG). Bazemore also draws fouls at a high rate (81st percentile on shooting fouls) and has improved his free-throw shooting (79.4 percent) after it dipped last season.
In a vacuum, Bazemore might be considered grossly overpaid, but not so much when placed into context. Bazemore's salary this season is $16.9 million. That ranks among 23rd among players who reasonably can be considered "wings." Look at the list of shooting guards and small forwards making more than Bazemore and you will see several who aren't as valuable. Versatile wings like Bazemore command a price.
If the Hawks trade Bazemore and shed his $18.1 million salary for next season, they are going to have to find a replacement as the starting wing. That someone likely will be on a team with at least three rookies (the 2018 draft picks) and two second-year players (John Collins and Tyler Dorsey). It could be more than that, depending on what the Hawks do in free agency and with their second-round pick in the 2018 draft.
That’s why Schlenk has said the Hawks could be even younger next season. The Hawks are going to need veteran players to help maintain a professional culture and accountability. Bazemore does that. Without him, Dennis Schroder and Mike Muscala (if he exercises his contract option) would be the only two Hawks players with more than two seasons under Budenholzer.
The Hawks are right to explore trade opportunities for Bazemore. Obviously they should do it if it's a no-brainer deal. Anything short of that, and I think there are good reasons for the Hawks to keep Bazemore.
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