Trae, new guys, picks and everything we learned from Hawks’ GM availability

LOS ANGELES — Why wait?

At least that’s the philosophy Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh employs when it comes to making moves to improve the roster.

On Monday afternoon, the Hawks held a virtual availability, during which Saleh discussed the team’s most recent moves, including the decision to trade longtime face of the franchise Trae Young to the Wizards.

“Trae has been so huge in our community,” Saleh said in his opening statement. ‘Him and (his wife) Shelby, what they’ve done, we just wish them the best. They’ve been phenomenal for our organization. Like talking about a guy that’s been the face of our franchise for quite a long time."

Last Wednesday, the Hawks agreed to terms with the Wizards to acquire CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert in exchange for Young.

Here’s what Saleh said on Monday.

— The Hawks still had 29 days before the NBA’s trade deadline. But Saleh and the Hawks’ front office believed they saw the best deal available to them now.

So, they made it.

“As you guys have seen with me, our group, too, as a front office, if there’s deals to be done, ‘Why? Why wait?’ is my philosophy on that,“ Saleh said. ”If you like something that you think makes a lot of sense, we’re gonna do that.

“We just do what’s best for our organization, move forward. And, I’m not one to really wait on anything like that. If it makes sense for us, today, tomorrow, we’re going to move on something. So there was really no question of, ‘Let’s wait a little bit and figure this out at the deadline.’”

The deal has had polarizing results, with talking heads and some former players criticizing it. While others seemed more understanding of the market available to the Hawks.

— The team’s return in the deal of McCollum, one of the NBA’s top clutch players, as well as Kispert, one of the league’s more efficient shooters, deepens the roster.

Both Kispert and McCollum have shot 38% or better from 3, joining the Hawks’ sharpshooters in Luke Kennard and Vit Krejci. Kennard and Krejci both rank among the top-10 shooters in 3-point shooting percentage on three or more attempts per game.

“CJ is veteran leadership,” Saleh said. “Corey has been a pro. These guys, these guys are pros, and they really add to the locker room. They really add to our on-court play as well. And we’re just really excited for them.”

— Throughout the availability, Saleh repeatedly said that he liked what McCollum and Kispert added to the team and how they fit the style of play the Hawks want to deploy.

This season, the Hawks haven’t really relied on a primary ball-handler. Using Kennard, as well as Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels, among others, to run the offense. That shift away from a single primary playmaker signaled it was time for a change in direction.

“I think you guys have seen that too,” Saleh said. A lot of guys that can initiate offense. Jalen’s emergence, the guy’s basically averaging a triple-double this season. Dyson’s on-ball, Nikeil’s on-ball, I guess, CJ on-ball.

“We have a lot of guys that could handle it, just fitting the evolution of where we’re going, I think this made the most sense for us. It made sense for Trae, and I think this was the right trade for everybody.”

— While the move gives both the Hawks and Young a fresh start, it also gives the team some future financial flexibility.

The move gets the Hawks off Young’s contract, which included a nearly $49 million player option next season.

Instead, they have McCollum, who is on an expiring deal, for the remainder of the year. Because of the leadership he could provide, the Hawks have the option to offer an extension to potentially avoid unrestricted free agency in the summer.

Additionally, Kispert is in the first year of a four-year, $54 million deal.

“I think, before we made this trade, we were, what, the third youngest team in the league?” Saleh said. “And just having that optionality in this current cap environment, you guys are seeing it. You are seeing the repercussions and consequences of not being diligent in how you spend your cap space.

“So I felt between that and more, really just the players coming back. We really like the guys that fit with us and their roles here. So really excited about all that, really excited about the current season, but also the future of this place.”

— Part of that future includes a valuable first-round pick in this year’s NBA draft in June. After trading back in last year’s draft, the Hawks acquired an unprotected first-round pick from the Pelicans (9-32), the second-worst in the NBA.

The Hawks won’t know where that pick, or any of the others they have, will fall in the draft. In addition to the Pelicans’ pick, the Hawks may also have a pick swap with the Cavaliers (22-18).

“The draft is, to me, our biggest transaction period. The draft is how you build organically,” Saleh said. “It’s how you build internally. And I feel like this is a really good draft, the talent that’s available. So again, that will be our most important transaction period. We’ve got to nail the draft. That’s going to be really important for us as we build this thing out.