The Hawks are waiting to see whether there's still a chance to bring Dwight Howard back to play for his hometown franchise.
Multiple reports Monday said Orlando and Brooklyn were closing in on a trade that could include as many as four teams and 14 players. The centerpiece of the complex proposal is Orlando sending Howard to Brooklyn in exchange for relatively middling players plus draft picks.
The proposed deal still had hurdles to clear, including the requirement that four players involved must negotiate new contracts to make it possible. If the talks between the Nets and Magic hit a snag, the Hawks are in position to renew their pursuit of Howard.
The Hawks have engaged the Magic in trade talks involving Howard, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. That person did not want to be identified because the teams involved have not discussed the negotiations publicly.
The Hawks could offer Orlando better players than the Nets. But Atlanta could run the risk of trading away valuable assets only to lose Howard in free agency when his contract expires after next season.
Howard has given no indication he's willing to commit beyond next season to any team other than Brooklyn. He recently told Yahoo Sports that if a team other than the Nets acquired him, he planned to play out his contract and become a free agent next summer.
That makes dealing for Howard potentially risky for all teams but Brooklyn. But the team that acquires Howard would have some leverage.
Under salary-cap rules, Howard's new team could offer him a new contract worth about $25 million more than any other NBA team. The team could force Howard to decide whether he's willing to sacrifice that sum in order to play for a another team with the ability to sign him.
The Magic also are under no obligation to trade Howard before his current contract expires. But they appear eager to ship Howard away after enduring months of distractions surrounding his wavering commitment to the franchise.
Howard wants out of Orlando, but he made it more difficult once he exercised his 2012-13 contract option in March. He did so after changing his mind several times about a trade request he first made in December.
That's when the Hawks first had serious trade discussions with Orlando's since-fired GM, Otis Smith. Howard renewed his trade request with Orlando in April, and he and his agent have remained steadfast in stating that Howard only wants to play for the Nets.
If the Hawks can't arrange a trade for Howard, their best hope of acquiring him would be as a free agent next summer.
Atlanta will be in position to offer Howard and other top 2013 free agents a maximum-salary contract. New general manager Danny Ferry created substantial salary-cap space with recent trade agreements that will send All-Star Joe Johnson to Brooklyn and Marvin Williams to Utah.
Those trades can't become official until Wednesday, when the NBA's moratorium on most transactions ends.
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