2. Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are rumored to be primed to potentially make a major trade before the deadline. There have been rumblings throughout the NBA that the Hawks could very well look to move on from either point guard Jeff Teague or veteran big man (on an expiring contract) in Al Horford. However, even if they don’t choose to move a major piece of their core, they’d still have a potential role for Brandon Bass.
For all of the Hawks’ strengths, depth in their frontcourt certainly isn’t one of them. Players like Mike Scott and Mike Muscala routinely see minutes in the Atlanta frontcourt rotation. While both players have their talents and value, you have to believe that they’re a team that would benefit from having the experience and savvy of a player like Bass as they again look to make some noise in the East.
In terms of what a potential trade between the Lakers and Hawks involving Bass would look like, there’s a number of areas that LA could look. They could look to put together a package for the likes of Horford (especially if they plan to target the big man in 2016 free agency), but they could also potentially benefit from acquiring young assets like Tim Hardaway Jr. or Muscala. Either way, there are deals that could be made that would benefit both the Lakers and Hawks that would involve Bass.
Next: No. 1 Celtics