ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks had a busy trade deadline as they tried to fix the flaws of a disappointing team. Beneath the chaos, the Hawks quietly created a new trade exception to replace another expiring one.
Hawks Quietly Reset Countdown Timer On Trade Exceptions
Atlanta sits ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 26–29 record after a hopeful start to the season. A flurry of summer moves pushed Atlanta to the top of many preseason rankings. Injuries and inconsistency have derailed a campaign filled with promise. The team has adjusted expectations and even made franchise-altering decisions, including trading Trae Young to Washington.
Deadline Maneuvering
At the trade deadline, GM Onsi Saleh had to be creative to maximize his assets. The Hawks held several expiring contracts, including Kristaps Porziņģis, Luke Kennard, the recently acquired CJ McCollum, and Corey Kispert. They traded the former and kept the latter two. Saleh also worked his magic in the Kennard deal.
Resetting the Trade Exception Clock
The Hawks had multiple trade exceptions expiring at the deadline. Saleh used the largest, worth $13.1 million from the Terance Mann–Bogdan Bogdanović deal, to absorb Gabe Vincent. Atlanta then generated a new $11 million exception equal to Kennard’s salary. That exception gives them a useful asset for the next trade deadline.
Atlanta also holds three other exceptions from the Clint Capela ($6.7 million), Kobe Bufkin ($4.5 million), and Young ($1.3 million) trades. Those expire in the coming months, with Capela’s lasting into the summer. Atlanta projects to have $11 million in cap space and access to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which would cap them at the first apron next season ($210 million).
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