The Hawks traded Allen Crabbe to Minnesota today for Jeff Teague and Treveon Graham. The most interesting thing about the trade in this case is not the “Who?” but the “When?”
With the trade deadline still three weeks away, why are these teams doing the deal today?
In the case of Atlanta, at least, the explanation is fairly straightforward. The Hawks took on roughly $1M in salary between now and the rest of the season in order to add a legitimate backup point guard behind Trae Young. Atlanta has been absolutely eviscerated in the minutes Young was off the court this season, trying and failing to shoehorn their young wing players into on-ball roles when Young checked out (the Point Reddish mini-era was a particularly sad chapter).
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