The Hawks sat Marco Belinelli for their win over the Grizzlies yesterday, as the trade deadline approaches tomorrow.
Wishful thinking by Atlanta, or will Belinelli actually get dealt?
Marc Stein of The New York Times:
The Hawks have informed veteran sharpshooter Marco Belinelli that he is on course to be traded by Thursday's 3 p.m. deadline, league sources say. Atlanta said to still be weighing its options in terms of exactly where it will send him with multiple teams interested
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 7, 2018
This doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be traded. Channing Frye and Iman Shumpert were told they’d be dealt to the Kings for George Hill, and that hasn’t happened.
But there should be enough interest by both sides to complete a deal.
Belinelli is a good 3-point shooter in a league where that skill is at a premium. His $6,606,060 expiring salary is manageable.
But the 31-year-old adds little value to the rebuilding Hawks. They’re unlikely to re-sign him next summer.
Better to trade him now to a team that could use the shooting guard the rest of the season. It probably comes down to which team offers the best second-round pick(s) or, if the deal gets more complex, an even higher pick in exchange for Atlanta also taking bad long-term salary.