Report: Hawks tried to trade Al Horford for unprotected 2014 first rounder

Last season, the Hawks slipped from the Eastern Conference’s third-best record to barely holding onto the No. 8 seed.

Thank goodness for Atlanta, the East was so pathetic, and a 38-44 record was good enough to make the playoffs.

Under most circumstances, the Al Horford injury that sent the Hawks spiraling downward would have knocked them from the postseason.

Here’s the Hawks’ running win percentage before Horford’s injury (blue) and after (red). The gray line represent Atlanta’s win percentage at Horford’s last game.

Correctly assessing they would freefall without Horford, the Hawks looked into rebuilding.

Zach Lowe of ESPN:

the Hawks reached out to a select group and made it known that Horford could be had for the right price — including an unprotected 2014 first-round pick, per several league sources.

Obviously, Atlanta would have contacted the NBA’s worst teams – many of which have timetables for contending that don’t match the 28-year-old Horford’s career arc.

Horford is healthy now, and the man trying to trade Horford last season – general manager Danny Ferry – is on an indefinite leave of absence. So, the price for Horford might have completely changed.

But its interesting to know where it stood. Horford is an All-Star-caliber big man on a team-friendly contract. Especially now that a rough asking price is established, other teams will surely show interest this season.