++Hawks++

The Hawks went from perennial playoff team, tore it down for a rebuilding and am now a perennial playoff team, in a very short amount of time.

They also accumulated an embarrassment of riches along the way. Which is a great problem to have.

Along with those riches is Cam Reddish, who has shown out in the first few games of the season. But does being a very good 6th man make Reddish untouchable?

As the current team stands, Reddish will have a very difficult time trying to crack into the starting rotation. Behind Collins and Hunter, Reddish seems like the odd man out. The only way he could crack the starters is if one of Hunter/Collins missed time, or he plays down a position and finds himself outplaying Bogi and neither of those things is a garuntee.

So why not sell him while he's hot? And in doing so use him to get off of probably the worst contract on the team.

Yes. This means trading for another "bad" contract in Eric Gordon, but it is just as long as Gallo's (3rd year basically not garunteed) and is cheaper. Gordon i think fits perfectly with Trae as a guy who can create his own shot. Can catch fire any given night from 3 (streaky but less so than Gallo IMO). Can defend 1 through (smaller) 3. Can finish at the rim at a high percentage. Gordon is off to a hot start and if your looking for a perfect 6th man he's right there.

Now Gordon > Gallo, but that's not the whole trade.

Reddish does have a ready made guy to take his spot in Jalen Johnson, but with the addition of Jae'sean Tate it may not be that easy. Tate brings that rough and tough edge to the Rockets which any team would love to have. Much in the mould of a PJ Tucker, Tate will happily take on anyone on the court no matter the size. He helps fill out that edge that a guy like PatBev is doing for the Wolves this season. An ultimate glue guy.

House is there too.

The picks hopefully put it over the edge to pry Reddish from the Hawks.

Line up (Healthy)

Trae/Bogi/Hunter/Collins/Clint

Wright/Gordon/Huerter/Tate/Okongwu

++Rockets++

They get an answer at the 3 spot and someone who will still have another year up his sleeve to build chemistry with the other young guys on the team before Houston has to think about how much money to throw at him.

Reddish would 100% walk right into a starting role and with his size can help take the defensive pressure off of the teams two young guards.

What this also does is make Silas think more about starting Sengun, as having a big athletic wing can help pick up on some of the switches that would leave Tate super vulnerable.

Once the coaching staff get more confidence in the young guys, and once the young guys find their sealegs a bit, then the lineup would be one of, if not the most, exciting young lineup in the league.

They lose a late pick, yes, and the 2 seconds are offset by the 2024 2nd round pick they just picked up from Brooklyn from the Dembouya trade (not yet reflected on the site). But its 100% worth it IMO.

I guess my main question is, is it enough? Especially if Reddish is becoming more and more untouchable.

Line up (Healthy)

KPJ/Green/Reddish/Sengun/Wood

Augustine/Nwaba/KJ/Gallo/Theis

(I personally would love to see Armoni or Jaygup in that backup 1 spot but that may still be a year away).