Chuck Burton/Associated Press
Right before the whistle blew on this year's trade deadline, theAtlanta Hawks pulled off a deal with the Chicago Bulls for Kirk Hinrich in three-team deal involving the Utah Jazz. NBA.com provided the full breakdown of the deal, which included Shelvin Mack heading to the Jazz :
The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has acquired guard Shelvin Mack from the Atlanta Hawks, pending the outcome of a physical, as part of a three-team trade with the Hawks and Chicago Bulls. As part of the deal, the Jazz traded a future second-round pick to the Bulls, who also received guard Justin Holliday from Atlanta while sending the Hawks guard Kirk Hinrich.
Hinrich has been used sparingly this season, though he did appear in seven consecutive games for the Bulls prior to the All-Star break.
The 35-year-old doesn't possess a diverse set of skills, but he's still an excellent long-range shooter. He's actually got a higher shooting percentage from three-point range (41.1) than his overall shooting percentage (39.8) this season.
The three-point shot was a huge part of Atlanta's success last season. The Hawks finished second in the NBA, hitting 38 percent of their attempts from behind the arc, but have fallen to 19th (34.8) this season.
It's not a surprise, then, that the Hawks have already lost more games before the All-Star break (24) than they did last year (22).
Hinrich isn't going to dramatically make Atlanta a better team, but he does give head coach Mike Budenholzer more scoring options at point guard behind Jeff Teague. Dennis Schroder is not shooting as well this season, so his playing time could take a hit if Hinrich fits in quickly.
The Hawks were one of the most-talked about teams leading up to the trade deadline, but Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported hours before the 3 p.m. ET cut off that the Hawks intended to keep key players like Al Horford and Kyle Korver.
While not considered a strong title contender at 31-24, the Hawks are still firmly in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Tearing the whole thing down despite leading the Southeast Division wouldn't send a good message.
The addition of Hinrich is not a blockbuster that will bring Atlanta closer to Cleveland or Toronto, but depth is never a bad thing to have down the stretch.
Source : bleacherreport
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