Atlanta Hawks NBA Trade Rumors: Kent Bazemore, Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli Are on the Trading Block

By Noriel See, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, January 11, 2018

It appears the Atlanta Hawks are prepared to unload some of their veteran role players as they go all-in on a rebuild.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Kent Bazemore, Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli have been deemed expendable by the Hawks and the team is prepared to move them before the trade deadline in February.

Ilyasova and Belinelli are in the final year of their contracts, so the Hawks are expected to shop them around the league in the coming weeks. But Bazemore is expected to draw a lot of interest due to his recent success as a "three-and-D" threat.

The former Old Dominion University standout went undrafted in 2012 and he played for the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers before he joined Atlanta in 2014. With the Hawks, Bazemore developed into a dynamic two-way player and he agreed to sign a four-year, $70-million contract to stay with the team in 2016.

Bazemore is currently averaging 12.5 points, 3.8 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 steals in a little over 28 minutes a game. He's also shooting 41 percent from the field, 38.4 percent from three-point range, and 79.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Interestingly, Bazemore may not be the biggest name on the trading block for the Hawks because there's a chance they may dangle Dennis Schröder in trade talks as well in the coming weeks, per Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.

"Atlanta's seeming emphasis on doing things the right way means we can't discount the possibility of a move away from Dennis Schroder. The talented young guard reportedly has a little too much love for the nightlife, one league executive told B/R's Ric Bucher last year," Hughes said in his report.

"Schroder has been productive, but in addition to whispers about his off-court activities (and offseason arrest), he also hasn't shown the best late-game judgment," he continued.