- The Utah Jazz traded Dominique Wilkins to the Atlanta Hawks in 1982.
- The St. Louis Hawks dealt Bill Russell to the Boston Celtics in 1956.
- The Hawks sent Luka Dončić to the Dallas Mavericks for Trae Young in 2018.
The Atlanta Hawks have made many moves to give them a better shot at winning games and improving their championship basketball odds at a sportsbook.
The Hawks made good on their short NBA championship odds in 1958.
With that said, what are the seven biggest trades in Hawks history? Let’s find out.
7 Biggest Atlanta Hawks Trades in Team History
1. Freeman Williams and John Drew for Dominique Wilkins
The Utah Jazz sent Dominique Wilkins to Atlanta in 1982, as he quickly became a fan favourite due to his flashy and powerful dunks.
Wilkins averaged 30.7 points per game during the 1987-88 season, finishing sixth in MVP voting. He finished second in MVP voting during the 1985-86 season when he averaged 30.3 points per game, which led the league.
The Hawks made the playoffs in nine of Wilkins’ 12 seasons with the franchise.
2. Bill Russell for Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan
Bill Russell (No. 2 overall) was traded to the Boston Celtics on draft night in 1956, and the rest is history.
Russell won 11 championships in his 13 seasons in Beantown and revolutionized the way defence is played today.
However, the trade somewhat paid off for the St. Louis Hawks, as Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan helped the Hawks defeat Russell and the Celtics in six games in the 1958 NBA Finals.
3. Luka Dončić for Trae Young and First-Round Pick
Atlanta dealt Luka Dončić (No. 3 overall) to the Dallas Mavericks for Trae Young (No. 5 overall) and a 2019 first-round draft pick, which later turned into Cam Reddish (No. 10 overall) on draft night in 2018.
Although some fans may have wished Dončić stayed in Atlanta, Young has become a fan favourite in the ATL due to his deep 3-pointers, flashy passes, and charisma, helping the Hawks get to the Eastern Conference finals in 2021.
4. Boris Diaw and Two First-Round Picks for Joe Johnson
Joe Johnson landed in Atlanta in a trade with the Phoenix Suns in 2005.
The Arkansas product turned into one of the smoothest scorers in the league, making six All-Star teams with the Hawks while helping the franchise get to the playoffs from 2008 to 2012.
Johnson averaged 25 points per game during the 2006-07 season.
5. Dominique Wilkins and First-Round Pick for Danny Manning
The Hawks traded their franchise icon to the Los Angeles Clippers midseason in 1994.
Danny Manning averaged 23.7 points per game prior to the deal, but he averaged just 15.7 points in 26 games with the franchise before moving onto Phoenix in the offseason.
6. Kevin Willis for Grant Long and Steve Smith
Steve Smith was acquired from the Miami Heat in 1994, averaging 18.6 points per game in his five seasons with the Hawks.
7. Lou Hudson for Ollie Johnson
Lou Hudson averaged 22 points per game during his 11-year tenure with the Hawks, spending the last two seasons of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers following this trade in 1977.
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