Spurs lottery odds skyrocket after slew of baffling Atlanta Hawks trades

De'Andre Hunter is on the move, ladies and gentlemen. You remember him, right? The guy who thought it was a good idea to stare down Victor Wembanyama after a fourth-quarter slam that led to a double technical foul still doesn't make sense to this day. He's a good player, but he's on the enemy list for the foreseeable future. Allow me to get back on topic.

The Atlanta Hawks are trading Hunter to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and while they're getting back a couple of 40% three-point shooters, neither player amounts to what Hunter brought to the table. That means the Hawks are taking another step back, which is great news for San Antonio, as Raul Dominguez Jr. so astutely points out.

The Dejounte Murray trade looks better by the day

Initially, trading away Dejounte Murray was a shock. There was no doubt they had gotten a haul for him, but he had shown promise, defense, and clutch ability, so he had plenty of fans who wanted him to remain the team's franchise point guard. Ultimately, things went exactly how they needed to because San Antonio put themselves in position to draft Victor Wembanyama.

On top of that, the first-round draft picks the Spurs received for the trade seem to keep improving in value. The Hawks started the season and played better than anyone expected. But they hit a rough patch and began losing games. That was before one of their best players, Jalen Johnson, was injured and ruled out for the season.

Now, with a little over two months to go in the regular season, they trade away another one of their best players. There's always a possibility that I'm wrong; Caris LeVert and Georges Niang could be the missing key and launch the Hawks into elite territory. But that's highly unlikely.

San Antonio is sitting pretty with on those Atlanta picks, especially with the upcoming 2025 draft class. There is a wealth of talented players in the lottery, and the Spurs should get a chance at one of them due to the direction the Hawks are headed. Thankfully, the Silver and Black did their part to help usher them the right way by beating them in last night's head-to-head.

After the addition of De'Aaron Fox, this team can focus on making the playoffs and gaining some postseason experience. While they won't win a ring this year, they'll give somebody major headaches while learning what kind of focus and intensity it takes to play in the playoffs. Afterward, they'll add a talented young lottery pick, courtesy of ATL's southern hospitality. That's the ideal scenario.

Hawks are cleaning house

As I'm writing this article, Shams Charania reports another trade from Atlanta. Bogdan Bogdanovic is a sensational player. While Bones Hyland and Terance Mann have talent, this roster suddenly doesn't fit together at all. There may be another big one coming involving a guy with the nickname "Ice Trae," but that's complete speculation on my part.

There's just no way to explain these moves knowing the Spurs have their first-round draft picks over the next few years unless something else is happening. We'll keep an eye on it, though, because the worse they are, the better for San Antonio.