Trail Blazers and Hawks complete a 3-for-1 trade! Yang Hanson's three-point sharpshooting new teammate Trade ratings released

On February 2nd Beijing time, the Trail Blazers and Hawks completed a 3-for-1 deal. The Trail Blazers traded away Reece, who is sidelined for the season, plus two second-round picks (the Hawks' 2027 second-round pick and the Knicks' 2030 second-round pick) in exchange for shooter Kreiči from the Hawks. ESPN later graded the trade with the Trail Blazers receiving an A- and the Hawks a B.

Trail Blazers trade rating: A-

The Trail Blazers have been one of the biggest surprises this season, maintaining the strong momentum they showed at the end of the 2024-25 season. Despite suffering significant setbacks due to injuries in the backcourt, they still have a chance to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2021.

However, recently Avdiya missed five games in late January due to a back strain, and even after returning from injury, his performance on the court has not returned to peak form. During this period, the Trail Blazers struggled on their East Coast road trip, suffering consecutive losses, including defeats by the low-ranked Washington Wizards and a heavy loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

Although the Trail Blazers hope their perimeter players recover soon, even with the full roster healthy, their shooting remains a critical weakness. Currently, the team ranks third in the league for three-point attempts per game but is last in three-point shooting percentage. Kreiči, who shot 42.3% from beyond the arc this season with the Hawks, will not only boost the team's outside scoring but also fit perfectly into the Trail Blazers' aggressive defensive system.

Even better, Kreiči carries a highly cost-effective contract — his salary will be at the league minimum through the 2027-28 season, and after this season, the remaining contract holds no guaranteed clauses. This contract flexibility is especially valuable for the Trail Blazers, as clearing some salary before the trade deadline could free up space to renegotiate and potentially secure a long-term extension with Avdiya.

In fact, even before Reece was diagnosed with a right foot stress fracture and ruled out for the season earlier this week, his situation with the Trail Blazers was already difficult. Since the team selected center Yang Hanson in the first round last June, Reece has only logged 258 minutes on the court this season.

From this perspective, the most notable aspect of this trade is that after completion, the Trail Blazers will need to free up two roster spots to convert two-way contract players Sidy Cissoko and Caleb Love into standard contracts. Veteran wing Sible has been sidelined since last October and, given this is the final year of his contract, he is likely to be moved before the trade deadline.

Hawks trade rating: B

Last month, the Hawks traded Trae Young to the Wizards and received sharpshooter Kesspert in return, which significantly reduced Kreiči’s playing time in recent games. Before being given a starting role and 27 minutes of play last Friday due to roster shortages, Kreiči had only totaled 17 minutes across the previous three games.

Unlike the Trail Blazers, this trade is essentially salary-neutral. Before the trade, the Trail Blazers were just $1.5 million shy of the luxury tax threshold, while the Hawks have more salary flexibility. Therefore, the Hawks are likely to waive Reece, whose contract is expiring, and use the freed roster spot to convert two-way player Koloko’s deal into a standard contract.

For the Hawks, the real value of this trade lies in reclaiming their 2027 second-round pick. This pick was originally sent to the Boston Celtics during the 2023 draft night trade and has since changed hands multiple times before landing with the Trail Blazers.