During the 2016-17 season, the Hawks looked set to head into a new direction under the Mike Budenholzer/Wes Wilcox front office regime when they traded popular swingman Kyle Korver to the team that had swept the Hawks the previous two seasons: the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It made no sense to trade a player like Korver to the team that you — and all of the Eastern Conference — were desperately trying to beat. As such, many thought Korver would be the first domino to fall and that, surely, Paul Millsap and Thabo Sefolosha (the Hawks’ impending free agents) would be dealt in due course.