Immediately after trading veteran point guard Mo Williams and Troy Daniels to the Charlotte Hornets, the Minnesota Timberwolves have struck a separate deal with the Atlanta Hawks. They have acquired Hawks rookie big man Adreian Payne for a future first-round draft pick, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

The draft pick will be lottery protected in 2017. The Hawks have created extra money and opened up a roster spot by executing this move.

Perhaps with the extra money and roster spot, the Hawks will look to sign veteran shooting guard Ray Allen, who is expected to make his decision within 10 days. If not Allen, the Hawks may look to sign Gary Neal, who is expected to be bought out and waived by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Neal has, after all, played under Mike Budenholzer in San Antonio when he was an assistant coach.

According to Wojnarowski, another possible option includes Atlanta’s 2014 second-round pick Walter Tavares, who is a 7-foot-2 prospect and could join the team next season. Whatever the case, the Hawks are now nearly $5 million under the salary cap, meaning they have money to attract a solid free agent.

Meanwhile, Adreian Payne was definitely not a part of Atlanta’s rotation, as the 23-year-old has only played three games this season, averaging a mere 1.7 points and 1.3 rebounds. The Timberwolves, on the other hand, could indeed use an extra big body.

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Vahan Shakhpazyan
Vahan Shakhpazyan loves the NBA with a passion and has been an avid follower for 18 years. He is a UCR graduate with a BA degree in Creative Writing. The man behind the Facebook page NBA updates.