NBA Notes: Hawks, Trade Targets, Wizards, Bradley Beal, Pelicans

Hawks

The Hawks and GM Travis Schlenk are expected to be one of the most active teams on the trade market this offseason, with Suns free agent Deandre Ayton perhaps among their targets, per Chris Kirchner of The Athletic.

Other potential targets, per Kirchner, include the Pistons’ Jerami Grant, Blazers’ Josh Hart, Magic’s Jonathan Isaac, Bulls’ Zach LaVine and Nets’ Ben Simmons.

“After a disappointing season that saw Atlanta go from the Eastern Conference finals to fighting for a Play-In Tournament spot, league sources expect the Hawks to shake up their roster before next season,” Kirchner wrote.

• Also, has been mentioned in several reports, Jazz center Rudy Gobert could be among the Hawks’ trade targets should he become available, as many suspect he will.

Wizards

Free-agent-to-be Bradley Beal is widely considered a shoe-in to return to the Wizards, but told Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report his first priority is feeling like he’s someplace where he can win.

“I always had one of my OGs Drew Gooden, he always told me — he’s like my mentor — he would say, ‘Brad, these are good problems,’” Beal told Rooks, via Bijan Todd of NBC Sports Washington. “When I look at it like that, you can’t necessarily make a wrong decision. It’s a matter of what you want to do with you, your career.

“… I know what my decision will be based off of, and that’s gonna be where I feel like I can win. That’s gonna be my decision. If I feel like I can win in D.C., that’s what I’m gonna do, and I want people to respect that. You may, you may not, but I’m gonna fight my ass off. I’m gonna compete and I’m gonna try to make this team better. If it’s elsewhere, it’s gonna be the exact same commitment.”

• We relayed some of the Wizards’ draft workouts and notes earlier, which you can check out here.

Pelicans

Pelicans head of basketball operations David Griffin has called Zion Williamson a max player and called offering Williamson an extension a no-brainer.

“It’s not a big decision, it’s a pretty easy decision,” Griffin said, via ESPN. “The kid’s historically good when he plays … this is a max player, that’s easy.

“What becomes significant as a team that’s a small-market team and as a team that can’t make mistakes in terms of injuries over time, you have to indemnify yourself in some way for that and that’s fine,” he said. “But the decision of whether or not this is a max player is an easy one. It’s really going to be about if you’re all the way in with us this is what it looks like and we’re all the way in with him and I think we always have been.”

• The Pelicans have received multiple calls about the No. 8 draft pick and willing listeners, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. As relayed last month, the Pelicans (along with the Kings and Trail Blazers) may be among the teams looking to move out of the lottery for immediate help.