The Hawks Have Officially Won the Luka Trade

On a night when Trae Young didn't enter the game due to an ankle injury, the whispers grew louder that the Hawks got the better end of the Draft night trade in 2018 which saw Atlanta trade the rights to Luka Dončić to Dallas for Young and a future first round pick. It would have been easy to forget about that bonus pick before Tuesday night, but anyone who watched the Hawks' 110-88 dismantling of the Milwaukee Bucks to even the Eastern Conference finals 2-2 won't forget about the draft pick that turned into Cam Reddish now.

Reddish hadn't played since February before this series against Milwaukee. Now, in 40 minutes between Games 2 and 4, all he's done is score 23 points on 9-19 FG and 3-6 3PT with seven rebounds, two assists and three steals. He sure looks like a guy that could be right alongside Young, John Collins and Kevin Huerter as the Hawks' core for the next decade.

Young and Dončić are always going to be compared to one another, no matter how much some people don't like it and just want them to be "appreciated for their individual greatness" or whatever the hell that argument is. They're two generational superstars who were traded for one another; they're always going to be compared. But with the emergence of Reddish on the biggest stage in the game, the comparison needs to include him, too.

And all of that is not to mention the fact that the NBA has messed around and let the Hawks get way too close to winning a championship. Atlanta came into this season with one Eastern Conference Finals appearance in franchise history, and it didn't even win a game when it got there. Now, the Hawks are two wins away from the NBA Finals against a Bucks team which could be without Giannis Antetokounmpo going forward.

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Do not let Cam Reddish get hot.