Atlanta Hawks fans can put down the pitchforks. That guy they spent last season booing? He’s staying put in Orlando.
NBA insider Jake Fischer confirmed this week that the Magic have no interest in trading backup center Goga Bitadze. That’s a relief for Hawks fans who still haven’t forgotten the play that ended Jock Landale’s season last year.
Bitadze got ejected for a hard foul on Landale back in February, and Landale never played again. The Hawks big man suffered an injury that required surgery and wiped out the rest of his year. Hawks fans were furious, and plenty of them wanted the league to suspend Bitadze. That didn’t happen, and the bad blood carried over into the offseason chatter about a potential trade.
But here’s the thing. Atlanta actually could use another big. They were undersized in the playoffs last spring, and that hurt them against the Knicks, who eventually won the title. The Hawks made some moves already — they extended CJ McCollum and traded for Aaron Wiggins from Oklahoma City — but the frontcourt still looks thin.
The front office used the draft to grab Zuby Ejiofor from St. John’s and Henri Veesaar from North Carolina, which helps. But neither of those guys is a proven rotation player yet. There’s still a chance Onsi Saleh makes another move before training camp, either via trade or free agency, to bring in a veteran big man who can actually play.
Bitadze just isn’t going to be that guy. Not for Atlanta, anyway. The Magic like him as depth behind Wendell Carter Jr., and with Mo Wagner expected to leave Orlando in free agency, Bitadze’s role might even grow next season.
So Hawks fans get to move on. No need to figure out how to cheer for the guy who messed up their center’s season. Atlanta will look elsewhere to fill that hole, and honestly, that’s probably the cleanest outcome for everyone involved.
Leave a Comment