The Atlanta Hawks made their second swap of trade season, sending Vit Krejci to the Portland Trail Blazers for Duop Reath a couple of second-round picks.
Here are the particulars:
Portland Trail Blazers acquire: Vit Krejci
Atlanta Hawks acquire: Duop Reath, their own 2027 second-round pick, 2030 New York Knicks second-round pick
Let’s dive in!
Portland Trail Blazers
Incoming salary: $2.3 million in 2025-26
Outgoing salary: $2.2 million in 2025-26
Did you know that the Portland Trail Blazers shoot the third-most three-pointers per game in the NBA this season? Did you also know that the Portland Trail Blazers shoot the worst percentage on three-pointers of any team in the NBA this season?
Welcome to Portland, Vit Krejci!
This trade is helpful for Portland and all it cost them was a couple of second-round picks. All due respect to Duop Reath, who had looked like a real backup center, but he’s out for the season and had fallen out of the Blazers rotation. This deal was functionally two seconds for Krejci.
In 46 games this year, Krejci has shot 42.3% on 5.2 three-point attempts per game. He’s averaged 9.0 points in 22.3 minutes per game too. But Krejci isn’t just a catch-and-shoot guy.
At 6-foot-8, Krejci is a good ballhandler and self-creator. He can get his own shot, as well as spotting up or shooting while on the move off screens. He’s a good ball-mover too. In years past, it was thought Krejci might eventually develop into a big point guard, but he’s settled in quite nicely as a wing.
Portland desperately needed someone who was a maker and not just a shooter. They’ve got lots of the latter, and few of the former. Krejci will fill that role, while under team control at a shade above the minimum for the next two season after this one.
Reath had been a nice find by the Blazers front office, and their player development system had done a wonderful job coaching him up. But Reath recently had surgery for a stress fracture in his right foot, and he’ll miss the remainder of this season. Reath had also fallen well behind Donovan Clingan, Robert Williams III and rookie Yang Hansen in the Blazers center rotation.
This seems like a small, around-the-edges move for Portland. But sometimes those pay off huge. This feels like one that the Blazers will be happy they made as their teams grows into a playoff contender.
Atlanta Hawks
Incoming salary: $2.2 million in 2025-26
Outgoing salary: $2.3 million in 2025-26
When the Hawks acquired Corey Kispert as part of the Trae Young deal, you had the sense that Vit Krejci’s time could be short in Atlanta. There’s a lot of overlap in role and play-style between Kispert and Krejci. And Luke Kennard is still around for some additional bench shooting too.
By sending out Krejci, the Hawks add two more second-round picks. Atlanta now has seven tradable second-round picks to work with, and they’re about $6.8 million under the luxury tax. For a team that’s been active in trade talks, the Hawks have a lot to work with before the trade deadline.
There’s a good chance that Reath will be waived to open up a roster spot. The Hawks could use that to convert Christian Koloko to a standard deal. In the team’s banged-up frontcourt, Koloko has become an every-game contributor. In six games with Atlanta, Koloko has averaged 4.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 15.7 minutes per game.
Lastly, if Atlanta does an unbalanced trade, they have center N’Faly Dante, who is also out for the season, on the roster. Don’t expect waivers for Reath or Dante before the deadline but, if necessary, the Hawks have the ability to do what they need to create additional roster spots.
