The NBA Draft is less than two weeks away, and buzz continues to build around the teams picking in the top ten and whether or not they could move up or down the board or which prospects might fall. The Atlanta Hawks are the only playoff team that has a top ten pick in this draft and they are one of two playoff teams with a lottery pick, with Oklahoma City being the other team.
Atlanta was hoping for a big jump up in the NBA Draft Lottery, but they ended up dropping to 8th and now they have to consider every option with both of their first round selections (they also have the No. 23 overall pick).
According to the latest reports, the Hawks might not want to make both of those selections. According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Hawks want to stay at No. 8, but are very open to moving their other first round pick:
“The same, I’m told, goes for Atlanta at No. 8.
Sources say that the Mavericks, however, have told rival teams that they are very much open for trades in either direction with their No. 9 pick.
The Hawks, as mentioned above, have a lottery turn at No. 8, but league sources say that Atlanta has informed rival teams that it will happily field offers for No. 23.
The Hawks obtained a second pick in Round 1 via trade with Cleveland but are said to prefer making only one selection in the first round.”
What does this mean?
It would not be surprising to see the Hawks move the No. 23 pick, either for a player that could help them now or for a future asset. An interesting concept would be the Hawks attaching the pick to Corey Kispert to move off of his contract, which is the only contract on the books for Atlanta that would be considered negative value. Would they have to attach the pick to Kispert, or could they move off of him without it?
The Hawks could also use the No. 23 pick to acquire a player who fits under their $11 million trade exception they created when they moved Luke Kennard to the Lakers at the trade deadline. Some players who could fit under that exception who could be of interest to the Hawks include:
- Celtics Forward Sam Hauser ($10.8 Million owed next season)
- Raptors Guard Gradey Dick ($7.8 million owed next season)
- Bulls guard Tre Jones ($8.1 million owed next season)
- Net’s Center Day’Ron Sharpe ($6.0 million owed next season if team option is picked up)
- Thunder Forward Aaron Wiggins ($10.1 million owed next season)
- Suns Center Khaman Maluach ($6.3 million owed next season)
- Grizzlies guard Ty Jerome ($9.2 million owed next season)
- Mavericks Forward Naji Marshall ($9.4 million owed next season)
The Hawks need to improve their halfcourt shot making, interior size and defense, and bench this offseason and using the No, 23 pick in some way to do it is likely, whether they trade it or not.
I think it is more likely than not that the Hawks are not going to move the No. 23 pick until they are on the clock and they know which players are available. If someone unexpected falls to Atlanta’s pick, they might be more inclined to keep the pick, even if it means carrying two rookies.
This is all speculation until we get to draft night, but as we get closer and closer, more is starting to come out about what the Hawks may or may not do. Atlanta has plenty of options to try and improve their roster this offseason.
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