It still seems unbelievable, nearly one year later, that the Atlanta Hawks were able to pull off the shocking trade with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Atlanta was sitting at pick No. 13 and the news came out that they had struck a deal with the Pelicans to move back to No. 23 for an unprotected 2026 first round pick that would be the most favorable of the Pelicans and Bucks selections while New Orleans would move up and select Derik Queen. Hindsight can be 20-20, but this was a trade that was universally panned at the time for a number of reasons.
The 2026 draft was already being looked at as a loaded draft with a number of elite prospects who could go No. 1 in most drafts. Not only that, but the Pelicans were not being projected as one of the potential playoff teams in the Western Conference and the Bucks were an injury to Giannis Antetokounmpo from being in the lottery themselves.
After the trade was made on draft night, there was a lot of ridicule thrown at New Orleans for making this trade, including from Bill Simmons:
“New Orleans trades up ten spots so they can get Derik Queen and they give up their unprotected 2026 first round pick swap that they have with Milwaukee, they have the favorable, whatever pick it is they keep. They send that to Atlanta, who had to be deliriously happy, this was one of the five dumbest trades of this decade, I was speechless.”
Fast forward nearly one year later and we are about to find out where the infamous pick is going to land. I would argue that no matter where the pick does end up, the Hawks are still the clear winners of the trade.
Coming into the draft lottery, the Pelicans are positioned at 7th in the lottery, and the Bucks are 10th, playing out about as well as the Hawks could have realistically hoped for when they made the deal last summer. The combined odds for the pick are the following:
No. 1- 9.8% chance
No. 2- 9.9% chance
No. 3- 10.1% chance
No. 4- 10.30% chance
No. 7- 19.75% chance
No. 8- 30.18% chance
No. 9- 9.19% chance
No. 10- 0.67% chance
No. 11- <0.01% chance
If this pick shoots into the top four or at No. 1, there is going to be a lot of talk about last year’s trade, but even if the pick falls, this is still a huge win for Atlanta.
The Hawks went through some ups and downs this season, starting the year off with high expectations, suffering injuries, remaking their team by trading Trae Young, and with the new additions, responding with a 20-6 record after the All-Star break, which earned them the No, 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, They have a core of Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Onyeka Okongwu, and Dyson Daniels that appears ready to compete going forward and whoever this pick ends up being, they are going to be a part of that core.
Let’s not forget the players that were included in the deal either.
The Hawks were reportedly considering taking Asa Newell with the No. 13 pick, but were able to land him at No. 23. While he was not a major part of the rotation this season, Newell shot the ball well, showed good instincts when it came to passing, and rebounded well. Defense is still a major issue, but Newell performed well when put in the game and showed lots of progress in the G-League.
Queen started the year off well for New Orleans, but his defense and his questionable fit with Zion Williamson seemed to overshadow what he accomplished at the beginning. He is still a very talented passer and offensive player, averaging 11.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 3.7 APG on 47% shooting from the field, but given what the Pelicans gave up to acquire him, there is a long way to go for Queen.
The talent at the top of this draft is undeniable. AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson are considered to be elite tier prospects, but it does not stop there. One of the Hawks biggest needs moving forward is a lead guard and there are plenty of options after those four players, with Darius Acuff, Keaton Wagler, Kingston Flemings, and Mikel Brown Jr having elite talent.
At worst, the Hawks are going to leave this trade with a potentially very impactful big in Newell and a future point guard that could be one of the final pieces into making the Hawks a contender. If this lottery goes their way though, the Hawks could get a franchise altering player to make this trade a no doubt grand slam.
Either way, this was a heist of a trade and the Hawks will be better because of it.
