So now that the Hawks won the lottery, who might they select — if they keep the pick? Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution examines five prospects who could go No. 1, including Alexandre Sarr, Donovan Clingan, Nikola Topic, Zaccharie Risacher, and Reed Sheppard.
Getting the top pick provides more unexpected options for the direction of the Hawks’ franchise, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer writes. They could pursue a rebuild with the first pick by trading both Trae Young and Dejounte Murray to separate teams for two major hauls, or they could keep one of them and revamp the roster around the other, O’Connor notes. They could also look to trade down or move out of the draft altogether in an even bigger deal.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Young will have talks with the Hawks‘ front office prior to the draft regarding the direction of the team, Shams Charania of The Athletic said on FanDuel’s Run It Back program (video link). Charania notes the pairing of Young and Murray hasn’t worked and the Hawks will have to seriously consider moving at least one of them.
- Delon Wright is headed to unrestricted free agency and the veteran guard would like to re-sign with the Heat, he told Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Hopefully, wherever I go to will be good for me,” Wright said. “But I definitely would like to come back. I feel like I just got a snippet of what could be. Like I said, with a full summer, full training camp, I think it’ll help me have a better season, a better understanding of what (Erik Spoelstra) wants out of me.” Another veteran guard and unrestricted free agent, Patty Mills, expressed similar feelings. “Very quickly I inherited everything that this organization is about and felt every part of that,” Mills said. “So as far as the adjustment and making a run, I enjoyed every part of it.”
- Add the Magic to the list of potential trade suitors for Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, according to Marc Stein in a Substack post. It’s been reported that New Orleans won’t pursue a max extension with Ingram, fueling speculation that he could be traded this offseason. The Sixers, Hawks and Cavaliers have been previously named as teams likely to be interested in the high-scoring forward.
Draft Isaiah Collier at 1 to basically be the basketball version of Mike Penix Jr
Trade Trae to San Antonio for Keldon Johnson, their #8 pick (Tidjane Salaun), our 2025 1st back, & cap filler (Devonte Graham)
Re-sign Saddiq to a team friendly deal
Dejounte, Keldon, Dre, Jalen, Clint starting with Collier, Bogdan, Saddiq & Onyeka in the rotation off the bench. Kobe Bufkin & AJ Griffin could get a look during the first few months and then be used as trade bait for an impact vet when the trade deadline comes around.
Balanced payroll with nobody making more than $25M/yr. 1 of our main weaknesses these past few yrs has been a lack of toughness & adding guys like Keldon & Saddiq while losing guys like Trae & Kev would definitely help us become a much tougher team. Still obv a very skilled team as well but should be much improved defensively. The young talent on this team would be crazy but there’s enough vets & overall talent to be highly competitive in the East next season
Collier may barely get top 10…
He can’t shoot well and not some top defender.
Trade back and get him but he is not a #1 pick.
Where are you getting that he can’t shoot well? He shot 10-25 from 3 off picknroll as a freshman. Shot near 40% from 3 off the catch as a freshman. Defensively he’s not elite like he is offensively but he definitely projects to be an upgrade from Trae & he’s a much better defender than the other top pg prospects in the draft. DC has the #2 pick & an even bigger need at pg than us. If we trade back he may not be there & no other prospect fits the Hawks as well as he does
You’ll regret passing on Sarr purely because Collier is a hometown guy. Who was that guy Pacers were supposed to draft over Reggie Miller?
Id just strongly advise you to watch tape of Isaiah Collier, then watch tape of Steve Alford, then amend your statement. As far as Sarr he’s nice but we just extended Onyeka Okongwu & he’s like 22yrs old. We have one of the best pivot duos in the league & a decent 3rd big in Bruno as well. We also have 1 of the best young 4s in the league in Jalen Johnson. The strength of this draft is clearly the pgs imo. Point guard is also still the most important position in the NBA game. Isaiah Collier is the best pg prospect in this class & tbh he’s 1 of the best that’s come into the league in awhile. I still haven’t heard a legit critique of his game in here lol. Him being a hometown guy is just an added bonus/gift to ourselves for missing out on Dwight/Cam/Ant before
Watched plenty of both. Wasn’t comparing the two guys games was comparing the circumstances. Sarr isn’t Okongwu. This dudes a legit big and future two way beast who’s already elite far as athleticism and running the floor at his position. Shots got potential too. You’ll be extremely greatful in 18 months when this guys 20 if he stays healthy. Gonna block alot of shots, grab alot of boards and claim alot of bodies. Pick roll lob threat with trae and before long he’ll be popping and knocking down bombs. Okongwu will be this guys back up before long.
Sarr isn’t Onyeka in that they aren’t the same person. But they’re games are pretty similar tbh. Almost everything you’re saying about Sarr could also be said for Onyeka. He’s elite at running the floor, extremely mobile/athletic/quick for his position. He’s a great pnr lob threat, great rebounder & his 3pt shot is on the verge of being very reliable. The irony truly couldn’t be thicker. Especially bc of the fact that Onyeka is already someone’s backup, another great defensive 5, Clint Capela. Sarr isn’t better than any of those guys right now. Onyeka had a better season in the NBA this yr than Sarr had in the NBL. Sarr is more of a 4 rn than a 5 anyway tbh but our best young player is a 4 & he’s here to stay. Also pg is the most important position in the game
And Okongwu at barely 19 compared to Sarr, apart from being a 6’8 centre and way slow for a stretch 4? Clearly can’t talk to you subjectively. You’ve made your mind up, go draft Collier no.1, good luck with that. You’ve already got two guys who’ve been all stars at PG, why not. Maybe you could move someone and get Collier later?
You got the #1 pick ????????
Why ?????? Cause Hawks Suck
He shot below 70% at fts
33% from college 3pt
115 ast to 89turnovers
Teams will probably be treating him like Giddey, he can’t shoot.
lol.. I feel like you’re not familiar with this guy’s game. Have you ever seen him play?
Im sure you’ll leave us a link regardless so lets get it over with
Ya all gotta stop talking about Trae to Spurs – never going to happen – Spurs don’t chase overrated guys that don’t play defense and don’t buy into team first.
Besides no one is giving the Hawks a rotation player and two number ones for a player the Hawks clearly don’t want. Where do you all come up with this stuff.
Trae also does not fit the Wemby timeline. I know Wmeby is a generational talent so a timeline may not matter. Trae is too ball dominant and does not do much when it is not in his hands.
Lol how does Trae not fit the Wembanyama timeline? In what way does that make sense? Smh Trae Young is too ball dominant? Lol jeez u guys are the worst. Bro it shouldn’t be hard to admit that Trae Young is a great pg on offense
Why you so eager to get rid of him…?
His shining moment was a couple of years ago in that playoff run. He hasn’t elevated that team.
You wrote 3 sentences & 2 of them contradict each other. 67% from the field, that’s DeAndre Jordan #s
He was talking about free throw %, so I guess your Deandre comp stands regardless.
smh.. come on y’all, do better
Magic would be bad place for Ingram he would be the 3rd option maybe 4th. They do have money and young players to move, but that does not make them a fit.
Hawks do not need to trade Trae, they need what the two teams rumored to be interested have. Spurs have Wemby, a big that covers up defensive inefficiencies, Lakers have AD…same. If Sarr can be that guy and have a plus offensive profile, he’s the easy pick. Clingan though has the size and defensive profile to help immediately. To me, those are the only two options.
Have you watched the Hawks over the past few yrs? We have a great defensive center already. Have y’all forgotten how good Clint Capela is? We also have Onyeka Okongwu who’s a very good defensive 5. We also have other good defenders around Trae this season in Dejounte, Dre & Jalen. Having Trae out there just makes it harder on the other 4 guys tho bc he’s truly the definition of a minus defender. Sarr is great defensively & may end up being better than Clint or Onyeka in that area but adding him (while keeping Trae) isn’t gonna be that magic formula. And as far as Clingan going #1 that would be more like pre-Horford Hawks to make an egregiously terrible move like that. We haven’t had nearly as many comically bad moves in the past 15yrs or so
Capela is the reason the Spurs shouldn’t trade for Trae…
It doesn’t work in the weaker Eastern conference… It’s not going to work in the bloodbath that is the west…
Comparing Capela to Wemby is like comparing my Mazda to an M1 Abrams
So stupid if hawks draft collier.just drafts sarr,then trade him for collier and 1st. Its better choice
Sankara, your thoughts on Collier’s floor and ceiling. Preferably a player comp. What does he need to work on the most. The upside is tantalizing but Sarr is an appealing #1 even if the draft is a bit of a crapshoot.
Very interested in how the Hawks handle this. Almost seems like a curse disguised as a blessing. Complicating an already complicated summer for them.
Regardless of whether or not Hawks move 101, they have a lot of deals to make between now and February. Young, Hunter, Capela, and most likely Bogdan (though his contract vs production isn’t horrible) all have to go.
If you’re the Hawks FO, you NEED to build around Murray. No choice. His contract would make any GM in the NBA go from 6 to midnight. Thats why they gave up what they did in the first place.
This roster has already proven that it can’t be competitive. I sincerely hope that winning the lottery gives them the kick in behind needed to pull the trigger on a rebuild.
Rumours were Trae or DeJonte or both could be traded and now they have won the draft, the 1st overall pick could be up for grabs but I’m fairly confident at least one of these situations comes to fruition.
The other rumour is they have some interest in Brandon Ingram, and it’s also worth noting apparently the Pelicans aren’t interested in bringing back Jonas Valaucanes.
My suggestions
Brandon Ingram, Larry Nance and the 21st overall pick for DeJounte Murray, Clint Capela and 2 second round picks in the future
New Orleans does as its says and tries to build around Zion with defence and better shooting while also getting a new starting centre and avoid having to pay Ingram.
From there, Atlanta I think draft in Donovan Clingam to be there new long term centre over Alex Sarr. It’s the less popular selection but I think it’s the better selection, he’s just more mobile, bigger frame and I think the shooting will develop.
At 21, I’d get Tyler Smith as a handy back up power forward to develop.
Trae Bogdanovic Ingram Johnson Clingam
….. Bufkin Hunter Smith Onyeka
That just leaves you with a back up point guard to find in FA. I’d look for experience and defence.
So Atlanta moves the amazing contract of Murray’s and they’re valuable 20 million expiring contract of Capela’s and future draft capital for an expiring Ingram, expiring Larry Nance, and the 21st pick in a weak draft class….
Anyone trading for Ingram has to realize that he better work on your roster otherwise you’re going to be selling him in February for pennies on the dollar. Im sure New Orleans is also keen on holding their expiring deals to maximize returns next season when someone inevitably wants out of their current situation. Same with the Hawks and Capela for that matter.
Just because two teams needs to make moves doesn’t mean they need to make them together
You really overvalue an expiring contract.
They basically trade Murray for Ingram (for better fit around Trae), and Capela plus a couple seconds (which hood very little value) for Larry Nance and a first round pick.
Capela isnt needed as they have Okungwu and I believe also will plan on taking a centre in the draft. And as for Ingram, I don’t necessarily think it’s the best move it’s just that he’s been rumoured to be a target for ATL and that than Murray has been reported as on the outer, I just simply put the two rumours together.
But I mean during negotiations if ATL thought they were slightly overpaying or not getting the best deal, they could remove the seconds and ask for the 17th pick instead.
From the Pelicans perspective, Murray would be a much better fit around Zion and Capela would be a handy centre replacement on an expiring deal although it would suck losing Nance.
I overvalue expiring deals while somehow you value giving Ingram a max extension?? One of us is crazy and I promise it’s not me. Trying to get rid of Murray instead of Trae is just so wrong. Let other teams over pay for Trae instead of underpay for Murray. Word around the league is that 101 in this draft might as well be 110 in any other draft.
Young yields the highest return. Another deal before he is moved is malpractice. Really not another way to look at it.
Every board has Hawks taking Sarr.
They are fools if they don’t take him or trade it. Wait ……. they are fools.
That’s why they got this pick ???????
The Fooooolery ….
Washington for sure ……will take Sarr.
I have every expectation the Hawks will screw this up. Probably in multiple ways. I get sick thinking about how we had Doncic and traded him for Trae