Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Hawks land first-ever No. 1 pick in NBA draft, besting 3% odds
The Atlanta Hawks came in facing slim odds. They walked away with their biggest victory in years.
The Hawks won the NBA draft lottery on Sunday, landing the No. 1 pick and a potential cornerstone player in a year where there’s no clear-cut choice.
“At least I can go home and tell my wife on Mother’s Day, ‘Hey, at least we won the lottery,’” general manager Landry Fields said. “That’s her present. Yeah, there we go.”
The Hawks hit the jackpot despite just 3% odds after finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference at 36-46. They dropped their final six regular-season games and lost to the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the play-in tournament.
“It was a shock,” said Fields, who grinned ear to ear when deputy commissioner Mark Tatum announced the Hawks as the winners. “When I first saw that it wasn’t us between 10 and 12, that launched us into the top four. I was like, all right, we’ve got a real shot at this thing. A bit of surprise, but a lot of excitement.”
The Hawks haven’t won a postseason series since a surprising run to the Eastern Conference finals in 2021. They got knocked out in the first round in 2022 and 2023.
Atlanta has some big decisions to make this offseason, including whether to break up its backcourt of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. Fields can build with the No. 1 pick — assuming he keeps it — though it’s not clear who will be taken first after Victor Wembanyama was the obvious choice for San Antonio last year.
“Our group has been fantastic,” Fields said. “There’s a whole lot of trust. They’ve put in the work. We’ll kind of lean into our process and take it from there.”
Washington, Houston, San Antonio and Detroit rounded out the top five. The draft is June 26-27 in Brooklyn.
Houston coach Ime Udoka was thrilled to get the third pick after the Rockets went 41-41 and missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year.
“Pleasant surprise when you move up the way that we did,” he said. “I feel like there’s a lot of qualified candidates out there.”
Washington and Detroit had the best chances to land the top pick at 14%. Only four teams have won the lottery with slimmer odds than Atlanta, with the biggest longshot being Orlando at 1.52% in 1993. The Magic orchestrated a blockbuster draft night trade with Golden State, sending the rights to Chris Webber to the Warriors for the rights to Penny Hardaway along with three future first-round picks.
San Antonio landed a generational player last year in Wembanyama. The franchise that previously took David Robinson and Tim Duncan with the No. 1 overall pick got its next great big man, and all the Frenchman did was turn in one of the best rookie seasons in NBA history.
Fields disputed the idea that this year’s class is a weak one, saying there are future All-Stars.
“Every draft class has great players in it,” he said.
The No. 1 pick could once again come from France, whether it’s center Alex Sarr or sharp-shooting forward Zaccharie Risacher, but that’s far from a certainty. UConn guard Stephon Castle and Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham are both expected to be off the board within the first few selections.
The 7-foot-1, 224-pound Sarr has the size and mobility that teams crave and can defend the perimeter when he’s not blocking shots down low. The 19-year-old from Toulouse is known for his explosiveness around the rim, though he could use some more muscle. It would help, too, if he developed into a more reliable 3-point shooter.
Sarr, whose brother Olivier plays for the Oklahoma City, spent this past season in Australia’s National Basketball League.
Risacher, who was born in Spain and grew up in France, is known as a dynamic, albeit streaky shooter for JL Bourg, whether he’s popping off screens or pulling up for 3-pointers. He often guards the other team’s best player.
Castle joined Andre Drummond in 2012 as UConn’s only one-and-done players when he declared for the draft in April after the Huskies’ latest NCAA championship run. The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists while often drawing the defensive assignment to shut down the opposition’s top perimeter player.
Sheppard and Dillingham both came off the bench in their lone college seasons.
Sheppard, who was voted the Southeastern Conference’s top freshman by coaches, was one of the league’s best playmakers and perimeter shooters. He was Kentucky’s No. 3 scorer at 12.5 points per contest and averaged an SEC-best 2.5 steals that ranked eighth nationally, despite starting just five of 33 games.
Dillingham was voted the SEC’s top sixth man after averaging 15.2 and 3.9 assists. Kentucky tied for second in the conference and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, only to get knocked out by Oakland in the round of 64. Coach John Calipari then left after 15 years for Arkansas.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Atlanta, GA
Fire at Chamblee apartment complex displaces more than 75 residents, closes businesses
A fire at a Chamblee apartment and retail complex displaced more than 75 people and caused a partial roof collapse, according to DeKalb County Fire Rescue.
Fire crews responded around 4:37 p.m. Sunday to the Windsor Parkview Apartments along Peachtree Boulevard after reports of a fire on the roof.
DeKalb County Fire Rescue said that crews arrived to find heavy fire coming from the roof and immediately began evacuating people from the building.
Officials said the fire quickly spread across a portion of the roof, leading to a partial collapse.
Thankfully, firefighters said most of the damage appeared to be confined to the roof area.
Many of the people living at the complex spent Monday waiting for answers about when they may be allowed back inside. Some told CBS News Atlanta they were especially worried about pets and belongings left behind during the evacuation.
“We didn’t have to evacuate, as we were both already out of the house for Mother’s Day stuff. But we still have all of our stuff up in the apartment, and we have two cats that are up there, and we’re trying to figure out what exactly the plan is to get all that out of there,” said resident Thomas Wheeler. Hours later, Wheeler and his girlfriend were reunited with their cats.
Others said the uncertainty following the fire has been frustrating.
“There’s just a lot of people around with not a ton of information. The red cross was here. We got to interact with them. It was really a great experience at the Red Cross,” said resident Macy Trego.
The fire also impacted businesses located beneath the apartments.
Some workers told CBS News Atlanta they still do not know when they may be able to return to work.
“I’ve gotta get paid. Rent is high right now,” said Jeremy Snyder, who works at one of the businesses below the apartments.
Windsor Communities released a statement Monday saying it is working with the Red Cross to help displaced tenants.
“We are deeply saddened by yesterday’s fire at Windsor Parkview Apartments, and our immediate focus is on supporting the residents and families impacted by this incident,” a Windsor Communities spokesperson said. “We are grateful to the first responders and local agencies whose swift actions helped ensure residents were safely evacuated and cared for during a very difficult situation.”
The company also said it is maintaining communication with people impacted by the fire while investigators continue working to determine the cause.
Fire officials said the fire may have started from an air conditioning unit on the roof, though the exact cause remains under investigation.
Windsor Parkview opened in 2021 as part of Chamblee’s redevelopment efforts along the Peachtree Boulevard corridor. CBS News Atlanta has also reached out to the City of Chamblee for additional information about the development’s role in the city’s broader revitalization plans.
Atlanta, GA
Midtown Atlanta sewer work to close part of 10th Street
ATLANTA – Drivers in Midtown Atlanta should prepare for traffic changes this week as a new roadwork project begins along 10th Street.
What we know:
The Atlanta Department of Watershed Management said part of 10th Street will close starting Wednesday for sewer repairs.
The construction will impact the eastbound lane between Charles Allen Drive and Monroe Drive.
Officials said the repair project is expected to continue for about four weeks.
Crews will work overnight on weekdays from 5 p.m. until 5 a.m. Construction activity will continue around the clock on weekends until the project is complete.
What you can do:
Motorists traveling through Midtown are encouraged to plan ahead and expect delays in the area during the closure.
Atlanta, GA
Three Biggest Questions Facing the Atlanta Hawks Following the NBA Draft Lottery Results
The 2026 NBA Draft has come and gone, and while the results did not go the way that the Atlanta Hawks had hoped, landing at No. 8 overall, but they are still getting a top-eight pick in a deep draft when they are coming off a season in which they won 46 games and made the playoffs. Atlanta had hoped that having the most favorable selection from the Pelicans and Bucks would turn into a top-four pick, but they are going to get a chance to add to their young core with a high-level talent.
Now that the NBA Draft Lottery is over, what are some questions facing the Hawks?
1. Who could they take with the pick?
We will get into other scenarios later, but for this exercise, let’s just assume that the Hawks are going to stick at No. 8 and make a selection.
While the top four picks are likely going to be (in some order) AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson, the rest of the draft does not seem to be as certain.
There is a popular sentiment that the quarter of guards consisting of Keaton Wagler, Darius Acuff, Kingston Flemings, and Mikel Brown Jr are going to be picks 5-8, but that is not as much of a certainity as the top four.
The Clippers are picking 5th, but they just made a big trade for Darius Garland. Brooklyn just took four guards in last year’s draft, and the Kings are always a wild card, though of these teams, they have the biggest need at guard and don’t seem likely to veer from that.
In the NBA, needs is usually ignored in the draft and the best player available is taken most of the time, but it will be interesting to see which players the Clippers, Nets, and Kings decide on.
If those teams do take three of those guards, the Hawks would have their choice of whoever is left over from that group or players such as Michigan center Aday Mara, Arizona guard Brayden Burries, or Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg.
2. Could the Hawks move up or down in the draft?
While I think as of right now that the most likely scenario is that the Hawks stay put at No. 8, they do have some interesting options to potentially move up or down depending on how things fall.
As I mentioned earlier, the Clippers just traded for Darius Garland and if the Hawks wanted to get ahead of the Kings and Nets to land the guard of their choice, they could try and put together an attractive package to try and make a trade with Los Angeles.
The Nets seem less likely to move down, but after taking four guards in last year’s draft, could they move down and try to target another position?
What about a trade down? If the Hawks had been at No. 7 or in the top four, I would say a trade down is unlikely, but at No. 8, there could be an opportunity there for Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh. Would Oklahoma City be interested in moving No. 12 and No. 17 for No. 8? That would give the Hawks three first round picks and if they like a player that could be in that range, that would be a possibility, though all of this is just hypothetical at the moment.
3. Do the Hawks attempt to move the No. 8 pick for an established star?
Saleh has been adamnat that the team is not one player away and that the Hawks wanted to add through the draft, but even in a draft as deep as this one, the odds of getting a star player at No. 8 are long.
It is tough to really gauge the trade market for this offseason right now, but the No. 8 pick is an attractive asset. Could the Hawks try to trade for Celtics star Jaylen Brown? Again, it is tough to know who else could be available this summer and I would bet against the Hawks moving this pick for a veteran player, but never say never in the NBA.
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