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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On a sad day overall for Braves Country, due to the passing of the legendary Bobby Cox, Spencer Strider gave Atlanta fans something to be happy and hopeful about with a stellar outing, shutting down the Dodgers potent offense for 6.0 innings with 8 strikeouts and 15 whiffs. He looked as good as he has in a long time. His fastball averaged 96.4 MPH, with 17 inches of induced vertical break and he had four pitches working nicely together. Even if Strider doesn’t quite return to his Jacob deGrom levels of dominance, having him as a true #1 or #2 quality starter would make a huge difference for this Braves team to pair with Chris Sale. Bryce Elder has been great this season, but shouldn’t be the second best starter in the rotation of a World Series contender. If Strider can keep something like Saturday night’s version of himself moving forward, that’s a huge development for him and this team.
The highly anticipated NBA Draft is finally going to take place tomorrow and the Atlanta Hawks are 1 of 14 teams hoping the ping pong balls bounce their way.
This is going to be the final payoff for what was arguably the best move that any team made last offseason. Atlanta traded down from the No. 13 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and acquired the unprotected 2026 first-round pick from the New Orleans Pelicans, the most favorable of the Pelicans’ and Bucks’ selections. The Pelicans finished 7th in the lottery odds, and Milwaukee is 10th. Based on the odds, the Hawks have a 40% chance of jumping into the top four.
The last time the Hawks were in the lottery, they jumped from 10th to 1st and selected Zaccharie Risacher. While that was a huge stroke of luck, it has not always worked out that way for the Hawks.
Hawks lottery history
The Hawks have been in the NBA Lottery 16 times since 1985 and in that time span, the Hawks have:
- Moved up five times (2024-moved from 10th to 1st, 2018-moved from 4th to 3rd, 2007- moved from 4th to 3rd, 2001- moved from 5th to 3rd, and 1985- moved from 7th to 5th)
- Moved down five times (2020- moved from 4th to 6th, 2019- moved from 5th to 8th, 2006- moved from 4th to 5th, 2005- moved from 1st to 2nd, and 2000- moved from 5th to 6th)
- Stayed where they were projected to six times
Their biggest move up by far came in 2024 when the moved up to No. 1 and were able to select Risacher, which has not quite panned out.
There is an element of what if to each of these scenarios, especially the years the Hawks moved down. In 2020, they moved down in a draft that contained Anthony Edwards, who is from the state of Georgia and one of the elite players that the league has right now. Atlanta ended up selecting Onyeka Okongwu, but there is a big what if about being able to pair Edwards with Trae Young.
In 2019, the Hawks were 5th in the highly anticipated 2019 lottery that featured Zion Williamson, but they fell three spots. While WIlliamson has not had quite the career most had hoped, he is still an All-NBA caliber player and would have paired nicely with Young as a tandem.
There have been some hits and misses during the 16 times that the Hawks have been in the lottery, but there have seemingly been more missed opportunities, even when they jump up in the standings. They are hoping that they get another stroke of luck tomorrow in what could be a franchise altering day for the Hawks.
Final projected odds for the Hawks:
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-
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The Georgia Department of Transportation announced that a major weekend construction project, set to fully shut down two miles of I-285, has been postponed due to inclement weather. Atlantans are relieved, with many looking forward to more freedom to travel this Mothers’ Day weekend. Kim Leoffler has the story.
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