The Atlanta Hawks’ prize for winning the lottery? Uh, Options?

How does landing the first pick affect the futures of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray? And who is the favorite to go there? 1? We look at all of the Hawks’ offseason options.

• By
  
  Kevin O’Connor
  

• on May 13, 2024 9:16 a.m.

Classic Atlanta Hawks, huh? Here they are, right in the middle of basketball’s no-man’s land, and boom! They land the first pick in the most confusing draft in years. Unfortunately for the Hawks, there is no Victor Wembanyama waiting to save them, not even a Kyrie Irving or a Zion Williamson to inject hope into their future. Just a bunch of intriguing ifs and maybes, which seem very Atlanta-esque.

It’s a fitting victory for the Hawks, an annual play-in team that has gone 120-126 in the three years since reaching the Eastern Conference finals in 2021. They passed all this season listening to trade offers for Dejounte Murray and have an All-Star guard Trae Young, who just changed agencies as trade rumors swirl. But no matter how much uncertainty there is about the Hawks’ prospects and the quality of this upcoming draft class, it’s still clearly better that they pick first rather than 10th.

The Hawks only had a 3 percent chance of landing the top pick, but that’s exactly what happened. They now have even more flexibility to go in any direction. “Positioning is essential in this profession. The current position is no. 1,” Hawks general manager Landry Fields told reporters. “We will resolve this issue over time.”

The Hawks now face a critical crossroads, further highlighted by their lottery win. They can choose to start a rebuild with the top pick after moving Young and Murray to separate teams for two major runs, or they can keep one of them and reorganize the roster around the other.

“I want to be here. But I also want to win,” Young told reporters in April. “I want to be here. I want to win championships here.

But is there a player available at no. 1 who can soon help Young achieve his goals in Atlanta? Here’s how I would currently rank the Hawks’ options:

5. Zacharie Risacher, French striker

At 6-foot-8, Risacher brings size and theoretical two-way versatility, but he’s an incredibly streaky 3-point shooter. That description may hit too close to home for Hawks fans after experiencing wings like Cam Reddish and De’Andre Hunter. Atlanta could use to feel really, really good about Risacher’s shooting.

4. Donovan Clingan, UConn Center

The 7-foot-2 center would be the safest pick on this list because he could offer the verticality that Young prefers. Clint Capela should be moved because Clingan can do many of the same things he could on a rookie-scale deal. But the Hawks could also trade and target Clingan later in the lottery.

3. Ron Holland, G League wing

Holland is a two-way wing who can attack downhill, but as mentioned above, the Hawks haven’t had the best luck with wings who need to improve their jumpers.

2. Matas Buzelis, G League forward

Young and Buzelis would have major two-player potential since Buzelis can separate defenses in the short roll or excel in dribble handoff situations. But he is physically raw and has an unproven jumper.

1. Alex Sarr, French striker

Sarr’s defensive versatility would add a new dimension to the Hawks, but he is extremely raw in attack and played limited minutes off the bench for Perth during a competitive NBL season. In reality, he will also need time to develop in the NBA.

You can learn more about each of these prospects in my 2024 NBA draft guide. But none of these five players can definitively help Young, who only has two guaranteed seasons left on his contract and an option for a third. Will he really want to be patient and endure more growing pains? Or will he expect the Hawks to use this pick to acquire a player who can help now? I would expect this to be the case: Young will likely want to see Atlanta make tangible improvements in the same way Damian Lillard hoped last summer. But as soon as Portland selected Scoot Henderson, Dame’s fate was sealed. Soon, Trae’s might be too.

It’s unclear which stars might become available for a package featuring the top pick. Maybe Jimmy Butler if the Heat decide to break up their core? Or Karl-Anthony Towns if he continues to implode against the Nuggets? Would the Clippers move Kawhi Leonard if Paul George leaves in free agency? Or maybe the Celtics would trade Jaylen Brown if they fail again? These are all intriguing names, but I’m not sure the Hawks would be tempted given the value they would have to add beyond the first pick.

Trading Young isn’t an easy choice for the Hawks either. It will depend on who wants it and what those suitors would be willing to give up. The Hawks saw a relatively soft deal for Murray at the deadline, and he has three guaranteed years remaining on his contract at nearly half Young’s annual value. Not many teams need a point guard, but there are a few: How far would the Lakers go to acquire one after D’Angelo Russell failed again in the playoffs? Could the Heat go the extra mile with a new point guard? Or maybe a young playoff team like the Magic or Pelicans would want one to bolster their offense? Would the Spurs or Wizards prefer to find their point guard in a trade or draft?

“We have work to do,” Fields told reporters at the lottery. He spoke for about 16 minutes total on Sunday, giving vague answers to questions about the Hawks’ new situation. As you would expect. He doesn’t want to show his hand and he doesn’t even know what they’re going to do yet. It was unexpected that Atlanta found itself in this position, and the Hawks themselves know how these decisions can change at the last minute.

The Hawks gave Luka Doncic a physical the morning of the 2019 draft in New York and planned to take him before the Mavericks made a late offer when Hawks owner Tony Ressler led the Luka-for move -Trae. It all happened quickly, with the owner coming to the top to make the decision, as is often the case in big deals.

There are a lot of cooks in the Atlanta kitchen these days, including the one who traded Luka. Fields is the general manager. But Ressler is taking the lead, and now his son Nick also has an important voice in the front office. The same goes for head coach Quin Snyder, who joined Atlanta to win, not rebuild. Officers now have less control over the transmission of information and medical exams to teams. But if the Hawks don’t demonstrate some organizational alignment, an agent won’t necessarily want to point his client there (or to Washington, which has the second choice). Houston, an up-and-coming team, sits there with the third pick. San Antonio has the fourth pick (and Wembanyama). And several teams could progress.

The responsibility of the No. 1 pick should force the Hawks to choose what they want to become, whether or not that includes their veteran point guards. They cannot keep one, nor one, nor both. They can stay at the first pick, trade down, or go out of the draft altogether. They can re-equip it or blow it up.

With any luck in the lottery, the Hawks have many more options than they might have anticipated, even if the choices they should make are no clearer than they were before Sunday.