The Hawks don’t appear to have made any final decisions yet, but intel from teams around the league suggests forward Zaccharie Risacher still looks like the favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick, Jonathan Givony writes in ESPN’s latest mock draft (Insider link). Risacher is working out for Atlanta on Wednesday.
While Alexandre Sarr is widely considered to be another contender for that No. 1 pick, Givony says the Hawks have been unable to get the French big man in for a workout so far, and suggests that UConn center Donovan Clingan might be Risacher’s top competition for the top spot in the draft. Clingan impressed Atlanta during his workout with his passing ability and his performance in film study and interviews, according to Givony.
The Hawks have brought in several lottery prospects for workouts, including Reed Sheppard, Matas Buzelis, Cody Williams, and Ron Holland, Givony notes, which suggests they’re preparing for potential trade-down scenarios as well. One possibility that has been “widely discussed” by rival teams, per Givony, is a deal with the Spurs that would see the Hawks move down to No. 4 and get back one of their draft assets controlled by San Antonio, such as Atlanta’s 2025 first-rounder. A move along those lines would put the Hawks in a better position to rebuild, as Givony observes.
If Atlanta doesn’t select Sarr with the No. 1 pick, teams and agents believe he’ll come off the board at No. 2 to the Wizards, per Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. Both Wasserman and ESPN have Sarr second overall in their latest mock drafts.
Here are several more draft-related tidbits from ESPN and Bleacher Report:
- Dalton Knecht‘s draft range seems increasingly small, according to Givony, who says that every team between No. 4 and No. 9 (with the exception of the Pistons at No. 5) has shown interest in the Tennessee forward.
- Rival teams are predicting that Colorado’s Cody Williams will be picked higher than expected, possibly by the Spurs or Pistons, says Wasserman, who has Williams at No. 7 in his mock. Givony adds that Williams has worked out or will work out for nearly every team in the top 10 (except for the Rockets) and that teams with lower picks haven’t been able to bring him in, signaling that his camp is confident about his draft range.
- Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham hasn’t been able to work out for teams for most of the pre-draft process due to an ankle injury, prompting speculation that he could slide on draft night, according to both ESPN’s Jeremy Woo and Wasserman. ESPN has Dillingham coming off the board at No. 8 to the Spurs, but Wassmeran’s sources believe San Antonio is an unlikely landing spot based on what the team is signaling to agents. Wasserman has the former Wildcats guard at No. 11 in his mock.
- Ja’Kobe Walter, one of the first 12 players who received a green room invite, worked out for teams like the Pistons, Hornets, Spurs, Jazz, and Kings, per Givony, which bodes well for his odds of being a lottery pick.
- French forward Tidjane Salaun worked out for the Thunder, Kings, and Trail Blazers, then sprained his ankle at a workout with the Spurs this past weekend, Givony reports. Salaun had also lined up workouts with the Pistons and Hornets, but his ankle injury might prevent those sessions from happening.
- Serbian point guard Nikola Topic has had a handful of meetings scheduled with lottery teams, including the Trail Blazers, Spurs, Grizzlies, and Jazz, Givony writes. However, Givony cautions that a team interested in picking Topic will have to prepare for the possibility of a redshirt rookie year due to the guard’s partially torn ACL.
- Teams were “buzzing” about Indiana center Kel’el Ware after a strong shooting display at his pro day, according to Wasserman, who says the big man is receiving consideration as high as the late lottery. Givony agrees that Ware seems to be building momentum in the pre-draft process, but notes that he hasn’t received a green room invite yet — that could change later this week when the final invites are sent out. According to Givony, Ware has worked out for over a dozen teams, ranging from late-lottery clubs to those near the end of the first round. The Bucks are one of those teams, and ESPN’s mock has Ware going to Milwaukee at No. 23.
Two days ago I read that Hawks insisted they refused to trade 1st pick
Trade idea
Rockets get #1
Hawks get Smith and 2 Firsts via Nets
Terrible trade idea lol. To move up 2 spots in a weak draft you want Jabari Smith Jr. who is probably going to end up as good as anyone in this draft, PLUS 2 firsts? Valuable firsts at that! Even if we keep the 3rd pick and its no.1 overall for Jabari and the Nets picks,anything in the Cooper Flagg draft? Hard pass on that as well. Either you’re joking around or you just don’t get it
Too much is being made about the Hawks picks. It’s really only one year they don’t have a first. Sacramento’s pick will almost certainly be the Hawks next year as it is top 10 protected.
They’ll likely have picks in 2025 and 2026, but not having control of their OWN picks means there’s no upside to taking a step back (since it won’t get them a lottery pick), which limits their roster-building options.
It’s weird to say our roster building options are limited bc we don’t have incentive to get worse lol. Our roster building options are better at this point in time than they’ve prob ever been in franchise history. Not having our own picks in the next few yrs means we can’t tank but why would we ever want to tank when we have so much talent alr on the roster plus the opportunity to add to it by trading Trae & using/trading the upcoming #1 overall draft pick. Even if we did have all our upcoming picks it would be ludicrous to take a step back.
I’m not necessarily suggesting they SHOULD want to tank — just that not having that path available limits their options in certain respects.
For example, if they get an offer for Trae heavy on draft assets, it’s unlikely to appeal as much as one with win-now pieces, even if it might objectively be a stronger offer.
I hear what you’re saying. I’ll say this, if our options are limited bc of not having our upcoming picks the limitations are very minimal. Something that I feel is extremely important to understand is that there is definitely a bit of addition by subtraction for us by trading Trae. If we were to get Keldon Johnson plus future picks or even Bruce Brown plus picks for Trae, that would be extremely appealing & make us a better team even tho Trae is obv better/more valuable than those guys in a vacuum. We’d def need at least one win-now type vet in return for Trae but he wouldn’t have to be a star level guy at all which gives us a large window of possibilities to consider even without a complete rebuild being an option.
Original comment is definitely a breath of fresh air in the toxic cloud of ignorance that is the hooprumors comment section. It’s a bit wild how ppl still act as if the Hawks overpaid for Dejounte lol. We basically gave up Kev Huerter, a 1st & 2 2nds for him. And by the time SAS get that 1st we would have had 5 seasons of all-star level play from Dejounte. That’s a borderline fleece job
Hawks suck no one cares what they do. They went from East Finsls to rebuilding. That’s gotta be the sorriest bs I have ever seen ………
“Hawks move down to No. 4 and get back one of their draft assets controlled by San Antonio, such as Atlanta’s 2025 first-rounder. A move along those lines would put the Hawks in a better position to rebuild, as Givony observes.”
Hawks are clueless like you. I get them now.
Hawks defense is bad because of 3 main things
1. small front court
2. Capela is slowing down, his leg and back are now 40 years old.
3. Wing rotation is terrible too.
This might be the worst comment I’ve seen this guy make & that’s saying a lot
Hawks defense was bad because of Trae Young
Givony needs to stick to the scouting and stay away from the rumor mill. The idea of SAS trading 4 + giving ATL back their unprotected 2025FRP for 1 in this draft is one of the dumbest takes ever.
Why is that a dumb take?
Seems like even Hawks are not sure what to do. In one of worst drafts Ever. Experts say it not me.
Considering their two top players are in trade rumors. Really makes you wonder about this franchise.
Hawks biggest strength is their depth at SF. Risacher is raw. Will not contribute for 3-5 yrs. Who TF can wait that long ….. Hawks ??
LOL this is a clown show ……..
draft Sarr and Trade Capela. That’s how you strengthen team now ….. for this yr. Why would Hawks be thinking about past the 2024-25 season …….
Would the Knicks like Capela for Randle ?
Dillingham I’ve been reading. Has a sprained ankle. So hasn’t worked out for teams. Seems to be dropping. Collier another gifted guard has also been dropping. Outside the lottery. I consider both of them a solid pick. Future starters at PG.