Draft Atlanta Hawks Pick-Swap Watch Thread

Will the 2026 Hawks Swap Convey?

  • Yes

  • No


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This swap has gone from about 10 position jump in the draft to 20+.

Need Blazers, Clippers, Mavs, and Grizzlies in the west and Bucks and Hornets out east to keep fighting the good fight and the Hawks can slip to 7th worst overall.

Slim chance they will be caught by Wizards, Nets, Pacers, Jazz, Kings, and Pelicans.
 
This swap has gone from about 10 position jump in the draft to 20+.

Need Blazers, Clippers, Mavs, and Grizzlies in the west and Bucks and Hornets out east to keep fighting the good fight and the Hawks can slip to 7th worst overall.

Slim chance they will be caught by Wizards, Nets, Pacers, Jazz, Kings, and Pelicans.
I think it will land somewhere between 10 and 14 by the end of the season. The Hawks have the Pelicans pick insurance and so they won't try to upset the applecart much except for perhaps trading for AD and giving up KP and perhaps the Cleveland pick in 2026. And the Mavs hopefully just buys out KP and waives him (gives a chance for the Spurs to pick the ailing Unicorn to play limited minutes, perhaps).

The Bucks will fight to get into the playin; the Blazers will remain in play in contention, the Clips will try to get beyond and enter the top 8 if possible...but I have very few hopes of Grizzlies and Hornets. Which is why 10 seems to be the worst (our best) case for the Hawks.
 
I want them to draft an older player like Lendeborg or Haugh. Both of those would be rotation players from day 1 and might even be better than Barnes. I definitely want that for 6 million per year.
You can draft the most ready player in the draft and they still won’t start for this team. They’d have to blow everyone away in practice, and I don’t see any rook doing that. Veteran experience will take priority as Fox or Caste did over Harper this year. Whoever is drafted will start from the bench and work their way up to earn that starting spot over Barnes. They’d also have to be a shooter to get that spot, since we also have evidence that Mitch prefers shooting over anything else (Barnes over Sochan and everyone else).
 
Veteran experience will take priority as Fox or Caste did over Harper this year.
Not a valid comparison.
Fox is an all-star and Castle looks to be on his way there.
Way different from taking the starting spot from Barnes (if he's even on the team next season).
With that said, Champ has done more than enough to keep starting after Devin returns.
 
This swap has gone from about 10 position jump in the draft to 20+.

Need Blazers, Clippers, Mavs, and Grizzlies in the west and Bucks and Hornets out east to keep fighting the good fight and the Hawks can slip to 7th worst overall.

Slim chance they will be caught by Wizards, Nets, Pacers, Jazz, Kings, and Pelicans.
I think best case is probably maybe 9, pre lottery. Everyone else below that appears to be at least soft tanking.
 
I need the clippers to keep winning. Not just the obvious pressure on ATL and for weakening OKC’s odds, but I really don’t want to see them in the first round with a healthy nephew.
 
I need the clippers to keep winning. Not just the obvious pressure on ATL and for weakening OKC’s odds, but I really don’t want to see them in the first round with a healthy nephew.
Is there even such a thing, any more?
 
This swap has gone from about 10 position jump in the draft to 20+.

Need Blazers, Clippers, Mavs, and Grizzlies in the west and Bucks and Hornets out east to keep fighting the good fight and the Hawks can slip to 7th worst overall.

Slim chance they will be caught by Wizards, Nets, Pacers, Jazz, Kings, and Pelicans.
I think 7 is possible (pre-draft). All of those teams you mentioned as a threat can pass them as currently constructed. That said, I expect Memphis to blow it up and tank. The Mavs might like to, but they are going to need an injury to do it because when Flagg is on the floor he makes them competitive. I could see them finishing 8-10 so I'll take the mid and go 9.
 
Let's just take what we can get (obviously would love the best lotto odds, but this coming draft has multiple gems). Some might say the Spurs would have been better off without the lotto luck they got this past summer (Kon a couple spots back probably suits this team better today than what Dylan Harper potentially offers in the next couple of years).
 
Here's the deal I'd consider that gives ATL their swap back.

Maybe this is a little too far out there, MIA would include picks going to MEM in this scenario.

View attachment 477
I'd do this, and I think the Griz would do this. Heat are more a maybe, if I'm them I'd rather have Jakucionis + $26 millions expiring, but Ja could be a very MIA type reclamation but Ja + Herro + Powell= very small, very ball dominate, very bad on D.
Hawks should need more I think, like Jaylen Wells instead of Dru, but then its a no for the Spurs.
Love the framework though, I would love Aldama and think Wells is gonna be a very solid NBA role player for 10 yrs. Both have regressed a bit, great time to buy low(er).
 
You can draft the most ready player in the draft and they still won’t start for this team. They’d have to blow everyone away in practice, and I don’t see any rook doing that. Veteran experience will take priority as Fox or Caste did over Harper this year. Whoever is drafted will start from the bench and work their way up to earn that starting spot over Barnes. They’d also have to be a shooter to get that spot, since we also have evidence that Mitch prefers shooting over anything else (Barnes over Sochan and everyone else).
Fox and Castle aren't starting because of "veteran experience" that gives them some union style priority to hours. They start and they play more because they are better today. Castle isn't a veteran either, one yr experience on a non-team isn't much experience.
If the Spurs had drafted Kon, I bet he'd be starting. If the Spurs draft someone ready to replace Barnes, they will. There's no guarantee Barnes sticks with the team either and I think there's almost no chance he's our starter next yr, he is the worst rebounding non-gaurd in the NBA this season. All of Barnes/Oly/Sochan could easily be gone. This whole post reads like a Collin Cowherd take.
 
The most ready player on the draft may be Boozer and I guarantee he would immediately be our starting PF.
 
The most ready player on the draft may be Boozer and I guarantee he would immediately be our starting PF.
Boozer will be the best NBA player in this draft. He was absolutely wrecking the same players at 15 that the Thompson twins were coasting past at. 20.
 
Huge one tonight against the Bucks and looking like Jalen's improved 3pt shooting may have just been a one month hot streak.

Re: getting a starting F in the draft- yeah Boozer and Dybantsa would be day one starters. 10/16 in current mocks are 6'8+ forwards, on the low end are Lendeborg and Haugh who will be 24 on opening day hardly typical rookies, the 6 others are all Freshman age, but several could absolutely start for us next yr depending on how they look and how the offseason plays out. Its really dumb to just assume a rookie won't start bc their a rookie (also dumb to assume they will start simply because draft position-see D Harper), especially where you have a glaring need. Need, roster construction, ability/performance matter much more an title.
 
Feels like today's MIL-ATL game could be pivotal, and even dare I say borderline "make or break", for both teams... but especially MIL. A loss today may be the final straw for Giannis, whereas a win might encourage the Bucks FO to be a buyer.

For ATL on the other hand, a loss today would be 4 straight and though their schedule has a couple of winnable games they're still looking at some more Ls on the horizon:

1768845362530.webp

They are sitting at 20-24 right now, tied with MIL and +3 on CHA in the loss column.

If I were a betting man, I'd bet on them going 3-6 in the next 9 and being 23-30 when the dust settles on Trade Deadline Day.

The Bucks, on the other hand, have a slightly easier schedule ahead of them

1768845570596.webp

I could definitely see them going 6-3 over this stretch would would put them at 23-27 on Deadline Day.

A ton hinges on this game today and whether this Bucks team has already quit.

(Go Bucks Go, btw)
 
Rooting for the Bucks but they already look like they’ve quit. We’ll see if they have one more push in them
 
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