The offseason for the Atlanta Hawks starts early this year.
For the first time since the NBA ended its season in the bubble, the Atlanta Hawks missed the playoffs and are facing a huge offseason. The main debate surrounding the Hawks will be what to do with Dejounte Murray and Trae Young, but with Atlanta missing the playoffs, the Hawks will be in the NBA Draft lottery for the first time since 2020. Become. Although he has one pick, he will be hoping for some luck in the lottery on the night of May 12th, when the draft position will be decided. If the current situation holds, the Hawks will pick No. 10, giving them a 13.9% chance of finishing in the top four and a 3% chance of getting the top pick. For the past few seasons, the team with the best odds has won the first pick in the draft lottery. This is the first time since New Orleans acquired Zion Williamson in the 2019 lottery that a team has made a significant jump to No. 1.
If the Hawks stuck at No. 10 and didn't move up or down, what would they do there? Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman's latest mock draft has the Hawks selecting G League Ignite forward Matas Bouzelis with the 10th pick.
He said of this selection:
“Matas Bouselis has shown enough scoring ability, athleticism, and defensive playmaking to keep him in this year's lottery discussion. Inconsistency and disappointing 3-point shooting numbers have also given scouts confidence. is affecting the
Bouzelis should be given a legitimate chance to improve his stock during workouts, allaying concerns about his 26.1 3-point percentage, which anyone from Sunrise Christian Academy expected to be pretty high. You could do that. ”
I think this would be an interesting choice for the Hawks, as they have a huge need for forwards. Currently, Atlanta will enter next season with DeAndre Hunter, Jalen Johnson, and Saddiq Bey as their main forwards. Bey is coming back from an anterior cruciate ligament injury with an unclear timeline for his return, and while Hunter has certainly made strides and done some things well, he's still underwhelming given what the Hawks need. There are times when it is not. Johnson looks like a future All-Star, and Atlanta has intriguing players like Vit Kureishi and Muhamed Gueye at forward. Still, Atlanta needs a better player at the position, and a player like Bouzelis could have an impact down the road, but I don't think it will be in year one.
The only player the Hawks could take on in this mock draft is Duke University forward Kyle Filipovski. Filipowski has shown great improvement defensively this year and is a capable defender. I think the Hawks should get serious about drafting him this summer.
