The Atlanta Hawks’ offseason has been underway since their play-in loss to the Miami Heat and two of the biggest dates when it comes to the NBA offseason is the draft lottery and the night of the draft. Both nights will be huge for the Hawks. The draft lottery is set to take place next Monday night.
The NBA settled the tiebreakers for various draft scenarios a couple of weeks ago and they worked out very well in the Atlanta Hawks’ favor.
Atlanta will likely have two picks in the upcoming NBA Draft. They lost a coin flip to the Sacramento Kings, but that turned out in Atlanta’s favor. The Hawks own the Kings pick if it falls outside the top 12 and Sacramento will only have a 3.8% chance to climb into the top four and a less than one percent chance to get the top pick. Anything can happen, but Atlanta is likely to get the pick, which would be huge for them and their roster.
The other good news for the Hawks is that the Lakers won a tiebreaker with the Denver Nuggets, the Indiana Pacers, and the LA Clippers. Second, third, and fourth place in the tiebreaker drawings went to Indiana, the LA Clippers, and Denver. Atlanta got the Lakers pick in the deal that sent Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans. The Hawks will own the No. 22 pick in the draft and unless the Kings jump into the top four of the lottery, they will have the No. 13 pick as well.
So who could the Hawks take in this draft, assuming that they keep both picks? In the latest mock from CBS Sports Cameron Salerno, the Hawks draft a new backup point guard and a prospect to develop for the future:
“Demin was one of the more hyped up draft prospects during the early portion of the 2024-25 season before hitting a wall at the start of Big 12 play. If Demin can improve his jumper at the next level, he can be one of the best guards in his class when it’s all said and done. That will be his swing skill.”
PPG
– 12.4
RPG
– 5.3
APG
-1.1
3P%
-29.8%
“The French forward is one of the youngest players in this year’s draft. Essengue is a dynamic forward who has shown improvement as a shooter throughout his playing career and can be a standout defender at the next level. He still needs time to develop, but the Hawks should be ecstatic if he is still on the board at pick No. 22.”
There have not been many mock drafts that have seen the Hawks select Demin, but it could be a sneaky possibility. Demin is one of the draft’s most talented passers and has tons of upside if his shot comes around. The Hawks could use a backup point guard to run the offense with Trae Young off the floor.
Essengue has been a popular mock draft target for the Hawks and he is one of the highest-ceiling prospects in the draft. Essengue is one of the most intriguing prospects in the entire draft, with athleticism and length that could fit with the Hawks and how they are building their team. However, as most draft analysts have noted, the offensive game, particularly the three-point shooting, is going to be a work in progress. The good thing is that the Hawks G-League team, the College Park Skyhawks, has done a great job of developing players. Mouhamed Gueye, Jalen Johnson, and Vit Krejci are just some of the success stories for the Hawks in terms of development.
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