Alex Sarr Reveals His First Thoughts About Potentially Playing With The Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks stunned the NBA world yesterday by winning the Draft Lottery and earning the No. 1 pick. Atlanta won the lottery for the first time and it changes their offseason outlook. While they will still more than likely deal Trae Young or Dejounte Murray, having the No. 1 pick as a way to add a player or use as a trade chip is massive and helps put better pieces on the team.

Since the Hawks won the Draft lottery, most analysts around the league have given the Hawks French forward/center Alex Sarr as the No. 1 pick and it makes a ton of sense. Atlanta is in need of more defensive versatility, length, and athleticism and Sarr brings that in droves. He is 7'1 220 LBS with a 7'4 wingspan and could be an immediate contributor on defense while he works on his offensive game, which would be helped by playing with a top-flight point guard like Young.

When speaking with ESPN and Andscape NBA writer Marc J. Spears, Sarr talked about potentially playing with the Hawks, a franchise he has some familiarity with:

"Sarr said he attended “a lot of Hawks games” when he was with Overtime Elite and he enjoyed the “hype crowd.”

“I know a little bit about Atlanta. I wasn’t doing much. I was just going to school and was in the gym. It’s a great city,” Sarr said."

You can read the full piece here.

In their first mock draft since the lottery, ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo had the Hawks selecting Sarr with the No. 1 overall pick:

"The Hawks caught lightning in a bottle in Sunday's lottery, converting on just a 3% chance to win (10th-best odds) the top pick. Suffice it to say, this is a major stroke of fortune for Atlanta, which doesn't control its own first-round pick again until 2028, owing future picks and swaps to the San Antonio Spurs. This had been viewed as an offseason of potentially big changes for Atlanta, as the Hawks weigh the luxury tax and attempt to navigate their way out of the middle of the Eastern Conference standings. Now they'll unexpectedly have a chance to pick who they want from atop the draft.

"Coming off a solid year in the NBL, Sarr is the most physically gifted big in this class, and could give Atlanta a much-needed element of size and floor spacing from the frontcourt. He'll have work to do in expanding his offensive game, sharpening his 3-point range and adjusting to the speed of the NBA, but could be quite valuable as someone who can stretch the floor and protect the rim at both the 4 and 5 spots. If the goal is to build a better defense around Trae Young, Sarr looks like a strong fit because of his versatility on both ends of the floor. -- Jeremy Woo"

Atlanta could opt to try and trade the No.1 pick, though that is not something that is one the mind of general manager Landry Fields right now:

"Not even our focus right now. Like... this is a point in time where the opportunity before us is an excellent one and it puts us in position. Positioning is key in this business and that is the position that we have right now, the No. 1 position. We will just keep doing what we do, gather as a group and we will figure this thing out in time."

Winning the lottery ensures that Atlanta has plenty of options on the table as far as the offseason goes. There are still lots of decisions to be made, but the Hawks offseason is off to a solid start.