Atlanta Hawks Receive Not So Surprising Prediction Ahead Of The 2025 NBA Draft

Jackson Caudell | Jun 13, 2025

Mar 27, 2025; San Francisco, CA, USA; Maryland Terrapins center Derik Queen (25) drives to the hoop past Florida Gators center Micah Handlogten (3) during the second half during a West Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images / Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

The Start of the 2025 NBA Draft is now 13 days away and once the NBA Finals matchup between the Pacers and the Thunder subsides, the full attention of the league is going to come to the draft before the offseason officially begins. While the No. 1 pick of the draft is already set in stone, there are questions throughout the rest of the lottery and one of the most interesting teams to watch on draft night is going to be the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks got some lottery luck by landing the No. 13 pick courtesy of the Sacramento Kings and they have the No. 22 pick, courtesy of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Hawks have a chance to add some valuable players to their roster.

Now, what will the Hawks do with these picks? Will they stay at No. 13 and No. 22? Will they package them together to try and move up for a player they like, who they don't think will be there at No. 13? Could they trade one or both picks for a veteran to try and help their team now? Those are the questions that will await new Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh and the two new hires to the front office, Bryson Graham and Peter Dinwiddie.

One of the biggest holes on the Hawks roster right now is the backup center spot behind Onyeka Okongwu and Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz recently predicted the Hawks to take a center in this upcoming draft:

"The Atlanta Hawks' own first-round selection (No. 14 overall) is headed to the San Antonio Spurs from the Dejounte Murray trade, although the Hawks will still pick at Nos. 13 and 22 after previously sending Kevin Huerter to the Sacramento Kings and Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans (for the rights to the Los Angeles Lakers' first-rounder).

Assuming Trae Young is retained, this team's strengths lie in its backcourt and forward positions. But veteran big men Clint Capela and Larry Nance Jr. will both become unrestricted free agents, leading to a weakened frontcourt behind Onyeka Okongwu.

Expect Atlanta to draft at least one center with its first-round picks, possibly Maryland's Derik Queen at 13 or Georgetown's Thomas Sorber at 22, who Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman compares to Okongwu."

While it does seem like the Hawks have to draft a center, that is not necessarily the case. They have to add a couple of centers to their roster ahead of next season, but they could look to add a pair of veterans and look elsewhere in the draft for positions of need. There has been plenty of smoke when it comes to them possibly landing a big man however and they may even decide to move up for a player. Players like Khaman Maluach, Derik Queen, Thomas Sorber, Maxime Raynaud, and Joan Beringer have all been linked with the Hawks and all of them make sense.

Mar 13, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Maxime Raynaud (42) after a dunk against the Louisville Cardinals during the second half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Yesterday, NBA insiders Jake Fischer and Marc Stein reported that the Hawks have indeed been exploring ways to move up and while they did not name Malauach, it seems the Hawks are indeed targeting a big man:

"We wrote yesterday that any word of Atlanta looking to package picks Nos. 13 and 22 to move up into the first round hadn't reached us yet.

Well ...

Since publishing those words, various sources have indicated that they do believe the Hawks will fall right in line with Oklahoma City, Orlando and Brooklyn as teams with multiple picks in the mid-to-late first round exploring various avenues to move up the draft board.

Rival teams have projected the Hawks as targeting big men with whatever draft slots they ultimately operate from. After years of dangling Clint Capela on the trade block, Capela is finally expected to depart Atlanta via free agency this season, sources say. So the Hawks appear poised to have an opening for a center."

You can read the full report here.

This move would make a ton of sense and if the Hawks were targeting Maluach, who makes the most sense for the way that their team is built, they would likely have to move in front of the Raptors at No. 9. The Raptors have been linked to Maluach and it seems that his floor is going to be the Raptors at No. 9. The Wizards (6), the Pelicans (7), and the Nets are in front of the Raptors. I don't think just packaging both of the Hawks picks is good enough to move up to six, so what would the cost be? Would they have to give up a future pick? Would Kobe Bufkin be on the table? Do the Hawks take back salary (Jordan Poole?) to get the deal done? That would complicate things, but moving up seven spots in the draft is going to be costly. The Hawks may just decide to stay put and see how the board falls.

If they did move up for Maluach, the fit is obvious. He would form a nice tandem with Onyeka Okongwu and give the Hawks needed interior size and defense. Okongwu is a very good player, but certain matchups are problematic for them and Maluach would help. His offensive game needs to gro, but playing alongside Trae Young would be very beneficial to him. He would be a rim-running threat and lob threat for Young and there is hope that he can develop an outside shot. He is still raw in many aspects, but the ceiling and fit make him an appealing target for Atlanta.

With less than two weeks to go until draft time, expect there to be plenty of rumors and chatter.

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