2024 NBA Draft: Could The Hawks Trade Back From No. 1 and Get One Of Their Future Picks Back From The Spurs?

The 2024 NBA Draft is getting closer, but there is still not a firm idea of what the Atlanta Hawks are going to do with the No. 1 pick in the Draft. Atlanta did not expect to be in this position before the lottery, but now haver a chance to add an impact player, though not a superstar talent like in past NBA Drafts.

There has been chatter about the Hawks possibly trading the pick and chatter about the San Antonio Spurs wanting to move up. San Antonio might want to speed up the timeline with Victor Wembanyama and might want to take get a better player than what they could get at No. 4. A popular trade idea has been for the Spurs to send both of their first round picks in this year's draft (4 and 8) for the No. 1 pick, but would a different trade be better for the Hawks?

The Spurs hold other picks that might be more valuable to Atlanta. When the Hawks traded for Dejounte Murray two summers ago, they sent their 2025 pick (unprotected), a 2026 pick swap, and its 2027 (unprotected) pick for Murray. Atlanta might be looking to trade Murray this summer and the results have not been what they had hoped for when they initially made the deal. If the Spurs want to move up to No. 1 to pair Wembanyama with either Alex Sarr or Zaccharie Risacher, would they be willing to part with with one of the picks Atlanta gave them in the Murray trade?

That was a trade that was brought up on a recent episode of the Game Theory Podcast with Sam Vecenie of The Athletic and Bryce Simon. Instead of the Spurs giving up No. 4 and No. 8 to move up to No. 1, they came up with a trade that sent the No. 4 pick and Atlanta's 2025 pick to the Hawks and the Spurs get the No. 1 pick in this year's draft.

Here is what Vecenie had to say about the trade idea that they proposed on the pod:

"What my idea was instead... everybody has come up with this idea of, oh the Hawks want their draft picks back, maybe they will move Trae Young to the San Antonio Spurs. What if we just do No. 1 for No. 4 and then throw in the Hawks 2025 first rounder, which is probably not going to be a top-ten pick, right, or it could be, it could very well be a top-ten pick, but it is not going to be a super high-end pick in all likelihood in this coming draft. It is probably going to be worse than No. 8 next year I would guess. It lets the Hawks get one of their picks back for next year which is all important given how good that draft looks. I don't know if I would do this if I was San Antonio, I would probably just keep No. 4 at the end of the day, but what I will say is this: When I asked around, there was nobody that could come up with a deal for the No. 1 overall pick."

While this is all just speculation right now, this is an interesting trade concept and one that might be more appealing to Atlanta. I think if they made this move, it might signal that they prefer UConn center Donovan Clingan as the top player in the draft over Alex Sarr or Zaccahrie Risacher. The Spurs would come up for one of those players, the Wizards take either Risacher or Sarr (whoever San Antonio does not draft), and then Houston takes a player like Reed Sheppard with the No. 3 pick, leaving the Hawks with Clingan. It is a gamble though and if Atlanta does think Clingan is the top player on their board, they have to be absolutely sure they get him at No. 4. The Rockets could take him at No. 3 or trade the pick to a team like Memphis who might covet Clingan. Maybe the Hawks are fine getting someone other than one of Sarr, Risacher, or Clingan, though that does not seem to be the case at this point of the process, as those have been the three players linked to the Hawks the most frequently.

Even if Atlanta did not want to go into any sort of rebuild this offseason, it would be good to have a future pick back, especially one in a draft like the one next season, where it is expected to be much better than this year's. Having that pick would give the Hawks a safety net for any kind of result next season might bring.

There is still a ways to go in this process for the Hawks and they are still figuring out what to do with the No. 1 pick. In his mock draft released this week, Vecenie had the Hawks staying put at No. 1 and taking Sarr:

"Since winning the lottery with just a 3-percent chance, the Hawks, according to league sources, are still in the information-gathering process with the top prospects in this class. Atlanta was in the Eastern Conference Play-In tournament and moved up nine spots on lottery night, so it didn’t have quite as much intel on the prospects at the top as teams that knew they would have high selections, like the Wizards below. The Hawks are catching up quick, though, with several front-office members taking a trip to France to see Zaccharie Risacher in a playoff game, in addition to spending hours on the phone gathering information on all of their potential selections.

Because the Hawks are still earlier in their process than many of the other teams at the top of the lottery, this selection is still seen as being fluid. The two most popular names that come up around the league remain Sarr and Risacher, but the Hawks continue to perform due diligence beyond those two. Donovan Clingan is also seen as a potential option at all three of the top selections before his range goes dark for the teams currently slotted at Nos. 4 through No. 6.

For now, I’ve gone with Sarr, who emerged early in this draft cycle as a potential No. 1 pick. His performance against the G League Ignite in early September had scouts believing he was the best prospect on the court.

Sarr is a defensive difference-maker who covers a ton of ground with his arms and quick feet, much like bigs such as Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr., Cleveland’s Evan Mobley and Brooklyn’s Nic Claxton. Sarr flies around off the ball and can thrive in a variety of ball-screen coverages ranging from switching to drop. If he’s waiting at the rim and opponents challenge him, odds are he’ll contest the shot, if not outright block it.

The other end is the question. Sarr has shown potential as a rim runner in ball screens, but for the most part, his offensive game involves pick-and-pops, and he doesn’t make great screen contact. He’s not a high-impact defensive rebounder, which has led to some questioning if he can consistently play center in the NBA. If Sarr indeed requires a more physical center alongside him, his limited offensive game may be exposed. He’s best served playing next to a floor-spacing five, unless he can become a dangerous perimeter shooter himself."

I think Sarr is the best player in the class and the one who fits what Atlanta needs the most. An athletic defender and shot blocker who has room to grow on offense would be a great fit next to Trae Young. If he can develop floor-spacing ability and a consistent shot, Sarr has All-Star potential.