Should The Hawks Acquire Try To Acquire A Second Round Draft Pick For This Year's NBA Draft?

The Atlanta Hawks hit the jackpot win they won the NBA Draft Lottery and got the No. 1 pick. Even in a year that is considered "down" amongst NBA Draft analysts, getting the No. 1 pick when you had only a 3% chance to do so is a huge boost for your team. The debate is still raging on about what the Hawks are going to with the No. 1 pick, which happens to be the only pick that the Hawks have in this year's draft.

While the Hawks only have the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, could they try and acquire a second round pick to take a player they really like? It is always possible that they trade the No. 1 pick and pick up selections that way, but I am going to focus on a different path the Hawks might take.

Atlanta could try to acquire another first or second-round pick via trade or they could try to buy a second-round pick. That has become a popular thing to do for teams and second-round picks have become really valuable with the new CBA as Bryan Toporek at Forbes explains:

"Second-round picks should also become more valuable in the coming years thanks to the new CBA. Previously, teams had to dip into cap space or a salary-cap exception such as the mid-level exception to sign second-round picks to contracts. If they signed them using the minimum-player exception, they were limited to offering no more than two years.

The new CBA introduced a second-round pick exception that allows teams to sign second-rounders to three- or four-year deals without dipping into cap space or their MLE. Such contracts either must be two years with a third-year team option or three years with a fourth-year team option, and they pay slightly more than the minimum salary for players with no NBA experience.

The Sacramento Kings became the first team to use the second-round exception when they signed No. 34 overall pick Colby Jones to a four-year, $8.8 million contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The Atlanta Hawks followed suit when they signed No. 39 overall pick Mouhamed Gueye to a four-year, $7.7 million deal, according to Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That figures to become increasingly common in recent years, particularly for early second-rounders.

Back in the early and mid-2010s, it was relatively common for teams to sell second-round picks to one another. For instance, the Chicago Bulls traded No. 38 pick Jordan Bell to the Golden State Warriors during the height of their dynasty in 2017 for $3.5 million in cash. Four years later, the Philadelphia 76ers sent $2 million in cash to the New Orleans Pelicans to acquire the No. 53 pick, per Charania."

If the Hawks want to acquire another pick, those are the routes they are going to have to take. A team could be looking to get out of the draft and not want to select a player and the Hawks could attempt to buy their pick. If they did that, who should they taerget?

1. Kevin McCullar Jr. (SG/SF, Kansas, 6'5, 205 LBS)

What the Hawks do with the No. 1 pick would go a long way in determining who they might target with a second round pick, but I think they should look at a wing player with defensive ability if they take Alex Sarr or Donovan Clingan with the No. 1 pick. While there are some injury concerns over McCullar Jr, I think he would be a nice defensive player in the league and someone the Hawks should look at.

2. Harrison Ingram (SG/SF, UNC, 6'5, 234 LBS)

Ingram and McCullar Jr are similar players. I think Ingram could be an excellent defender in the league and a good rebounder at the next level. He could be a 3-and-D player off the bench

3. Keshad Johnson (SF/PF, Arizona, 6'6 224 LBS)

You can almost copy and paste my comments from either player above and apply them to Johnson. He tested well at the combine and did well in the scrimmages and will be in the mix in the second round. His athleticism and defensive ability could have the Hawks interested in the second round.

4. Jaylen Wells (SF, Washington State, 6'7 206 LBS)

Wells would be more of an offensive fit than defensive, but his shooting ability should make any team in the second round interested. His size would be valuable and he would be a nice player to bring off the bench and help space the floor.

5. Bronny James (SG, USC, 6'2, 210 LBS)

James should at least be mentioned here. I don't think the Hawks would do this and think they are getting LeBron James in free agency, but if they wanted to jump in front of the Lakers at pick No. 55, they might take a roll of the dice on James, who stood out at the NBA Draft combine. Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman compared him to New York Knicks guard Miles McBride, who is a solid player off the bench for the Knicks. There were split opinions about whether James should enter the draft, but he had a really strong showing at the NBA Combine and he was named one of the winners of the combine by CBS Sports Kyle Boone and others:

"James measuring at 6-1.5 to start the week put him in a hole out of the gate but he played his way back out of it and emerged as one of the biggest winners from Chicago. His max standing vert was 40.5 inches, which was tied for sixth best, and he finished second in the 3-point star shooting drill. His first scrimmage action was mostly forgettable but he brought it on the final day with a mix of defense, passing and shooting to draw some serious interest. He's no longer a draft prospect because of his father. He is a legitimate draft prospect based on the merits of what he did on the floor this week."

I don't know if the Hawks would do this, but it probably would not cost them much to get into the 51-54 range.

I think one thing to think about is how the Hawks have developed players at College Park this season and how that might help James improve. It seems that he is going to need some time in the G-League to hone his skills and it is hard to argue that a team develops players better at that level. Kobe Bufkin, Atlanta's first-round pick last year, made huge strides playing for the College Park Skyhawks last year and when he was brought up to play for the Hawks, he looked like he belonged, though he still has improvements to make. Atlanta's second-round pick from last season, Mouhamed Gueye, flashed his skills in the G-League as well. Hawks head coach Quin Snyder made sure to credit College Park as being a big part of Bufkin's development after one game this season:

"I thought he did a terrific job. He took shots when he was open, which is what we want. There were a couple of possessions where most importantly... it is hard to stay in front of those guys, they are quick. You know, he was down in his stance, moving his feet, he had his hands out and moving in space and doing the things that you need to do to be a defender in this league. To be thrown in the situation that he was thrown in tonight, he was ready and we talked about this before the game, I think a lot of this has to do with playing in the G-League. I have mentioned it before, he is watching tape and is not fortunate enough to fly on a private plane , he is in Grand Rapids looking to get the first commercial flight out the next morning and what that does is allow you time with your next coach and he has done a lot of film. A lot of what he does, he is not just down there hooping, he is getting better and being disciplined and it showed tonight and he really played well."

If the Hawks acquired another pick to take James, he would be headed to a spot that would be good for his development. I doubt it happens though, but it should not be ruled out.