Post NBA Combine Hawks Mock Draft: Atlanta Trades Down and Fills Their Biggest Holes With Multiple Picks

The NBA Draft Lottery and the NBA Combine are now in the books and it is full speed ahead to the 2026 NBA Draft.

The Atlanta Hawks were hoping to make a big jump up into the top four of the draft, but did not have the luck go their way and fell to 8th. Still, this is not your typical NBA lottery team. Atlanta is one of two lottery teams that made the playoffs (OKC is the other), and they already have exciting talent to build around, and are getting multiple first-round picks to do so.

Despite not jumping into the top four, the Hawks are going to have a chance to add high-level talent to their roster, but they are also going to have the option to trade up or down the board to land who they want. Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh has talked about the path for how he wants to build this team, and that is through development and the draft.

In our latest mock draft, the Hawks move down the board and pick up an extra first-rounder to continue doing that.

Round 1, pick 12 (via OKC): Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr

Trade details: Atlanta sends No. 8 to Oklahoma City for No. 12 and No. 17

If the Hawks are looking to trade down, I think they could find a willing partner in Oklahoma City.

The Thunder are the NBA's best team and are set up for a long run, but they are going to be facing a roster crunch next season. OKC will have several team options to decide on for next season, and if they pick all of them up, they will already be at 15 players for their roster, and they have three draft picks to work with. Will the Thunder move some of the players already on their roster to make room for some rookies? Could they consolidate their picks to move up in the draft?

Without being an expert on the Thunder, I think they will choose to do the latter, and the Hawks seem like a good trade partner.

The two biggest needs the Hawks have heading into this draft are size and interior defense, and a long-term solution at point guard. While they won't be able to land one of Keaton Wagler, Darius Acuff Jr, Mikel Brown Jr, or Kingston Flemings at No. 12, they are going to have other options to fill their needs and I think Philon is a very good consolation prize.

Philon Jr could have been a first-round pick in last year's draft, but opted to return to Alabama and it was a terrific decision. Philon looks like a lottery pick and is flying under the radar coming out of the NBA Combine. He improved his scoring to 22.0 PPG, 5.0 APG on 50% shooting from the field and 40% from three in 30 MPG.

The 6'4, 185 LBS guard would have a chance to be the long-term solution for the Hawks at point guard and he could instantly slot into the Gabe Vincent minutes off the bench while allowing CJ McCollum (assuming he is brought back) to continue to start and be a veteran leader on and off the court.

Round 1 pick 17, Kentuck Center Jayden Quaintance

With the other pick they added via the projected trade with the Thunder, the Hawks can fill their other need with arguably the best interior defender in the NBA Draft.

Quaintance crushed the NBA Draft Combine with his measurements and reminds me a lot of Robert Williams III. There is one big question with him, and that is the medical side of it. He only played four games for Kentucky this past season due to a knee injury, but if he can get healthy, I think he has a strong chance to be a high-end impact player and the kind of center that the Hawks have been looking to pair with Onyeka Okongwu.

Quaintance averaged nearly three blocks per game at Arizona State, as well 7.9 RPG in 30 minutes per game.

If the medicals check out, I think the Hawks should be very interested in taking Quaintance.

Round 1 Pick 23, Duke Guard Isaiah Evans

With their third first-round pick, the Hawks address another need and get some shooting and perimeter defense on their bench.

Evans was thrust into a bigger role on Duke this season, and while Cameron Boozer deservedly gets a lot of the praise for how good the Blue Devils were, Evans was a key player as well.

Evans made a big jump in scoring this season, averaging 15.0 PPG on 43% shooting from the field and 36% from three. In his freshman season with Duke, Evans shot 42% from three on an average of 4.1 attempts per game. He nearly doubled his three-point attempts this past season.

He is not just a shooter, though. Evans is a very good and willing perimeter defender and brings positional size as well at 6'6 180 LBS.

Round 2 pick 57, Virginia center Ugonna Onyenso

This pick could be moved if the Hawks make a trade like the one I am projecting with the Thunder, but they could draft someone here and make them a two-way player and develop them in the G-League, which has been a sight of success for the franchise.

Atlanta has already reportedly brought in Onyenso for a pre-draft visit, and he fits the kind of rim-protecting center that they need. Onyenso was one of the top shot blockers in the country last season for a Virginia team that was one of the best defensive teams in the country. At 7'0, 245 LBS, Onyenso showed improvement with the Hoos last season and would be a nice project for the Hawks to develop in College Park.

I think this would be a very good draft for the Hawks. They get three first-round picks that could play immediately, but also fit with the team long term when they are ready to make a challenge in the Eastern Conference. Philon could be the long-term answer at point guard, Quaintance has a chance to be a terrific defender to pair with Okongwu, Evans is the future 3-and-D player off the bench (possibly a future starter), and Onyenso is a nice developmental prospect with an elite trait.

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