Which NBA Teams Could the Atlanta Hawks Even Trade Up With in the Draft?

The Atlanta Hawks entered Sunday's NBA Draft Lottery with hopes of jumping into the top four and landing one of the elite prospects in this draft, but luck did not go their way. The Hawks ended up with the No. 8 pick in the draft, and while they are still going to have a chance to land an impact player at No. 8, it is a disappointment that they could not move up.

Now the Hawks' front office is going to be tasked with figuring out what to do with the 8th and 23rd overall picks. Do they stay put and take the best available player, do they attempt to move up, or do they attempt to move down?

Let's dive deeper into a potential trade-up scenario for the Hawks and which teams are most likely to be a trade partner.

Not Likely

I will just get the obvious out of the way, but barring some crazy offer that Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh is not likely to make, Atlanta is probably not going to be able to trade up into the top four of this draft.

The top four prospects are considered to be among some of the most elite prospects to come into the NBA in one class, maybe ever.

Not only are those prospects elite, but the teams that are picking inside the top four are teams that need those kinds of players and are not likely to move out, unless it was just an overwhelming offer that they could not turn down.

If you forced me to pick a team, I would say the Bulls at No. 4. There is familiarity with the Bulls, with former Hawks front office member Bryson Graham now leading the way in Chicago.

Don't count on it though.

Most likely

With those four teams eliminated, that leaves the Clippers at No. 5, the Nets at No. 6, and the Kings at No. 7.

Of those three, I think by far the most likely team that the Hawks can make a deal with is the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers were one of the big winners of the lottery on Sunday. They were hoping that the Indiana Pacers pick would fall to No. 5 or No. 6, and it did. The Clippers now have plenty of options at No. 5 and one of them is to trade down.

What makes this pick tricky for Los Angeles is that the perceived best players that will be available at No. 5 are all guards. The Clippers just made a big trade at the deadline to acquire Darius Garland from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Now, Illinois guard Keaton Wagler and Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr are not necessarily point guards and could play alongside Garland; the fit for any of these four players is not as clean as they would like.

What if they wanted to trade down and get one of those guards or Michigan center Aday Mara? The Hawks are a natural trade partner because they need backcourt help, and any of these guards would be a great fit with Atlanta.

If they move up, I would think the target is going to be Wagler, as he is the least likely player to be available for the Hawks at No. 8.

What would it cost to move up to No. 5? Would it require the Hawks to move No. 8 and No.23? No. 8 and a player, such as former No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher? Anything more than that is probably too rich of a deal for Onsi Saleh to make.

Could the Hawks make a deal with the Nets or Kings at No. 6 and No. 7? Never say never, but those are two teams that would prefer to either stay put or move up themselves.

I think the Hawks are going to explore all scenarios in this draft and trading up is just one of them.

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