If Hawks want the point guard of their choice, a trade up option exists

The Hawks find themselves in a bit of an awkward spot after landing the eighth overall pick.

Almost everyone has the consensus top four as follows — AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson in some order. Then there are four point guards most expect to go in the next wave — Darius Acuff Jr., Keaton Wagler, Mikel Brown Jr., and Kingston Flemings.

The Hawks have a desperate need for a true point guard following the trade of Trae Young ahead of this year’s deadline. They could sit, wait, and take whoever falls to them — but if they want their pick of the litter, moving up to the fifth pick appears to be a realistic option.

“When it comes to next month’s draft, I’m already hearing considerable curiosity about the Clippers, who currently hold the No. 5 selection via Indiana thanks to the teams’ Ivica Zubac trade in February,” NBA insider Jake Fischer reported for The Stein Line.

“Will the Clippers keep the pick to keep injecting top-tier youth into their program after the recent acquisitions of Darius Garland and Bennedict Mathurin? Or are they more likely to try to use it to acquire a player closer in win-now readiness to Kawhi Leonard when the decision at No. 5 likely means choosing between a slew of guards?”

After swapping James Harden for the younger Darius Garland, the Clippers’ need for another ball-dominant point guard has been significantly reduced. It makes sense that they’d be open for business — especially if a trade helps them compete while Kawhi Leonard is still in Los Angeles.

The cost of moving up even three spots will obviously be a major factor for anyone calling the Clippers. But what this really comes down to for the Hawks is how they view that second crop of point guards behind the top four.

If one of them clearly separates himself from the rest, this shouldn’t be much of a conversation. Onsi Saleh should do everything in his power to move up the board and potentially land the franchise talent the Hawks missed out on when the lottery failed to push their pick into the top four.

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