No luck for the Atlanta Hawks, who miss out on top-four draft pick
Sunday afternoon had the chance to be a franchise-altering moment for the Atlanta Hawks. In what’s widely viewed as one of the strongest draft classes in years, the Hawks entered the lottery with a 43.2% chance of landing a top-four selection and nearly a 10% chance at the No. 1 overall pick. A little luck, […]
Sunday afternoon had the chance to be a franchise-altering moment for the Atlanta Hawks.
In what’s widely viewed as one of the strongest draft classes in years, the Hawks entered the lottery with a 43.2% chance of landing a top-four selection and nearly a 10% chance at the No. 1 overall pick. A little luck, a couple of favorable bounces, and Atlanta would have been in position to add a potential superstar to an already intriguing young core that just finished with the sixth-best record in the Eastern Conference.
Unfortunately, that’s not how things played out.
As the draft order was revealed, the Milwaukee Bucks landed at No. 10 and the New Orleans Pelicans slotted in at No. 8, meaning the Hawks will officially pick eighth overall in this year’s draft. It’s a fairly underwhelming outcome, even if that was technically the most likely result all along, carrying odds just north of 30%.
Still, given the almost comical lack of lottery luck this franchise has endured since relocating to Atlanta, there was a real sense the Hawks were “due” for something to finally break their way — especially after the wizardry general manager Onsi Saleh pulled during the draft last year to acquire this pick from the Pelicans.
That said, owning the eighth pick in this class should not be viewed as some devastating outcome.
This draft is loaded with talent throughout the first round. There will almost certainly be a future star player sitting on the board when the Hawks come on the clock next month. All this really changes is the degree of difficulty for Saleh and the rest of the front office.
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(Photo by Nicholas Faulkner/Icon Sportswire)
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