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At the moment, the Atlanta Hawks have three picks in the 2017 NBA Draft with those selections coming at No. 19, No. 41 (via the Dwight Howard trade) and No. 60 overall. However, one report indicates that the Hawks might be trying to move up on the board and into the late lottery range.
Teams to keep an eye on potentially trying to move into the 10-14 range tonight:: LA Lakers, Atlanta, Brooklyn, Milwaukee, Portland, Houston
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 22, 2017
Because Atlanta no longer owns the No. 31 pick, there isn’t a breezy route to climbing into the 10-14 range without investing future assets. The Hawks do own “extra” first round picks in 2018 (from Minnesota) and 2019 (from Cleveland) that could provide ammunition in that regard.
Beyond that, the team does not have a ton of movable pieces on the roster that would be considered positive contracts to assemble in a deal such as this, especially if they were unwilling to include a player like DeAndre Bembry. Kent Bazemore, who was mentioned as a trade candidate by Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday evening, could be a potential factor, but his salary cap number is not necessarily attractive and deals involving his contract would need to clear other hurdles.
Nothing in terms of specifics is available at this time but, if the Hawks are “in love” with a particular prospect and have fear that they won’t last to No. 19 overall, fireworks could fly. Stay tuned.