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When word broke that the Atlanta Hawks were reportedly centering on Luka Doncic with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, supporters of the Slovenian prospect celebrated, while skeptics scoffed at the rumored thinking. 24 hours later, however, buzz continues to build that the Hawks are listening to trade offers and at least five teams are reportedly linked to active discussions.
Teams are exploring deals with the Hawks for the no. 3 pick with the hope of moving up to select Luka Doncic or Mo Bamba, per league sources. Hearing interested teams are the Bulls, Knicks, Magic, Clippers and Mavs. The Celtics are a dark horse. @ringer https://t.co/tORujMslNc
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) June 21, 2018
It comes as no surprise that teams would be attempting to ascend at this juncture and GM Travis Schlenk has been open in sharing that discussions to move up or down in this class have been ongoing for weeks. Still, things seem to be intensifying at this late juncture and one of the teams reported above, the Orlando Magic, have reportedly placed an offer on the table involving the No. 6 overall selection and a future first round pick of some kind.
League sources say that Orlando has been especially aggressive in talks with Atlanta for No. 3, offering No. 6 and at least one future first round pick. https://t.co/5siE49f7jP
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 21, 2018
Specifics are often difficult to come by in these instances but the Magic certainly have more intriguing assets to offer than teams like the Mavericks (No. 5) and the Grizzlies (No. 4). Beyond that, moving to the No. 6 pick would leave several options for blue-chip talent on the table and, in theory, would open the door for the rumored marriage between the Hawks and Trae Young.
In fact, Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports brings word that Young could be the target and, while that isn’t “new” information, it is worth monitoring closely.
Atlanta has explored moving back in the draft, with an eye on OU’s Trae Young, league sources told @YahooSports. Hawks have fielded numerous calls for the No. 3 pick.
— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixYS) June 21, 2018
It is important to note that Luka Doncic, Jaren Jackson Jr., Marvin Bagley or even Mohamed Bamba could still be the pick at No. 3 overall and they could end up in Atlanta as a result. The reporting is clear that the Hawks have a lot of things in the works right now and one scenario involves trading down for additional assets.
Stay tuned.