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NBA Draft 2018: Atlanta Hawks reportedly engaged in trade talks with multiple teams for No. 3 pick

The rumor mill churns.

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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.

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.

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.

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.