For Hawks fans hoping to compete next season, this has been a very underwhelming offseason. They did draft Zaccharie Risacher with the #1 overall pick, but the big move was offloading Dejounte Murray and his contract. In return, the Hawks received two first-round picks, Dyson Daniels, Cody Zeller, Larry Nance Jr., and E.J. Liddell.
It was actually a pretty decent deal for the Hawks all things considered, but it’s certainly not one that’s going to help them compete immediately. This is a club that’s beginning to look a couple of years down the road, as they should, and they could get a lot of help in next year’s draft after the Kings acquired DeMar DeRozan.
For a couple of reasons, this is an impactful move from the Hawks perspective, even if they were not involved whatsoever. Two of the teams that were reportedly interested in DeRozan were the Lakers and Kings. The Hawks need the Lakers to be as bad as possible next season, considering they own Los Angeles’ first-round pick next year after the Dejounte Murray trade. In a loaded Western Conference, the Lakers have made no significant additions to this point in the offseason. If that doesn’t change, they’ll have a difficult time even making the playoffs next season.
The Hawks also own the Sacramento Kings pick next year; however, it’s top-12 protected. So it’s in Atlanta’s best interest that they make the playoffs next season, so the Hawks will then have two first-round picks in next year’s draft. For a team that’s looking towards the future, having two first-round selections in a loaded draft class will go a long way to getting this club back to where they were a few years ago.
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Photo: Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire
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