Atlanta Hawks: 2024 NBA Draft arrives, Zaccharie Risacher, Donovan Clingan, Alex Sarr, Landry Fields

Atlanta Hawks: 2024 NBA Draft arrives, Zaccharie Risacher, Donovan Clingan, Alex Sarr, Landry Fields

on today’s show the NBA draft is finally here and with less than 24 hours to go we weigh in with some final stuff before the draft and of course the Hawks are on the clock technically right now we’ll get into all that and more coming up you are locked on Hawks your daily Atlanta Hawks podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day Hello friends welcome to episode 1749 of loton hawks podcast I am your host Brad Rowling coming to you on a Tuesday evening into Wednesday in fact it is late in the night on this Tuesday into Wednesday in fact it’s draft day as you’re listening to this podcast on Wednesday June 26 and today’s podcast is brought to by the folks at FanDuel Sportsbook this summer FanDuel is hooking us all up yes all customers with a boost or bonus daily that’s right something for everybody every day all summer long and the place to go is fanduel.com lockon to get started I also want to tell you at the top of the podcast as I always do to make us your first listen each and every day here at Lon Hawks please subscribe to the show anywhere you might find podcast that includes YouTube where you can like And subscribe this episode right now as you are watching it plus Spotify Apple podcasts overcast Etc and I do appreciate everyone for listening to the show whether you are an everyday listener or someone jumping on right now for the draft we definitely appreciate it and come back in the future there is much more to come on this podcast but obviously we’ll be getting into a ton of pre-draft content just a time stamp things I’m recording this podcast you know nearly the midnight hour or so as I start this podcast on Tuesday into Wednesday we’ll be done around 12:31 a.m. so keep that in mind if something happens overnight or first thing in the morning I will try to update as fast as I possibly can but there’s a reason I’m timestamping there’s lots of stuff going on earlier tonight actually in the NBA Mel Bridges got traded for a massive massive Hall from Brooklyn to New York for instance there’s another deal involving draft picks that happened it is Fast and Furious and that is the nature the Beast this time of year with that said our plan on today’s podcast is to dive into the latest Intel on the number one overall pick with regard to the Hawks then I will give some of my own analysis kind of those final weigh-ins on the top three or four guys in this class and what the Hawks are weighing and then at the end of the show maybe a final prediction on the draft as well as some non number one overall pick Intel reporting news Etc that is the plan and if something changes we will pivot in a hurry so we’ll start with the number number one pick stuff should at least plug this I’ve been covering this draft for a very long time I am a big draft person even before the Hawks won the lottery we were doing a lot of draft coverage on this pod I would have done a lot no matter what but it’s been really busy the last month and a half two months since the lottery and basically it’s wall to- wall so if you missed anything in this in the in the archive I recommend listening to all of these shows including stuff from this week I did a two-part episode yesterday with my friend Tyler Jones I had s Vini on the podcast about a week ago Brian shter the list goes on and on and on and lots of draft stuff but uh recently basically it’s been a little bit of a moving Target on the number one overall pick so we’ll start here Brian wior on Monday on the ho Collective podcast that he is the host of said the following quote from what I understand I really don’t think the Hawks are taking Donovan kingan if they stay at number one I think if they trade it back I think kingan would certainly be an interesting player for them and quote he also said plainly on that podcast that he would be quote surprised by kinging at number one from there Jonathan gavone of ESPN a prominent mock draft efficient Auto Intel guy at ESPN on the low post on Monday said the following quote I think of anything but Zack re re happens at one I think that would be a big surprise around the NBA end quote notably that quote does leave the door open for a trade it does not narrow it to the Hawks taking Reay but some pretty strong language about re going in the number one spot that kind of prompted I think some push in the Betty markets for instance as we’ll get into in a second ALS o wge on Tuesday night as I’m recording this podcast on the TV side on ESPN said that ret is quote prominent in their conversations in Atlanta end quote but also said the Hawks have not fully landed on who they’re going to take as of again earlier tonight on the ESPN broadcast and in general this is not an indictment of gavon or anybody else but wo’s Intel is certainly what I would trust probably above most people’s Intel um on this stuff not analysis of the draft because he’s not a draft guy but obviously at this time of year he’s gonna have some Intel that nobody else has also W said that uh they’re not fully L on who they’re taking but they’re not currently engaged again not currently engaged to move down the board that does not rule it out but it is notable that they’re not currently in those conversations at this point in time I was going to do a mock draft update of sorts on the podcast but basically all the mainstream intel-based mocks now have Reet and when I say that I mean Bleacher Report and John werman I mean ESPN and gavon and Jeremy woo and sasini at the athletic Christen peak of Yahoo Etc they’re all at Ray at this point in time now that does not mean ret is a lock and for reference U my guy Sam Vini had kinging a couple days ago at number one overall so it’s still a little bit fluid and as I mentioned before there’s a little bit of uncertainty no matter what but our friends at FanDuel Sportsbook who sponsor to this podcast official sports betting partner of this podcast and the off podcast Network FanDuel has reiche as a minus 430 favorite right now as of about midnight eastern time that translates into about 81% in implied odds so obviously likely but not quite a lock kingan is plus 300 SAR is plus 750 everyone else is 20 to1 or higher keep in mind that the odds for number one overall are not the odds of the Hawks picking that player it is number one overall odds so the player that is drafted there could be traded could be whatever keep that in mind it’s about draft slot not Team all that said so that’s the Intel right now it’s been for a couple of days now I referenced this actually on the show on Sunday morning that I did sort of the Bon po episode that it was kind of coalescing in a lot of people’s minds between Reet and klling it if the Hawks stuck at one that is still kind of a feeling that I getting at this point in time there is this subplot though around Alex SAR that we’ll get into right now so Landry fields did an interview on Tuesday morning with 929 the game which is a Lo local station in Atlanta on the radio side it’s actually the flagship of the Hawks so a lot of hawks crossovers there Landry goes on there regularly Steve coonan does regularly Etc that that is a natural tie-in but Landry said that they were quote almost there when deciding about number one overall and he also said quote I have a pretty good sense of who we take end quote obviously he did not say who that is nor would he ever say that but that is also the strongest he has been so far on that question which which is basically what you expect as we get close to the big day he did acknowledge they’ve had calls from teams trying to go up but he would kind of need to be wowed is the way he put it by the offers to move down and he also said kind of just the way it all all connects together in the holistic sense the number one overall pick their other roster moves trade Etc it is all one big picture it’s not a bunch of silos keep that in mind but the more newsy section of this interview was about alexar so it’s been reported I talked about this a lot on the show that Alex SAR uh and his agent or you know how how you want to put that Alex s has not worked out for the Hawks and there’s been some noise about that Fields said on the record again recorded on on a broadcast on Tuesday morning that SAR was actually scheduled to come workout in Atlanta and that it was on the books is the way he put it and then saride declined to come to the workout after it was already scheduled on the books ler said he’s not bothered by that said it was nothing novel it’s something that agents just do but also an example of why teams have to do their work early and not rely on private workouts he did not get into detail on what the explanation was from sar’s side for not coming in but he also said that SAR is the only player that they wanted to work out that declined to come work out for the Hawks none of that is terribly shocking based on the repor that’s already been out there but it was more than you would normally hear Landry Fields um SAR conveniently was doing Press today because the today was a media day in New York with all the prospects he got asked about this I believe it was Bailey M Bailey mbas of CBS here in Atlanta that asked the first question to Alex R and he gave kind of a non-answer but he did mention trusting his team around him including his agents Etc before kind of circling back to a more standard non-answer I will say that Landry was more direct in his answers around SAR than he usually is could be tactical it could not be tactical it did strike me and some other people that I would say around the league as a little bit surprising because if the Hawks were going to take alexar you’d be surprised if Landry would go on the record and kind of not badmouth but like it doesn’t paint sa in the best possible like that they agreed to that that they had agreed to come and then that was canceled is it that big of a deal I would argue no but it is something that you would not normally hear a GM say at the same time so I’m noting that Jake fiser did a follow-up interview with SAR um in New York and talked about SAR talked about how he was basically will to go willing to go play for anybody he’s not gonna hold out that’s been out there I’ve talked about it before prob talk about it again there’s not like a ton of Buzz that he just like refuses to go to Atlanta but there is this like will they or won’t they do the Hawks take him my stance and I’ll say it again right now has always been if the Hawks view Alex sa as the best Prospect in the class like if they had number one on the board him not working out should not be a deterrent and taking him in my opinion I took alexar in a mock draft for Lon this week as an example and I’ll get into more of my own evaluations in a second but that’s where I would be on the broad Strokes here I get it this is not the best look in the world I understand fans not being happy about this um SAR ad you know not necessarily admitting it but Landry was pretty candid about this so um The Bad Blood there any of that stuff it could be water under the bridge in a day or two it could not be it’s going to be one of those things that we talk about for years and years and years if SAR goes somewhere else and blows up but a little bit of drama and that’s where we are right now and that’s all the Intel again just to summarize most people are giving Ray the lead as far as the most common projection number one overall betting Market uh wior gavone a little bit of wo lean there although he wasn’t quite as definitive and uh we’ll see if kingan’s still in the mix we’ll see if sar’s in the mix we’ll see if there’s a trade still a lot of uncertainty compared to normal years and as a reminder a year ago I guess it was two years ago now two years ago there was the Jabari Smith Jr Pao banko everyone thought it was going to be Javari Smith Jr and then at the very end it was Paulo and it was apparently Paulo along it’s smokes screen season so keep that in mind always keep your guard up this time of year and that is especially true at number one overall in a class without a traditional number one overall pick and speaking of that we’ll get into all of my own evaluations on the top three guys and more in a second but first and work from our partners on today’s podcast Today’s Show is brought to you by eBay motors and passion dri and patience of the for winning championships it’s also what keeps your ride or die alive even m is everything you need to maintain your vehicle and also level it up to Peak Performance they have everything and I mean everything that you need to dive into with regard to your car whether it’s aesthetic stuff under the hood Etc superchargers roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and much more whether you are into speed power or style even though has you covered across the board they’ve over 122 million parts for number one ride or die and you will always find exactly what you’re looking for with the folks at eBay motors and with eBay guaranteed fit you’re part of guaranteed to fit your ride the first time every time or your money back is coming to you because eBay Motors you are burning rubber and you are not crucially burning any cash all the price that you need in the price that you want it’s easy to turn that car that you have into the MVP and bring home that win you are Happ to be seeking keep your r or die alive right now at ebaymotors.com one more time the place to go is ebaymotors.com eBay guarantee only avable to you as customers eligible items only exclusions apply okay and for a while while I have been talking about these prospects with different guests uh trying to let the guests speak a lot but also injecting my opinion every once in a while on those shows um I have been hearing for a while that there’re really only three realistic options if the Hawks stay at one again not ruling anybody out but there’s kind of a consensus of what the Hawks are looking at and people that have better sources than I do seem to agree that it would be a pretty big surprise if the Hawks stayed at one and drafted someone other than ree kingan or SAR in fact s Vini said that on the show about nine 10 days ago at this point in time on this podcast I heavily narrowing down to those three with with regard to evaluation and discussion on the podcast candidly I would have other guys maybe closer to the mix than others like Ron Holland for instance maybe Steph Castle maybe Reed Shepard as talked about with Howard Jones on the show earlier this week um especially with Reed if not for his fit questions with Trey and Si stuff anyway I’ll mostly focus on the top three guys that I think are in play more for the Hawks I said this before at this point and still my final board is going to be Alex sawar at number one overall on my overall big board but not by a lot not in his own tier in the way that some around the Hawks might have I won’t do my full Scout on every guy on this podcast because it would take too long I’ve talking about those guys for a long time but the cliff notes version is that I really like the defense with alexar and I think his overall package of skills if it works again if it works has the highest overall ceiling of the guys in real contention for the Hawks he moves with really well defensively he can play any coverage 9-2 standing reach 74 wingspan he blocks shots he has pretty good feel on defense I think there’s definitely an all defense kind of ceiling for Alex SAR on offense I am less sold for sure and that is why he’s not more of a clear number one or in his own tier on the positive side I think I like his touch for a player of his size I think he has good ball skills for a player of his size he is comfortable the ball in his hands in a way that a lot of guys are not at at this age in his size he has some short old flashes I think he’ll shoot at some point he’s already shooting a little bit now I think it’s going to be a good skill of his compared to a lot of bigs in the future but there are some questions for sure he’s kind of a work in progress offensively he’s very raw compared to some play players at this stage on offense he’s not very strong which hurts him on both ends of the floor I would say um doesn’t really play Like A Center on offense right now not a great finisher around the rim especially given his physical tools not been a huge lob threat not a great pick and roll finisher Etc if you threw him on the on an NBA court right now I think he pretty shaky on offense that doesn’t mean you panic about that I think it’s more much more in My Philosophy for a new listener you’re not drafting for rookie Seasons you’re drafting for two or three years from now especially this high in the draft but there has to be growth there and you have to project that growth to draft or value saw at the very very top but even defensively where I am quite excited about alexar he has to get more physical rebound better especially at center it’s part of this I still like him quite a bit I don’t have a traditional number one overall pick grade on SAR but he is the guy that I would take if he told me that I was forced to pick someone at one in this class and pick the best player available I would pick alexar and there’s this debate about his position I do think that his best position long term is going to be Center I’m not saying that’s the only way it works but that’s kind of the what I think and by the way I think his Camp does not agree with me right now but as far as a bet on Talent he is the guy I have number one overall even if the Gap is not huge and there you go as far as my short version of my alexar evaluation on the other two guys I personally have Donovan kingan a bit higher than Zachary Ray but I do understand having the reverse opinion similar to what I just said about SAR I’ll give you the short version of my thoughts on both guys here on kinging I think his defense and his Rim protection in particular are arguably the best bet of any skill set in this class maybe you could argue something like Reed Shepard shooting being up there as well that’s reasonable for sure he’s a great shooter but I am extremely confident in kingan being at least a high LEL rim protector and defensive anchor in the NBA that also helps me to believe as I’ve said before on the show but I’ll say now that kingan I think is the safest Prospect the guy with the highest floor however you want to put that in this class that is not what you’re always looking for at number one overall I would say that certainly but there is real value in the confidence that I have and that you’re getting with a guy who flat out projects to be really good on one end of the floor and fine at least on the other in my opinion he is massive 7 s wingspan 9 S standing reach that’s absolutely huge he’s not a bad athlete at all in space he’s a technician in a good way defensively he uses his size well he rebounds well great shot blocker like legitimately great shot blocker rip protector the real question is whether he’s an actually like an Uber Elite Defender like Defensive Player of the Year candidate or merely a good one that is a big distinction even if both sides are opposite really good if you think that he’s only going to be a quote unquote good Defender you probably don’t love him at number one overall in this draft I would say but if you think that there’s Defensive Player of the Year stuff in there and projections it’s a much easier sell so keep that in mind it’s kind of a differential Point potentially on offense not GNA be a star in my opinion but I think he’s underrated in some circles he’s an excellent screener which definitely helps great finishing numbers to the rim good touch I don’t love the idea that he’s gonna be this big perimeter shooter that people have kind of talked about because the free throw numbers are not great but that’s a potential bonus with some flashes and workouts and some natural Talent there from a touch perspective there are questions about his durability his ability to play Big minutes I get that he is massive and hasn’t played that big of a workload that’s a question of nothing else I’m not saying it’s a huge concern but it’s something to keep in mind I understand not loving a guy at the very top of the draft is not a huge individual shot creator for himself but I like clean’s passing a lot on offense he’s been a hub in college he worked well there he plays with really good feel and I think he’s going to be a good player that’s not a ring endorsement I promise you that does matter a lot I believe he’s going to be a good NBA player not a small thing on Reet the selling point there is easy right 69ine wing who can shoot and defend I’ve said it before I’ll say it again 69ine Wing who can shoot and defend that is the short-term sales pitch and that’s a very good sales pitch not to bring in the Mel Bridges trade but you could argue if you wanted to squint and do this that like that’s an argument for taking the wing guy because the wing guys usually get overpaid or over valued or whatever you want to say there is huge value on the league for guys who can do those things on the positive side R shot it really well this year from three 39% from three on good volume more than 40% on catch and shoots he is an active off ball player he is selfish sorry he’s unselfish key key distinction there unselfish he can attack a close out I think he makes really the right pass most of the time the positives on defense are also there I think he’s especially good off the ball defend defensively as a Team Defender there are some really high level moments for him defensively on a professional Level Playing defense in a way that most guys his age have not had to have not had to show or have been able to show he’s shown flashes defending guards he’s a fluid athlete good range there defensively there is some stuff though that I’m skeptical or at least questioning of for one his stat projections are not great admittedly these are a tough thing to do given his role overseas in Europe historically Kevin Pelton ESP ESPN who’s a really respected numbers guy um I think he would acknowledge this some of the top tier European Prospect have been over sorry underrated by his metrics with that said R’s 55th in this class in the stats only model for Pelton that’s a little bit scary um for me he’s also not an on ball player at the NBA level he is not an on ball player in my mind is it possible that he develops that I would say yes but I do have a hard time projecting it a little bit and I think not the usual pitch for a top two or three pick in a draft on the wing to not be an on ball player for the most part he isn’t a great athlete he’s an okay athlete he’s I would say he’s fluid but not explosive his finishing at The Rim is not very good I would say on film and also in the numbers his um for his for this last season he had more turnovers than assists again most of that I think is a tribal to to his role not necessarily his passing but not a great data point anyway um he probably isn’t going to be a wing stopper defensively I think he’s more of like your second or third Defender than your lead defender on the wing but still that’s okay there’s nothing wrong with that but I think he’s probably more of a supporting Defender a guy you like on defense but isn’t going to be like a game changer for you on the end of the floor so the overall concern if you have one with Reay would be that you’re getting a guy who might not have a single super fantastic skill and that’s a tough sell at number one overall with SAR you have this potential to be this like hugely valuable defensive piece with his range all that stuff with kingan it’s the defense obviously with Ray it’s a little bit more unclear but I will say the shooting might be that tool that is kind of what you have to buy into I think to have ree sh at number one is the shooting I I’ve seen and I’ve said this before on the show but there were some shaky numbers at lower levels from Ray he did do a lot of work on his mechanics and they are much better now so it’s easier to believe it and he shot the ball well this year so if that is a real number he’s a plus shooter everything else kind of falls into place a lot easier one of the questions though is that I think he Flatout needs to be a really good shooter or the whole package kind of disappoints a little bit not that he won’t be a good player but I think if there is upside with ret it’s going to need to involve highle shooting so I’m not saying it’s not going to happen but that’s a it’s a big swing for him maybe his defense pops too but I think it’s more of a uh the shooting is much more of his potentially outlier skill in a good way I do think though Circle back on this that the league really values what he could be as far as archetype is concern because everyone in the league is looking for big wings who can shoot and who can defend and he is that that’s ping him up higher than I think he would be in a normal in a normal class for sure but it’s the same curve that everybody else is on there is no normal normal number one overall pick in this draft they don’t exist I understand some might believe that SAR is that I had SAR number one and still think that he would have gone four five six last year in the draft he’s not a usual number one overall pick that’s okay to say same for Reay same for kingan I know it’s not sexy but that’s the way it’s the way it goes and by the way I reminder while I’m thinking about this the Hawks did nothing to go from 10 to one they got lucky in the lottery if any of these guys were at 10 we would have been doing back flips so the only Gap there is paying them more but it’s still a good thing they won the lottery just say that out loud anyway um I would say this to wrap up this section of the podcast I’m open-minded on these three guys the gaps are not very big at the top of this draft I firmly believe that and that is also the consensus generally speaking not only my own opinion speaking of Vini he wrote The Following this week quote League stories sorry League soures tell the athletic that it might be difficult for Atlanta to move off the pick if only because the talent differential among the top six or so picks is considered to be minimal end quote I agree it’s very narrow at the top so keep that in mind I understand that’s not the greatest thing for takes or great radio or inspiring disagreements but there you go one more thing on this front um I would be more open to trading down than some others would be and I do understand the risk I promise I do I’ve seen people comparing what the Hawks did with Luca and Trey for example that is not that is not an example I would use for one thing and I don’t mean to go back into this it’s been a long time but if you listen to the podcast six years ago I had Luca number one in the class by a lot I said that repeatedly over and over on the show I wrote it multiple times I was critical of the decision to trade that pick once he fell to them but even if you remove that any of that stuff away there was no one sorry there is no one in this class with anywhere close to the pre-ra to the pre-draft grade of someone like Luca the Gap is not that big there is still risk in passing on someone like SAR or Ray or kingan no matter who you think it is and if that player who goes number one that you trade down out of and that if that player blows up the pr hit is not good for you that is the reality does that matter you decide my personal board though is pretty narrow in terms of gaps between players and especially especially especially if the Hawks do not view SAR as their number one guy I’d be very open to moving the pick and probably for less than you would traditionally associate with number one overall pick trades because again last year kind of an outlier with W the other direction but you are not going to get a typical offer at number one for your usual pick in in this in this draft like it’s just that that Godfather offer I don’t think it’s coming keep that in mind there are trade down options I’ll briefly name some of them the Hawks worked out a lot of guys from the top seven or eight in my on my board I think just Broly speaking if the Hawks trade down they are probably or at least semi probably trying to get Don and kingan in a trade down they like Don and kingan I’m confident about that that’s not breaking news but I do believe it’s accurate if the Hawks move down their number one Focus there would be to get clean but if he’s not there and and they still moved down it could be Modis buellis it could be Steph Castle I’d be interested in Ron holl I don’t know if the Hawks are they worked him out um if they traded Trey young which I would not do but if they did I’d be open to read Shephard for sure um so like there are possibilities if they were to trade down I still think byy a lot it’s either stay at number one or trade down and get clinging everything else would be kind of a surprise to me but we will see we will see we will see okay I will have some more stuff on the non number one pick buzz in the coming days as well as the latest news but first a word from our partners on today’s podcast Today’s show was brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook andtime means baseball basketball and so much more and you bet it all at FanDuel Sportsbook FanDuel is America’s number one Sportsbook and this summer fandel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily that’s right there something for everybody every day all summer long that all all of your favorite players and team with quick bets and live same game parlay exclusive props and much more F Sportsbook app is easy to use and they have everything looking for the sports betting space from over unders to point spreads to money lines player props game props future bets and much more the app is safe it’s secure they cover the entire range of sports as well that includes the NBA and of course the NBA draft was there were prices on that D bets by slot bets by team over unders all of that is there for you at FanDuel Sportsbook plus the WNBA NFL college football and golf tennis soccer auto racing boxing MMA and so much more and now is the best time sign up with the folks at FanDuel Sportsbook the place to go is fanduel.com lockon one more time just visit fanduel.com lockon and start making the most out of your summer with FanDuel official Sports Bing partner of Major League Baseball all right one bit of quick news here and that is that Mike Scot of Hoops hype and formerly of the athletic reported that Ryan Schmidt who is the Hawks sorry the Skyhawks coach last year in the g- league is quote expected to spend next season as an assistant coach for the Hawks in Atlanta no surprise at all I think I talked about this with Glenn Willis on the show earlier this offseason but that was my expectation the entire way I think that he did such a good job last year and is really really highly regarded that if the Hawks didn’t promote him somebody else would have across the league so he’s very well regarded and this is not a surprise and we’ll see when the official announcement comes but Ryan Schmidt is a very good coach and I think he’ll be around the team quite a bit moving forward all right with that out of the way there is some Buzz about non number one stuff and I’ll brief I’ll briefly touch on some of that although none of it is concrete right now so it had been somewhat quiet around Trey young de jonte Murray Etc compared to the fever pitch that it could be along with you know the trade that happened tonight with Mel Bridges Etc there was a little bit of buzz from Jake fiser of Yahoo on Tuesday when he he wrote that the Hawks are quote expected to engage rival teams on trade scenarios for both TR and deante throughout the offseason end quote that isn’t new that’s very much been in The Ether a lot in recent days he did say that the Lakers pelicans and Spurs quote remain three destinations that would be appealing to Young end quote that does not mean tre’s gonna be traded that does not mean that Trey has to be traded that is theoretical it’s interesting anyway but keep that in mind like I think it’s a tepid market right now for both Tre and de Jon from what I’ve heard on some level could that change absolutely I think particularly right now based on what I’ve heard about what the Hawks might be able to get for Trey young in a trade his value to the Hawks is higher than what he would get in a trade I think right now from what I’ve heard I know there’s a big split in the fan base about whether whether to keep building with Trey but no matter where you fall on that I think or I hope you could agree that you do not just give Trey young away for a modest return particularly again with the reality that the Hawks owe three straight first round picks to San Antonio and don’t really have easy access to a rebuild again easy is not it’s not impossible but it’s hard to rebuild right now at least go go into a full rebuild if you a new listener I’ll do a quick summary about the guard stuff I do think that breaking them up in a vacuum is the right decision I think the two players are both very good young and Murray but they don’t maximize each other it has not worked through two years the results have been pretty Grim they don’t fit that well together necessarily I personally do not think that trading Trey young and building around quote unquote Deon Murray is something that is really appealing to me I’m not ruling that out from happening that could certainly happen in real life I would not do that um but but there is tons of Divergent information out there both publicly and privately honestly about whether the Hawks would look to move Trey or dejonte or neither or both I still think as far as like practical terms is concerned the most likely outcome for this summer is either one of two things a keeping both because they can’t find a trade they want to do or B trading dejonte and keeping Trey I think those are the two more likely outcomes than the other two which are of course trading Trey keep iton or trading both but it could all change and it’s all possible I would say on that front Shams did report this week that Deonte is on the Lakers Radar talking about a level of interest in him over the last several months well Chronicle at this point that he was close to a deal with LA back in February um Sam amck wrote that the Lakers are so interested in Deonte but are still trying not to trade Austin Reeves that was one of the holdups back in February as well um there were other spots that might make sense for Deon I have discussed this in the past quite a bit but New Orleans has been kind of in The Ether the last couple um a very logical trade partner whether it’s Brenan Ingram or whatever construction they like Deonte I’ve heard that before um fresh Buzz there I would say again I did a lot on the Brandon Ingram Saga earlier this offseason could be a deal there but again nothing imminent that I’m aware of right now but I would keep an eye on New Orleans and a few more teams I think probably cross off New York that was a sleeper team none anymore after they went out and got Mel Bridges but there are teams there out there that could be interested in D Jon and of course the Hawks are very much open for business I would say right now as far as trades are concerned everyone has said this but I’ll say it too the only guy on the roster that I think it would shock me if he was traded as Jaylen Johnson uh there are of course levels to availability I always say that but Jaylen is the one guy who I think would be a shock if he was traded um everybody else to varing degrees is available I won’t do the whole luxury tax Spiel on the podcast right now but the Hawks are projected to be over the tax and they have guys like link capella and DeAndre hunter that are extremely available and being talked about around the league in trade talks I think that it gets magnified even more if the Hawks take either SAR or kingan at the top of the draft because I cannot see a scenario in where they keep capella aong Wu and a number one overall pick Center on on the team that would be weird and I would be surprised by that there was some capella stuff that I talked about on Sunday on the podcast with some teams tied to him add the thund to that list that’s been reported um they have cat space that could be appealing there I won’t C that rabbit hole Too Much Hunter is trickier with three years left in his deal but those guys are definitely movable so I could get into this to the try Deon Saga Etc but uh I’ll leave it there for now I will say this before we get out of here just I’m gonna name some guys that I like if the Hawks were let’s just say to get back in the middle of the first round somehow either in a trade down or or a Murray trade or something or a capella trade or a hunter trade just name some guys I like in the draft people ask this question um this is the short answer of this because I’m going along on this podcast but I like Devin Carter I like Kyle filipowski from duke um obviously con connection there to uh recent Duke draft picks but I like his skill set Tristan D Silva jacobe Walter Eve Missy in a scenario where the Hawks trade one of their centers and don’t draft kingan orar donon Holmes more in the filipowski combo big mole but a guy like um Ryan I’ll do my plug for Ryan Dunn who is the best defender in the draft offensively big mystery but I I imp personal to his defense the list goes on and on and on and similar topic I would say I got questions about my second round guys again I did a whole show about r with actually with Brian schroer who was great on the great on the draft earlier of the cycle about non-lottery picks so I recommend listening to that but some guys that I would like in the second round if the Hawks were to get back in and again right now reminder they only have one pick it’s number one overall but it’s not hard if they want to to get back in the second round last year’s a good example they went and got moay with they pick that was not their own a year ago that is doable if they want to just some names here Jaylen Tyson from Cal Jamal Shed from Houston Oso Garo from Marquette Trey Alexander from kraton trist Newton from Yukon Harrison Ingram from UNC Isaiah Crawford from Louisiana Tech Justin Edwards from Kentucky re speak from Virginia and honestly I do think bronny James is a better prospect that people think but I wouldn’t take him in the top 45 so late in the draft only and there’s a whole different storyline about that so last thing before I get out of here I’m trying to get out of here in a reasonable time period to appease the overlords but uh everyone wants a prediction right so I’ll end with that um I think as of again midnigh is on Tuesday into Wednesday as I’m recording this the single most likely outcome in the draft for the Hawks at number one well number one is staying at number one and also drafting Reay again I’m not saying it’s going to happen but the single most likely outcome I think as of right now this this moment is staying there and drafting reset I will say I am less sure about that based on Intel than the betting Market is and less sure especially than Jonathan gavone happens to be so everything I said earlier applies I still think again most likely single thing would be Reet at number one but I am not as confident as some others are about that trade stuff much harder to predict that I won’t even try to and look nothing broken or wrong if the Hawks don’t make another trade outside of the pick on draft night it is a deadline of sorts deadlines tend to Spur action but still um stuff can happen and look the draft as we’ve already saw it tonight with the Mel Bridges deal stuff is happening around the league and it’s Gonna Keep keep happening and we’ll have much more coming up I promise you before I sign off one more final plug incredibly deep Archive of awesome draft guests even before the lottery Tower Jones this week San Vini the athletic his podcast partner BR Simon Brian Scher a couple different times love Brian Ben Fifer Andrew Kelly Ricky O’Donnell Stone Hansen Bryce Hendricks Glenn Willis Richard ston the list goes on awesome stretch I’m thankful to all the guests who’ve been on the podcast and to all of you for listening and watching the podcast there is much more to come at the very least I will have a new show after the draft on Wednesday when it comes to breaking down what the Hawks actually did whe they’re picking someone trading someone Etc and then I’ll have much more after that heading into the weekend then there is no break at all fre agency opens on Sunday so summer leagues two weeks after that I’ll be in Vegas covering that with the Hawks and much more so please please please subscribe rate review like the show on YouTube tell your friends tell your family buckle up as well for a busy Wednesday if something happens I will try my best to do something quick before the draft actually happens but I will see you at the very latest after the draft on Wednesday evening and we’ll see you all next time

Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) hosts episode No. 1749 of the Locked on Hawks podcast. The show focuses on the latest buzz and intel surrounding the Atlanta Hawks, including the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, Ryan Schmidt, and much more.

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