With a chunk of the season complete, it’s time to take stock of a pair of assets for this upcoming offseason.
The Hawks sit at 6-5 despite losing Trae Young in the fifth game of the season due to a knee
sprain. It will take time to write the story of this season on the court — a season when offseason moves elevated the expectations of the team in a wide-open Eastern Conference.
But for this, I’d like to focus on a couple of off-the-court situations to monitor.
No matter what happens on the court and around the NBA, the Hawks will have two first-round picks at their disposal in the 2026 NBA Draft. However, in a strange quirk, neither are straightforward.
Each of the two picks will be — at least in part — determined by the performance of other teams. One pick is an unconditional ‘best of two teams’ pick and another is a convoluted mess of a pick involving two other teams.
Let’s go through both of them here:
The best of the Bucks and Pelicans 2026 unconditional first-round pick
You may have heard some excitement over this one.
During the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, the Hawks used their 13th overall pick to make the ultimate maneuver. By agreeing to move down to the 23rd overall pick, the New Orleans Pelicans shipped to the Hawks their unprotected first-round pick swap with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2026 to move to 13 for Derik Queen.
It’s a move that has been widely panned from New Orleans’ point of view, meaning the deal for the Hawks has been an absolute heist.
As a reminder, this pick has no protections. It is also the most favorable pick between Milwaukee and New Orleans, two franchises who came into this season with serious questions swirling about mainstays of their rosters.
Milwaukee, however, has seen Giannis Antetokounmpo post MVP-level stats, and aided with the breakout of young players like Ryan Rollins, the team has jumped out to a 7-4 start. If Antetokounmpo continues this torrid play, I can’t see a lot of scenarios that have the Bucks in the lottery in a weakened Eastern Conference.
The Pelicans on the other hand, well, it’s much better news for Hawks fans there.
They have gotten off to a rotten start — one in which they had three 30-plus-point losses in their first six games. To date, they are 2-11 and alone in last in the Western Conference. Zion Williamson recently picked up a hamstring injury. Dejounte Murray isn’t expected back until 2026. Their head coach, former Hawk Willie Green, may soon be on the chopping block.
Put plainly, there is a significant chance the pick that conveys to Atlanta has significant odds to land in the top four of the draft post-lottery. And this upcoming draft has been described as one of the strongest in recent memory.
It’s early, but the disaster brewing there has fans dreaming of Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa or Cam Boozer wearing a Hawks jersey come late June.
The second most favorable of the Spurs, Cavs, Hawks 2026 first-round pick
Buckle up, because this one is more complicated.
The Spurs acquired what amounts to double pick swap rights by making the first deal chronologically.
In trading Dejounte Murray to the Hawks back in the summer of 2022, they picked up the rights to three of Atlanta’s consecutive first-round picks. By rule, the middle of those three (2026) had to be pick swap rights and not the pick outright.
Atlanta then took that least favorable pick in 2026 into the most recent trade deadline. As part of the package in return for trading De’Andre Hunter to Cleveland, the Hawks picked up (among other draft assets) a pick swap with the Cavaliers in 2026.
What that means is the Spurs effectively get the best of the three teams’ picks, the Cavaliers get the worst, and the Hawks get the middle selection.
As of writing, the San Antonio Spurs are 8-2 and second in the West despite significant injuries to guards DeAaron Fox and Dylan Harper during portions of this early season. Cleveland is similarly stout at 7-4, near the top of the East. So, it’s likely the Hawks will pick up a pick in the 20s if the Spurs maintain their stellar pace regardless of how the Hawks perform.
Still, every first-round pick is valuable, especially in a strong 2026 draft class. And two first-round picks just add to the optionality the franchise has sought in the new regime towards becoming a sustainable winner.
