Peachtree Hoops: Hawks look towards draft lottery, miss out on Sacramento pick for now

[Hawksquawk]

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Just one pick in the 2024 NBA Draft for Atlanta.

It’s been a rough few weeks for the Atlanta Hawks.

They ended the season with seven straight losses, including an ugly season-ending loss to the Bulls in front of a national audience in the Play-In Tournament. Injuries, of course, were a big reason for the decline, but now all focus is on upgrading the roster to as the organization aims for a big bounce back season in 2024-25.

The next important date in the offseason calendar for the Hawks is the NBA Draft Lottery, which will be held on Sunday, May 12.

The Hawks’ 2023-24 record of 36-46 put them alone for the 10th-best odds in the lottery. They will have a 13.88% chance at landing in the top-4 of draft positioning in advance of an admittedly lesser top end of the draft compared to other years.

Graphically, here is what that looks like:

The NBA Draft Lottery will be on May 12. The Hawks will have a 3% chance at the no. 1 pick.

Full breakdown of their odds to land at each draft slot. pic.twitter.com/BoFhkZyIZU

— Wes (@bloghawk) April 18, 2024

The Hawks could use all the luck they’re afforded as they look to break free of a string of disappointing season results since 2021.

But as of Friday night, their short term draft asset luck ran out.

In the 2022 offseason, the Hawks traded Kevin Huerter to Sacramento Kings for, in part, a protected future first-round draft pick. This 2024 offseason was the first chance for that pick to convey, provided the Kings did not make the playoffs. The pick is top-14 protected in 2024, top-12 protected in 2025, and top-10 protected in 2026 (and then turns into second round picks).

The Sacramento Kings played the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night in the 7-seed/9-seed matchup in the Western Conference. It was a true elimination game for both, and as such it was a physical and testy battle. But the Pelicans pulled away and sent the Kings home, meaning Sacramento keeps its 2024 first round pick.

Atlanta also sent out its own second-round pick in 2024 in the Saddiq Bey trade at the 2023 trade deadline. Bey, who is now more than likely entering restricted free agency, tore his ACL late in the season as part of those injury woes you may remember.

So now, all there is left is waiting with bated breath for the results of the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery followed by the 2024 NBA Draft — which for the first time is spread across two days on June 26 and June 27.

The biggest questions will most likely come in free agency in July, as there are sure to be trade rumors aplenty about many members of the team. But before we get there, remember to pray to the basketball gods for Atlanta to see their lucky ping pong numbers.

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