27th Overall Pick
Though he never played for the team, Jumaine Jones may have been one of the most important picks in recent team history.
The Hawks drafted the UGA forward and instantly traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers for a 2000 first-round pick. The Hawks went on to make one of the most forgotten, but potentially impactful deals in team history. They sent the 2000 first round pick and their 2002 first-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Lorenzen Wright.
Wright averaged 7.7 points and 7.4 rebounds in his first three NBA seasons and looked to become a very good big. Even with this, giving up two first round picks for a 6’11 player who shot less than 50 percent from the field was a questionable deal. Wright ended up playing two seasons in Atlanta, averaging a career-high 12.4 points during the 2001 season. During the 2001 Draft, Wright ended up being moved to Memphis, in the deal that brought Shareef Abdur-Rahim to the Hawks and sending future Hall-of-Famer Pau Gasol away.
The 2002 Draft pick that the Hawks traded away for Wright ended up being the eight pick. Though it is hard to predict exactly what the Hawks would have done with the pick, there were a number of options. Gasol would likely still have been a Hawk, as without Wright, it is unknown if the trade would have been possible.
This would have made Amar’e Stoudemire, who was selected 9th, an intriguing pick. Pairing his physical, maturing game with Gasol’s refined play style could have been game changing. Or, the Hawks could have selected Caron Butler, who was an All-Star during his career.
Next: Comparing Taurean Prince’s rookie season to star small forwards’
Jones may seem to be a usual late first-round pick on paper, but his selection changed the course of the franchise.