2019 NBA Draft Rumors: Atlanta Hawks Shopping #10 Overall Pick

A quick take on the news that the Atlanta Hawks are pondering trading the #10 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

In a case of wishful thinking coming true, the Atlanta Hawks are apparently open to trading down in the 2019 NBA Draft, per a recent report from Jonathan Givony of ESPN:

"A number of agents with players projected to be picked in the lottery told ESPN that they’ve had conversations with teams who say they are capable of making a trade for Atlanta’s No. 10 pick if needed, indicating that pick might be involved in trade conversations as well."

We have previously explored the idea that trading down makes sense for the Hawks in the 2019 NBA Draft due to the fact they have two almost consecutive picks at 8 and 10, and this draft is fairly wide open after the upper echelon of prospects.

With that being the case, keeping the team’s #8 overall pick and moving on from the #10 overall pick for valuable young players or multiple future or 2019 draft picks would be particularly beneficial.

Though the Atlanta Hawks will have plenty of cap space this offseason with which to explore free agents, it seems that General Manager Travis Schlenk and head coach Lloyd Pierce want to make sure this rebuild is done the “right way,” in that the team doesn’t blow its cap space too early on bad contracts. With yet another cap spike coming this offseason, it seems likely that a few teams will fall into that alluring trap.

In our most recent full mock draft, the Atlanta Hawks pulled off this exact feat in the 2019 NBA Draft by trading the #10 and #41 picks to the Boston Celtics for the #14 and #22 picks – after the Lakers pulled off an Anthony Davis trade (which is obviously back in the cards after reporting from Shams Charania of The Athletic).

Because the team made that move, they were able to select an intriguing combination of players in the first round: Jarrett Culver, Matisse Thybulle and Grant Williams. All three of these players project to have both immediate and long-term impacts on the future of the Hawks – showcasing the inherent value of trading down and getting more “bites at the apple” on draft day. Let’s hope the Atlanta Hawks follow that mantra ahead of the 2019 NBA Draft.