The Atlanta Hawks have missed out on the top-four pick they dreamed of and will instead have the No. 8 overall selection in the 2026 NBA Draft. It's a disappointing result, as Atlanta will likely miss out on top prospects such as Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Caleb Wilson.
For as frustrating as that may be, the Hawks have a clear silver lining to find in missing out on a top-four pick: A severe decrease in annual salary that may be exactly what they needed.
Rookie-scale contracts are generally palatable, but the Hawks are quite familiar with how costly they can be depending on where a player is drafted. Zaccharie Risacher, for instance, was the No. 1 overall selection in 2024. He'll make a somewhat prohibitive $13,826,040 in 2026-27 and has a club option worth $17,434,637 for 2027-28.
Rookie-scale contracts are only climbing, as Cooper Flagg made $13,825,920 as a rookie and will earn $19,178,146 during the final season of his four-year deal.
By comparison, the No. 8 overall selection in 2025, Egor Demin, made $6,889,200 as a rookie and will receive $9,639,522 during the fourth year of his contract. In other words: The No. 8 pick makes effectively half the money of the No. 1 overall selection.
That's particularly relevant in the case of a Hawks team that has several expensive decisions coming up and a number of team-friendly salaries that could create invaluable flexibility if not disturbed.
Hawks could pay No. 8 pick half the money they would've owed to No. 1
Atlanta's first expensive decision pertains to how it would like to proceed with Jonathan Kuminga. The 23-year-old forward has a $24.3 million club option for the 2026-27 season and would enter unrestricted free agency in 2027 if it were to be accepted.
The alternative, of course, would be to decline the option and negotiate a new deal, which would likely be a multi-year commitment at a similar annual figure.
Atlanta must also decide if Risacher is a part of its future plans. They've yet to accept the fourth season club option on his rookie-scale contract and would be on the hook for upward of $17.4 million if they decide to bring him back.
The Hawks will also be paying Dyson Daniels $25 million per season over the next four years, and while his value is clear, they'll need to decide how alarmed they are by his shooting woes.
All of these decisions have thus been made easier to process on a financial level by the Hawks' lottery luck. The preference clearly would've been to land a player like Dybantsa, but with a promising core in place, gaining financial flexibility while still adding a top-10 prospect in this class is by no means a loss.
Atlanta's lottery luck may not have produced the top-four pick many dreamed of, but it's greatly improved its future both on the court and on the books.
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