The Atlanta Hawks are soaring without Trae Young this season, but at some point they will need to find a replacement at point guard to reach their ceiling on offense. Lucky for them, the 2026 NBA Draft is setting up to deliver the exact play that they need.
There is no question that the Hawks are playing their best basketball of the season down the stretch of the season, with the league's best net rating and one of its best records since the NBA Trade Deadline. With Jalen Johnson as the centerpiece star and a collection of shooters and defenders around him, the Hawks are bowling opponents over.
The Hawks still have a need
What the Hawks lack, however, is an on-ball shot creator and playmaker in the backcourt -- i.e. the kind of impact that Trae Young provided. They have instead leaned in the opposite direction, putting length and defense in the backcourt with Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels. That elevates their defense but puts a ceiling on their offense.
CJ McCollum has stepped into that role off the bench and played extremely well; he will also turn 35 years old before the start of next season. The Hawks need a long-term replacement for Young, whether that player ultimately starts or comes off the bench as a super sub.
Such players are often difficult to secure in free agency, and looking to the trade market would be an expensive approach. Both paths could work. Their best option, however, to add a long-term piece to their core, would be to draft such a player.
Can the Hawks draft Trae Young's replacement?
It works out great for Atlanta that they are holding onto a Top 10 pick in this June's draft, then, courtesy of Joe Dumars and the New Orleans Pelicans. While the sheer quantity of tanking teams this season means the lottery standings are not yet set with a week left in the regular season, the Pelicans are going to finish somewhere between sixth and eighth in the reverse standings.
That means the Hawks have a shot to leap up into the Top 4 (especially since they get to add the Milwaukee Bucks' odds in as well) and are almost certainly guaranteed a Top 10 pick. In most years, it wouldn't make much sense for the Hawks to set any expectations for which prospects they will be able to draft.
This year, however, there is something unique about the top prospects in the draft. First, they are all exclusively freshmen. Second, the vast majority are on-ball guards.
The draft is loaded with guards
AJ Dybantsa, Cam Boozer and Caleb Wilson will all go in the Top 5 and upgrade a team's frontcourt. The back-half of the Top 10, however, is loaded with guards. Darius Acuff from Arkansas. Keaton Wagler from Illinois. Kingston Fleming from Houston. Mikel Brown Jr. from Louisville. Labaron Philon from Alabama. Brayden Burries from Arizona.
Need a guard? This is your year. All of them look like incredible prospects, worthy of a Top-5 pick in an average draft. That Pelicans pick could end up in the eighth slot, get jumped by two teams, and still be in position to hand the Hawks a long-term starter at point guard.
The versatility of the options could mean an excellent fit with what the Hawks have built. They don't need to go all-in on a specific type of player; they are good enough, and deep enough, and young enough, to build the right team and go in a variety of different directions. Yet their need for a dynamic on-ball playmaking guard is about to be met in the draft.
Trae Young is gone. And his replacement might be on his way.