Getty The Hawks are top five in the current NBA lottery odds to land the No. 1 pick.
Zion Williamson has no shortage of suitors in the upcoming NBA draft, and one of them is the Atlanta Hawks. Trae Young and company have had a strong close to the NBA season. The Hawks front office would love to take that momentum and bring it into the NBA lottery.
Atlanta has the fifth-best odds of winning the NBA lottery at 10.5 percent, per Tankathon. Barring a surprising development, Williamson is expected to be the No. 1 pick in June’s draft. Atlanta will also get the Mavericks 2019 pick if it falls outside of the top five.
If the Hawks do not get the No. 1 pick, could they look to package their two potential picks together to move up for Williamson? Given Williamson’s value, it is unlikely whoever lands the No. 1 pick is going to trade it given the sizable gap between Williamson and the field of top prospects.
For the Hawks to have a chance at Williamson, Atlanta is likely going to have to win the lottery outright.
ESPN’s Tracy McGrady Reported That Zion Williamson Prefers to Play in a Small Market
ESPN’s Tracy McGrady reported that Williamson prefers to go to a smaller market. This would work in the Hawks favor, but Williamson has little control of where he will end up. It is all but a certainty that the Duke big man will end up with the team that has the No. 1 pick.
After Williamson suffered a knee injury when he had a shoe malfunction against North Carolina, Trae Young spoke out on his behalf.
“It sucks seeing that with Zion,” Young told Peachtree Hoops. “My first thought was, ‘is he alright?’ I’m hoping that he makes the best decision, not only for him, but for his family. I know he’s a competitor. I know he wants to hoop and play, but this kid has a bright future and he has a chance to make a lot of money playing basketball.”
Hawks Starting Lineup With Zion Williamson
The Hawks have become a popular League Pass team to watch since the All-Star break thanks to the play of Young and John Collins. What would the Hawks lineup look like if they were able to land Williamson? My sense is they would go small and shift Collins to center to allow them to get their best players on the floor.
C- John Collins
PF- Zion Williamson
SF- Taurean Prince
SG- Kevin Huerter
PG- Trae Young
Hawks GM Travis Schlenk believes whoever the team lands in the 2019 draft will be paired with a promising core group of players.
“We’ve got, what we think, is a nice nucleus, a nice core,” Schlenk told Atlanta’s 92.9 the Game. “Obviously, we just need to keep adding to it. As these young guys develop, keep getting better–I think the future’s real bright for us.”