NBA teams with the most to gain and lose in the 2018 Draft

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2. Atlanta Hawks (19-43)

2018 Picks

First Round — projected No. 1 – 3 overall
First Round (from Minnesota) — projected 23rd-25th overall
First Round (from Houston) — projected 29th-30th overall
Second Round — projected 31st-33rd overall

The Hawks hired Travis Schlenk as GM at the beginning of the 2017 offseason. The longtime Warriors executive wasted no time cleaning house to start this season.

Schlenk and the Hawks let several veterans walk in free agency including Paul Millsap, Thabo Sefolosha, and Tim Hardaway, Jr. They sent Dwight Howard and his $23.1 million salary to Charlotte and acquired two additional 2018 first round picks from Houston and Minnesota.

The Hawks are spending almost $33 million of their $100 million payroll this season on players who are not on their roster but all but $2.3 million of that will be off the books next season.

The key players Atlanta held onto were Point Guard, Dennis Schroder, Forward, Taurean Prince, and wing, Kent Bazemore. They also locked in rookie, John Collins, through 2020-21. Bazemore is 28 but Schroder, at 24, is the oldest of the three aforementioned players. All four are solid contributors, averaging double-figures in scoring.

They signed veteran center, Dewayne Dedmon, who at 28 and making $6 million per year through 2018-19. The only bad contract the Hawks are stuck with is Miles Plumlee’s $37.5 million over the next three years but it was well worth it to take Plumlee’s salary on in exchange for Dwight Howard’s.

The 2018 Draft could be huge for Atlanta. With four picks in the top 35 slots, Schlenk has clearly put a lot into this draft. A good draft could make the Hawks a playoff contender in the East as a young team with up-and-coming pieces and cap space. Missing on these picks would delay Atlanta’s rebuild by another several years and it would mean that they missed on an unprecedented opportunity with so many picks so high in such a promising draft.

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