Over the course of 24 months, the Atlanta Hawks underwent quite a roller coaster when it comes to future NBA Draft selections. During the summer of 2022, the Hawks elected to send what was essentially a king's ransom to the San Antonio Spurs in an ill-fated trade for Dejounte Murray. That transaction set San Antonio up well for the future with a stockpile of first-round selections while also leaving Atlanta vulnerable in the same category.
Within a short period of time, it became clear that the Murray investment was a glaring error for the Hawks, especially when it came to on-court results, but Murray maintained his trade value with strong individual contributions and a relatively friendly contract extension. That allowed Atlanta to repackage Murray in a trade to the New Orleans Pelicans during the summer of 2024, recouping a couple of first-round picks along with a recent lottery pick in Dyson Daniels and an experienced veteran in Larry Nance.
While that sequence still left the Hawks vulnerable with picks owed to the Spurs, it allowed for increased flexibility and an overall retooling for Atlanta's organization. Then, the Hawks made a couple of moves ahead of the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline, sending out veteran stalwarts in De'Andre Hunter and Bogdanovic in exchange for Caris LeVert, Terance Mann, and Georges Niang.
Those moves also involved myriad picks changing hands, and when it comes to the future, there is still real uncertainty as to where the Hawks will be drafting. Part of that uncertainty stems from a protected first-round pick Atlanta is projected to receive from the Sacramento Kings as part of the Kevin Huerter trade in 2022. However, nothing is assured, as the Kings project to land near the borderline of whether the selection will convey in 2025. From there, Atlanta also has complicated first round "swaps" as part of the Murray and Hunter trades, including a "swap on swap" situation that could arise in 2026.
Overall, Atlanta has a reasonably solid situation when it comes to future draft capital, which is something that could not be said as recently as a year ago. In fact, the Hawks have at least one first round pick in every year, and could end up with two first round selections in either 2025 or 2026 without making any more transactions.
In this space, we will take a detailed glance at which picks that Hawks general manager Landry Fields and the organization possess at this moment. Along the way, we will also note protections and complications to each obligation, noting that the NBA calendar dictates that picks cannot be traded more than seven seasons in the future, which ends this projection with the 2031 NBA Draft.
2025 Atlanta Hawks Draft Picks
- 1st Round - Unprotected from Los Angeles Lakers
- 1st Round - Protected from Sacramento Kings (conveys from No. 13-30)
2026 Atlanta Hawks Draft Picks
- 1st Round - Least favorable of Atlanta and San Antonio; Could swap for most favorable of Cleveland, Utah
- 1st Round - Protected from Sacramento Kings (conveys from No. 11-30 IF not conveyed in 2025)
- 2nd Round - Unprotected from Sacramento Kings IF first-round pick is not conveyed in either 2025 or 2026
2027 Atlanta Hawks Draft Picks
- 1st Round - Least favorable of New Orleans and Milwaukee (conveys from No. 5-30)
- 2nd Round - Unprotected from Cleveland Cavaliers
- 2nd Round - Unprotected from Sacramento Kings IF first-round pick is not conveyed in either 2025 or 2026
2028 Atlanta Hawks Draft Picks
- 1st Round - Atlanta's own pick OR swap with worse of Cleveland, Utah (if better)
2029 Atlanta Hawks Draft Picks
- 1st Round - Atlanta's own pick
- 2nd Round - Unprotected from Cleveland Cavaliers
2030 Atlanta Hawks Draft Picks
- 1st Round - Atlanta's own pick
- 2nd Round - Atlanta's own pick
2031 Atlanta Hawks Draft Picks
- 1st Round - Atlanta's own pick
- 2nd Round - Atlanta's own pick
- 2nd Round - Unprotected from Cleveland Cavaliers