The Atlanta Hawks are dripping with intrigue ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft. Atlanta has two picks — No. 13 from Sacramento and No. 22 from Los Angeles — but no control over its own first-round picks through 2027. Shout out to the Dejounte Murray trade.
After finishing with the No. 8 seed, only to drop two straight Play-In games and miss the playoffs entirely, Atlanta has arrived at a crossroads. This team just isn't good enough to support Trae Young's desire to win games and compete for a championship. Maybe no Trae Young team can truly compete for a championship, but this Hawks roster isn't exactly a great test case.
Whomever takes the Hawks' open GM job this summer will have a series of difficult decisions to make. It starts with figuring out Young's future. Atlanta cannot bottom out, as those picks just go to San Antonio. That does not mean the Hawks can't start thinking about life after Trae.
We ran a 2025 NBA mock draft on The Sixer Sense Podcast, and yours truly was tasked with selecting for the Hawks at No. 13. My pick — Illinois point guard Kasparas Jakučionis — opens the sliding glass door of Trae Young's future.
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Hawks pressure Trae Young with Kasparas Jakučionis pick in NBA mock draft
Jakučinois made a rapid ascent on NBA Draft boards early in the season at Illinois. The Lithuanian 18-year-old couldn't quite maintain his early dominance throughout the enitre season — the athleticism and physicality of Big Ten play posed its share of issues, and he also dealt with an injury — but he has been a projected lottery pick for months.
Why would Atlanta target another guard? Aside from the obvious hypothetical post-Trae Young benefits, Jakučionis gives the Hawks optionality. Sam Hinkie knows the value of optionality. On top of being great value in a vacuum at No. 13, Jakučionis is a knockdown shooter and a generally selfless player. He can operate off-ball, drilling spot-up 3s, attacking closeouts, and connecting dots with his high-speed processing. Those are traits that ought to work just fine next to Young, should Atlanta decide to move forward with both on the roster.
Jakučionis needs to get (much, much) better on defense, but he's 6-foot-6 in shoes and 205 pounds, with a 6-foot-8 wingspan. He can share the floor with Young, especially with Atlanta's cadre of lanky perimeter defenders around them. Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher and Jalen Johnson can paper over a lot of holes out there.
When it comes to Young's future, Jakučionis gives Atlanta a natural pivot point. He displays incredible tempo and feel operating out of pick-and-rolls. While Jakučionis needs to cut down on turnovers, we can't fault a teenage point guard for his ambition. Jakučionis reads the floor several steps in advance. He's arguably the best live-dribble passer in the draft, operating with impeccable footwork as a driver and a uniquely high vantage point for an initiator prospect.
His inability to generate separation or handle pressure in certain matchups is a concern, especially when projecting toward the next level, but it feels like Jakučionis' blend of size, strength and IQ will win out — not to mention his elite skill. He's a buttery pull-up shooter, with a nifty step-back in his bag. Even if he's not winning with burst, Jakučinois finds ways to put his defender at a disadvantage and win matchups in slo-mo. We don't need to get crazy with errant Luka Dončić comps, but he will have folks seeing flashes of the great international guards, like Goran Dragic or Manu Ginobili, who always had their finger on the pulse.
With their wing rotation increasingly fleshed out and Onyeka Okongwu emerging as a full-time starting center, it feels right for Atlanta to target a big guard who can, if needed, take the reins from Trae Young. It at least opens the door for Atlanta to consider an alternate path forward, whether that's retooling to contend with Jakučionis at point or stripping the roster down to its bare bones and rebuilding.