The Atlanta Hawks are hovering with out Trae Young this season, however in some unspecified time in the future they’ll want to discover a replacement at level guard to attain their ceiling on offense. Lucky for them, the 2026 NBA Draft is organising to ship the precise play that they want.
There is no query that the Hawks are taking part in their greatest basketball of the season down the stretch of the season, with the league’s greatest internet ranking and one in every of its greatest information since the NBA Trade Deadline. With Jalen Johnson as the centerpiece star and a set of shooters and defenders round him, the Hawks are bowling opponents over.
The Hawks nonetheless have a necessity
What the Hawks lack, nonetheless, is an on-ball shot creator and playmaker in the backcourt — i.e. the sort of influence that Trae Young offered. They have as a substitute leaned in the other way, placing size and protection in the backcourt with Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels. That elevates their protection however places a ceiling on their offense.
CJ McCollum has stepped into that position off the bench and performed extraordinarily nicely; he can even flip 35 years previous earlier than the begin of subsequent season. The Hawks want a long-term replacement for Young, whether or not that participant in the end begins or comes off the bench as an excellent sub.
Such gamers are sometimes tough to safe in free company, and looking out to the commerce market can be an costly method. Both paths might work. Their best choice, nonetheless, to add a long-term piece to their core, can be to draft such a participant.
Can the Hawks draft Trae Young’s replacement?
It works out nice for Atlanta that they’re holding onto a Top 10 choose in this June’s draft, then, courtesy of Joe Dumars and the New Orleans Pelicans. While the sheer amount of tanking groups this season means the lottery standings should not but set with per week left in the common season, the Pelicans are going to end someplace between sixth and eighth in the reverse standings.
That means the Hawks have a shot to leap up into the Top 4 (particularly since they get to add the Milwaukee Bucks’ odds in as nicely) and are virtually actually assured a Top 10 choose. In most years, it would not make a lot sense for the Hawks to set any expectations for which prospects they are going to be in a position to draft.
This 12 months, nonetheless, there is one thing distinctive about the prime prospects in the draft. First, they’re all solely freshmen. Second, the overwhelming 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 improve a crew’s frontcourt. The back-half of the Top 10, nonetheless, 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 12 months. All of them appear to be unbelievable prospects, worthy of a Top-5 choose in a median draft. That Pelicans choose might find yourself in the eighth slot, get jumped by two groups, and nonetheless be in place to hand the Hawks a long-term starter at level guard.
The versatility of the choices might imply a wonderful match with what the Hawks have constructed. They do not want to go all-in on a selected sort of participant; they’re adequate, and deep sufficient, and younger sufficient, to construct the right crew and go in a wide range of completely different instructions. Yet their want for a dynamic on-ball playmaking guard is about to be met in the draft.
Trae Young is gone. And his replacement is likely to be on his manner.
