When Onsi Saleh was promoted to General Manager of the Atlanta Hawks back on April 21st, there was hope that there would be an aggressiveness not seen in previous GM Landry Fields. The last few days have been an answered prayer to all those hopes, as Saleh has been involved in so many trades that it’s been hard to keep up. After acquiring Kristaps Porzingis from the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, the Hawks’ aggressiveness, though at times hard to keep up with, reached new heights on Wednesday night in the first round of the NBA Draft.
While the Hawks were originally slated to have the 13th pick in Wednesday night’s draft, they quickly maneuvered that pick into two more from the New Orleans Pelicans, the 23rd pick of this year’s draft, plus an unprotected first-round pick in next year’s draft. The Pelicans ended up drafting Derik Queen, a Center from the University of Maryland, who would have been considered a great pick for the Hawks before the aforementioned trade for Porzingis. Since they no longer needed a center, they traded his rights to the Pelicans.
What the Hawks got in return for Queen was quite impressive. The 23rd pick ended up being a nice pick for them, which will be addressed later, but the real gem was the unprotected first-round pick for next year. Considering the Pelicans will more than likely be moving on from Zion Williamson this offseason, it looks like the Hawks could potentially end up with a top 5 pick in next year’s draft. Looking at next year’s mock drafts, the Hawks came out winners on this trade.
As mentioned above, the Hawks also acquired the 23rd pick from the Pelicans, and they didn’t have to go far to find their pick. Asa Newell, Power Forward from the University of Georgia, was born in Atlanta, Georgia, before his family moved to Destin, Florida, making him a natural fit for the Hawks. Standing at 6’11”, Newell is highly athletic, very physical, and played both power forward and center last year for Georgia. The addition of Porzingis, though, will push Newell to play the Power Forward position for the majority of the time.
If there is a concern with Newell, it is without a doubt his shooting. While a great finisher at the rim, Newell didn’t show as much progress on his jump shooting abilities at Georgia, which could be a cause for concern given the emphasis that has been placed on jump shooting in today’s NBA. If Newell improves his shooting, fans could start having flashbacks of another great Hawk from the University of Georgia.
After many busy days, Saleh can take it easy during round two of the NBA draft, as the Hawks are not scheduled to have another pick. Whether he decides to stay idle on night two or not remains to be seen, but if the season were to begin today, here is a look at what the Hawks’ lineup could look like:
The talent is certainly there for the Hawks to make a run in 2025-26, especially considering the offseason the Celtics and New York Knicks are having; however, the questions surrounding their depth still need to be answered. They will likely pursue resigning Caris LeVert, which will help alleviate some concerns surrounding when Johnson will be able to return, but there will be more moves that need to be made. So, will Saleh sit idly by and watch everyone else draft on night two? Probably not. Look for him to pursue a guard who has a tremendous shooting ability, such as Chaz Lanier from the University of Tennessee.
In just one week, Onsi Saleh has given hope to the city of Atlanta of possibly having an NBA champion. There are still a whole lot of questions to answer as they go down the stretch of the offseason, but the excitement for this upcoming Hawks season is already at a fever pitch. Night one of the draft has already produced the potential for a new superstar for the Hawks, and it will be interesting to see if night two can answer some of those lingering questions.
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to our newsletter here. Check out Stadium Rant Original shows on our Youtube channel and subscribe! Give our socials Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok a follow for more great content!
