Biggest Winners and Losers on the Atlanta Hawks After the NBA draft Lottery

The 2026 NBA Draft Lottery is now in the rearview mirror for teams, and the Atlanta Hawks could be considered one of the biggest winners and losers of the lottery drawing.

The Hawks were one of two teams in the lottery that made the playoffs, and they have an exciting young core of Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, and Onyeka Okongwu already on the roster. Now they get to add someone with the No. 8 pick in the draft and the top 10 of this draft is very talented.

On the other hand, they were hoping for a potentially franchise-changing moment by moving up into the top four and they did not get it. The Hawks have talent, but they may not have a "No. 1 option" just yet. They could still get that guy at No. 8, but it will be more challenging.

So who are the big winners and losers for the Hawks after the lottery results?

Winner- GM Onsi Saleh

Did the lottery results work out the way that the Hawks had hoped for? No, but the trade that the Hawks made with the Pelicans last summer should still be viewed as a win.

For moving down from No. 13 to No. 23, the Hawks were able to select Asa Newell and had the chance to jump up in a very talented draft. They did not jump up and in fact they dropped one spot, but this is a playoff team that is going to have multiple first round picks now, including the No. 8 spot.

While finding a star player or even just an impact player is not easy once you reach a certain point in the NBA Draft, players like Mikel Brown Jr, Aday Mara, Kingston Flemings, Keaton Wagler, Darius Acuff, or Brayden Burries can really help the Hawks now and in the future.

The process was really sound, and the Hawks got a top-eight pick thanks to smart work from Saleh.

Loser- Gabe Vincent

This is dependent on the Hawks taking one of the guards at No. 8, and while Vincent might have been a bit of a long shot to be brought back, it might not make much sense for the Hawks to bring him back if they do take a guard.

Vincent was solid for Atlanta after being acquired at the deadline, but was not irreplaceable by any means and I think if the Hawks take either Wagler, Flemings, Brown Jr, Acuff, or Burries, they would slide into the Vincent spot in terms of minutes.

Winners- Jonathan Kuminga and CJ McCollum

I think that both of these players were going to be brought back regardless if the Hawks jumped into the top four or not, but with them falling to No. 8, I think it does raise the odds that they are back, even if just slightly.

If Atlanta had moved up and taken either AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Caleb Wilson, or Cameron Boozer, it might have made some sense to move on from one of them. Now, I think it is highly likely that they are both brought back.

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