The Atlanta Hawks have an asset no team can match in Giannis trade talks with the 2026 first round pick swap between the Pelicans and Bucks, yet reportedly will not use it in a trade.
Jake Fischer reported that “[He’s] been told on more than one occasion since the season began – quite strongly – that the Hawks won’t consider trading that draft pick” (subscription required). It’s no surprise that the Hawks are shy to trade the pick; after all, it was dubbed one of the greatest picks to be traded in NBA history over the offseason, and the Pelicans’ struggles this season have only made the asset grow in value.
This pick isn’t a trump card just because it’s a stellar pick, although that certainly doesn’t hurt its value. Rather, the pick is so valuable because it gives Milwaukee the ability to turn back the clock and recover control of its own destiny, at least in the short term.
The Bucks have to deal with the reality that they do not have the rights to any of their remaining picks this decade. Essentially, the Bucks cannot rely on tanking as a way to recover from the post-Giannis era. Atlanta, however, holds the rights to Milwaukee’s next two first round picks.
Atlanta is taking the safest course of action here
Of course, it would be a delight to see Giannis in a Hawks jersey. The franchise has never had a player of his caliber on the team, and Atlanta would instantly become title contenders with him alongside Jalen Johnson and the stacked Hawks rotation. If you ask me personally, I’d push the chips in by trading this pick.
But I can’t fault the Hawks for holding onto it. At the end of the day, the top pick in this year’s draft is such a powerful asset. This is no normal draft class – there are three (maybe four) “first overall caliber players,” AKA a player who is that star on a championship team. If the Hawks land anywhere in the top four, they will have their pick between one of these elite talents or then trading the pick for a star.
An interesting parallel to this situation is the Paul George trade to the Clippers. LA emptied the war chest to get their star, which included a little-known rookie named Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Clippers are kicking themselves for letting their short-sighted trade rob them of having the best basketball player in the world under contract for another five years.
Could the Hawks regret not emptying the chest for Giannis? Absolutely. But they could also regret trading the pick that becomes Darryn Petersen. Only time will tell if the Hawks’ caution was wise after all.