June 17, 2024, 05:22 pm ET
ATLANTA — Atlanta Hawks general manager Landry Fields said he likes his options for potential top picks in the NBA Draft, and insists he doesn’t plan to trade the No. 1 pick, even though his phone lines they remain open.
“I think we’re very excited about the draft,” Fields said Monday as he continued to prepare for the No. 1 overall pick in the draft on June 26. “And the more we find out, as we go, great, I’m glad I have the number 1. I keep joking like I’m not giving it back, so I think we’re in a very good position here, frankly, I’m excited.”
The Hawks were the surprise winner of the NBA draft lottery on May 12. Atlanta earned the first pick in the draft despite only 3% odds after finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference at 36-46.
Fields says his initial excitement about landing the No. 1 pick hasn’t diminished, as he and his staff have examined options such as two French stars, Alexandre Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher, Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard and UConn center Donovan Clingan.
Still, Fields acknowledged that the task of determining which prospect should be No. 1 is an ongoing process. He said he, and not team owner Tony Ressler, will be the one to make the draft pick.
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The decision to keep the first pick could be affected by the fact that the Hawks have no other picks in the draft. The roster could use the help of more than one draft pick after the team lost to Chicago in the first round of the play-in tournament.
Fields said he and his staff are putting together levels of draft prospects. When asked if it would be wise to trade for more picks if he doesn’t see any prospect clearly ahead of everyone else, Fields said, “Over time, you’re going to narrow down to your player, for sure.”
Fields said the pool of potential top picks on the Hawks’ draft board continues to shrink.
“I would say a week ago it was wider than it is now,” he said. “The board is definitely shaping up, staggering.”
Fields said he’s looking for a player “to be No. 1 and the guy we see is a great fit for us, not just for the next day, but for the future.”
Aside from a brief break on Sunday for Father’s Day, Fields has stayed busy talking on the phone, answering and receiving calls from other executives.
“Most of the time it rings continuously,” he says.
The Hawks have been frustrated by the inability to revive a franchise that has not won a playoff series since advancing to the 2021 Eastern Conference finals despite the scoring leadership of guards Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. The Hawks kept Murray at the trade deadline in February, when there was much speculation that he could be traded for draft picks.
Decisions regarding the futures of center Clint Capela and forward De’Andre Hunter could also be on the horizon this offseason. But the first priority is to make a decision on the first selection.
“We, as a group, looked at a lot of different scenarios,” Fields said. “If you keep the pick, you try to go back to the draft… In the situation we’re in now, we’ll pick one… We’re planning on picking one.”
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