Atlanta Hawks' Biggest Needs Ahead of 2026 NBA Draft

The Atlanta Hawks are in a great position to take an elite guard in the lottery with the use of the New Orleans Pelicans' first-round pick, as players like Keaton Wagler, Darius Acuff Jr., Mikel Brown Jr. and Brayden Burries are all expected to go in the 5-to-10 range.

Atlanta could use the extra backcourt firepower, as the Hawks ranked dead last in the NBA in isolation scoring this season (0.80 points per possession), shooting just 37.6 percent overall on their lowly 4.8 attempts per game.

This need only becomes greater if CJ McCollum doesn't return in free agency. With two first-round picks, however, the Hawks should be able to address this area.

2025-26 Record: 46-36

Draft Picks: 8, 23, 57

Shot Creation

The Hawks wound up winning more playoff games (two) against the Knicks than the rest of the NBA combined. Their surge was due, in large part, to swapping Trae Young out for McCollum.

But now, McCollum is a free agent. And if the Hawks are unable to re-sign him, they could be dangerously short on shot creation from the guard spots.

Jalen Johnson certainly provides a lot, but he may still be a little too turnover-prone to carry that load without a more traditional point guard.

Size

The Hawks have Mouhamed Gueye, Asa Newell and Onyeka Okongwu on the books for next season, but that trio is made up of players who are either unproven or a little undersized to play center.

They could use someone with a little more height and/or weight to deal with teams that bring bruisers to the front court.

That could be why Atlanta, which has the No. 8 pick, has commonly come up as a potential landing spot for 7'3" Aday Mara.

Development

This isn't the kind of "need" you typically see in an exercise like this, but the Hawks simply need to spend a lot of time developing some of the young core that's come along a little more slowly than they would've liked.

Newell only played in 44 games as a rookie. By the end of the season, former first overall pick Zaccharie Risacher was coming off the bench. Jonathan Kuminga, who was acquired before the trade deadline, still needs some polishing too.

In short, if Atlanta is going to improve upon what it did in 2025-26, one of the above is going to have to take a big step forward.