2025 NBA Draft: Atlanta Is Reportedly Exploring Ways To Move Up In The Draft

There seems to be more smoke to this idea. Today, NBA insiders Jake Fischer and Marc Stein reported that the Hawks have indeed been exploring ways to move up and while they did not name Malauach, it seems the Hawks are indeed targeting a big man:

"We wrote yesterday that any word of Atlanta looking to package picks Nos. 13 and 22 to move up into the first round hadn't reached us yet.

Well ...

Since publishing those words, various sources have indicated that they do believe the Hawks will fall right in line with Oklahoma City, Orlando and Brooklyn as teams with multiple picks in the mid-to-late first round exploring various avenues to move up the draft board.

Rival teams have projected the Hawks as targeting big men with whatever draft slots they ultimately operate from. After years of dangling Clint Capela on the trade block, Capela is finally expected to depart Atlanta via free agency this season, sources say. So the Hawks appear poised to have an opening for a center."

You can read the full report here.

This move would make a ton of sense and if the Hawks were targeting Maluach, who makes the most sense for the way that their team is built, they would likely have to move in front of the Raptors at No. 9. The Raptors have been linked to Maluach and it seems that his floor is going to be the Raptors at No. 9. The Wizards (6), the Pelicans (7), and the Nets are in front of the Raptors. I don't think just packaging both of the Hawks picks is good enough to move up to six, so what would the cost be? Would they have to give up a future pick? Would Kobe Bufkin be on the table? Do the Hawks take back salary (Jordan Poole?) to get the deal done? That would complicate things, but moving up seven spots in the draft is going to be costly. The Hawks may just decide to stay put and see how the board falls.

If they did move up for Maluach, the fit is obvious. He would form a nice tandem with Onyeka Okongwu and give the Hawks needed interior size and defense. Okongwu is a very good player, but certain matchups are problematic for them and Maluach would help. His offensive game needs to gro, but playing alongside Trae Young would be very beneficial to him. He would be a rim-running threat and lob threat for Young and there is hope that he can develop an outside shot. He is still raw in many aspects, but the ceiling and fit make him an appealing target for Atlanta.

With less than two weeks to go until draft time, expect there to be plenty of rumors and chatter.

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