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Draft day has arrived.
The 2024-2025 NBA season officially came to a close Sunday night with the Oklahoma City Thunder winning the championship over the Indiana Pacers. Unlike other major sports, the offseason is literally around the corner in the NBA, and we have already seen major moves being made. The Orlando Magic traded for Desmond Bane, and yesterday, the Houston Rockets made a big move to acquire Kevin Durant from Phoenix. There is sure to be more on the way, and the 2025 NBA Draft will provide plenty of opportunity for fireworks
While the No. 1 pick of the draft is already set in stone, there are questions throughout the rest of the lottery, and one of the most interesting teams to watch on draft night is going to be the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks got some lottery luck by landing the No. 13 pick courtesy of the Sacramento Kings, but they no longer have two first-round picks. They sent No. 22 to the Brooklyn Nets last night as part of the three-team trade that netted them Kristaps Porzingis.
Now, what will the Hawks do at No. 13? Do they stay put and take the best player available, something general manager Onsi Saleh mentioned frequently in his initial press conference on Monday.
Here are the predictions from us here at Atlanta Hawks On SI:
Jackson: How does the Porzingis trade affect the Hawks' approach at No.13? Truthfully, probably not much. Atlanta is still going to need another big on the team due to Porzingis having a lengthy injury history, so that is still on the table, but so are others. Trading down should still be on the table as well, though I do think that is going to be less likely. There are a number of players for the Hawks to consider with the No. 13 pick, and I am going to say they stay put and select Washington State's Cedric Coward. He adds shooting around Trae Young and gives them another athletic wing player. If Joan Beringer were to make it this far, don't think it is out of the question that the Hawks take him, let him develop for a season, and become the main backup big when Porzingis's contract is up.
Rohan: With the 22nd pick officially not in play for Atlanta any longer, the Hawks are less likely to trade up. If he can stay healthy, Kristaps Porzingis will be a very effective player for Atlanta and they should do everything in their power to keep him healthy. Bringing him off the bench might be the best way to achieve that - they got a lot out of Zaccharie Risacher in his rookie season and haven't gotten the chance to evaluate him next to Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu due to Okongwu's late rise as a starter and Johnson's injury. As a result, there shouldn't be any urgency to remove Johnson or Okongwu from the starting lineup. Assuming that Porzingis plays more of a reserve role, I think the Hawks will trade down with a team like Brooklyn or Oklahoma City (both of whom have multiple first-rounders in this draft class) and select Colorado State guard Nique Clifford. Clifford is a 6'5 wing who can play either SG or SF - he's a great defender who can guard multiple positions and passes extremely well while showing major shooting improvement this year (shot 37.7% from deep on 4.9 attempts per game). Atlanta's perimeter defense struggled a lot this season and Clifford would improve that while also giving the Hawks some insurance in case Caris LeVert doesn't return in free agency.
Kahlil: Now that the Hawks have officially traded their 22nd pick of the NBA Draft for Kristaps Porzingis, they will still likely be in the hunt for another seven-footer, and that would be Khaman Maluach. The Hawks should still consider trading up to acquire Maluach, depending on what they would have to give up to draft him. They still have the 13th pick in the draft, but my prediction would be between Maluach and Danny Wolf to complete the center position in the future. I like both of their fits with the team, as they can both run pick-and-roll with Trae Young and get easy shots at the basket while also defensively causing havoc in the paint and sometimes on switches on the perimeter.
More Atlanta Hawks Draft Coverage:
More must-reads:
- Celtics expect to make another move
- Luka Doncic played role in recruiting Marcus Smart to Lakers
- The 'Most NBA games played' quiz
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TODAY'S BEST
Celtics expect to make another move
It's been a busy summer for the Boston Celtics. Brad Stevens entered the offseason aware that he needed to trim the payroll, as the Celtics faced a substantial $500 million cap sheet, including luxury taxes. Unfortunately, cutting costs meant parting ways with Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis via trade. It also meant waving goodbye to Luke Kornet in free agency, and potentially Al Horford, too. Yet, despite those cost-cutting measures, Boston's addition of Josh Minott has kept them marginally over the second luxury tax apron. When speaking with Keith Smith of Spotrac, an anonymous member of the Celtics front office hinted that more moves could be on the way, as Stevens continues to reshape Joe Mazzulla's rotation. “Still figuring it all out. As you’ve noted, we’re still above the second apron," the executive said. "We won’t finish there. It sucked to trade Jrue (Holiday) and KP (Kristaps Porzingis), because we loved those guys and they loved Boston. But it was being brutally honest that we aren’t the same level of team without Jayson (Tatum). We’ll be good. We’ll be a playoff team, but…you know. It’ll come for every team that lands where we did. You can’t be over the second apron and not a title contender. It’s just poor management for both the short- and long-term. The frozen pick and pick dropping stuff is real.” Sam Hauser, Anfernee Simons and Georges Niang are the most likely players to be traded next. Stevens will likely assess each player's market and what a potential return could look like for the Celtics. At which point, one or more of that trio could be heading for the exit door. The harsh reality for the Celtics is that with each trade, they're moving further away from championship contention. Considering Tatum will be back ahead of the 2026-27 season, Stevens is on the clock to get his retooling in place. Boston is projected to be one of the busiest franchises over the next 12-18 months. The core trio of Derrick White, Jaylen Brown and Tatum is already in place. Multiple young players will have the opportunity to prove they can be part of the next championship roster. And then, from there, Stevens must find the right blend of veteran talent. Whether the Celtics can pull off this turnaround in such a short time remains to be seen.
Phillies’ 1.83 ERA starter drawing trade interest ahead of deadline
The Philadelphia Phillies have one of the best starting rotations in baseball. Not only do they have a great front five, but there goes, potentially, eight pitchers deep with MLB talent. Unsurprisingly, with such a surplus of talent, the Phillies are drawing trade interest in their starters. Ranger Suarez, whose contract expires at the end of the year, would be a typical trade deadline candidate. But he's going nowhere. Instead, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic, the Phillies are drawing trade interest in Phillies right-handed prospect Mick Abel. The 23-year-old starter could be a trade chip if the Phillies find a suitable trade target. "... Same goes for Mick Abel," Gelb writes, "who is drawing trade interest." The Phillies right-hander has impressed in his brief Major League stint, even if he now sits at a 5.04 ERA in six starts. His ceiling, which he displayed in his MLB debut, is enough to captivate teams around baseball. In the minors, Abel has been dominant this season. He has a 1.83 ERA in 12 starts in Triple-A, a significant improvement over his 6.46 ERA in 2024. Abel's progress this season has been incredible, and has teams interested in trading for him. If the Phillies find a trade partner for an outfielder or a dominant reliever, Abel could be a centerpiece of a deal to land such a player at the deadline. With the crowded rotation, Abel might not have a starting role on the roster for the rest of the season. He could go to the bullpen for the postseason run or be dealt to land a high-profile reliever or outfielder. But, regardless of what the Phillies do with Abel, this report from Gelb is a good sign. If teams around baseball are interested in Abel, then his progress isn't just a facade; it's something teams are willing to buy in on.
Rafael Devers had telling comment about playing first base
Rafael Devers played first base for the San Francisco Giants for the first time on Tuesday, and his quote about playing the field likely will not sit well with Boston Red Sox fans. Devers said after Tuesday’s game that he prefers playing in the field as opposed to serving as a designated hitter. “It keeps me active. It keeps my head out of just thinking about the next at-bat,” Devers said, via Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle. “I’d rather be on the field than in the cage hitting all the time and thinking about the next at-bat.” Devers, of course, refused to play first base for the Red Sox after they asked him to. He felt disrespected after they moved him off third base to accommodate Alex Bregman, and thought the team went back on its word by later asking him to play first. To Red Sox fans, if Devers is best playing in the field and playing first would have helped the team, it will be baffling why he did not just do it when that would seemingly have been a preferable outcome for all involved. Devers went 2-for-5 in Tuesday’s 9-0 win over the Atlanta Braves, driving in a run in his first appearance at first base. It remains unclear how frequently the Giants plan to use him at the position, but the team might take note of these comments.
Five reasons the NHL's new 84-game schedule is a bad idea
“The NHL schedule is just too short!” said no one ever. In early July, the NHL and NHL Players’ Association ratified a four-year extension to their collective bargaining agreement through September 2030. The deal was rightfully praised as a win for the sport. After decades of bad blood and the lingering threat of labor stoppages, an extension — that kicks in for the 2026-27 season — arriving more than a year early speaks volumes on the health of the players’ relationship with the league. Amid the good vibes, it was easy to discount one small change with potentially significant consequences: an increase from 82 to 84 games in the NHL’s regular season. We’re diving into the league’s new schedule and considering the unforeseen impact of adding more games to a packed calendar. Here are five key reasons this subtle shift is an ill-timed cash grab by hockey’s power brokers. History of the schedule Before we get into the future schedule, it’s important to understand the league’s past. The visual below shows the maximum number of combined games a team has potentially been able to play across the regular season and postseason since expansion. Forcing more games out of the talent is far from a new idea. With the exception of abbreviated lockout and pandemic calendars — excluded above — the NHL’s schedule length had been the same since the mid-1990s. Teams currently play 82 regular-season games, while the Stanley Cup finalists can play another 28 if their four best-of-seven series go the maximum. That’s 110. The league briefly dabbled with an 84-game season schedule in 1992-93 and 1993-94 where teams played a pair of neutral-site games to serve as feelers for future expansion. It didn’t stick. For 30 years, everyone seemed to agree — the season was long enough. 82 games wedged into six-plus months and four grueling playoff rounds was plenty. Plus preseason games, All-Star weekends, and international events. Every cent had been squeezed, every sweat drop had been left on the ice. Until now… ✅ Arguments for Change Prior to picking apart the new 84-game version, the reasons supporting the additional games deserve their day in court. And there are reasons, sort of. It balances the schedule. 84 games ensures each team plays its division rivals exactly four times. Argument against: Ah, competitive balance. It’s a nice idea. But let’s be serious. If anyone had the slightest interest in fairness, the current playoff format would be scrapped. The NHL’s division-based bracket often features first-round series between elite teams. The format doesn’t reseed either, leading to easier postseason paths for weaker teams. We can’t pretend a balanced schedule matters. The preseason has been reduced by two games. You may be screaming that this is all noise as the new CBA has offset the preseason by two games — a net-zero change in game count. Argument against: Established veterans mostly sit out the exhibition calendar anyway, reluctantly drawing in for two or three low-intensity games to appease fans and shake off rust. Two intra-division games tacked onto the schedule don’t offset meaningless autumn skates that top players mostly watch from home. There is money to be made. Money is the only (real) reason for adding to the schedule. Two extra divisional matches sell more tickets, TV ads and draft beer. The owners and players share equally in any new hockey-related revenue. Argument against: Sure, 84 regular-season games generates more dollars than 82 games. So would 86 games. Or 100 games. A postseason play-in round would create “must-watch” games too. But where does this line of thinking end? Everyone signed off on the change. While we’re not privy to the details on whether scheduling was a contentious issue, both the NHL and NHLPA bilaterally agreed from negotiations. Argument against: The NFL added one game in 2021 to create a 17-game schedule. Many players still hate it. There’s now buzz of an 18th game. While money talks, sometimes leadership needs to save the players from themselves. ❌ Why 84 games is a bad idea The new CBA had its chance to prove to us more games is good for hockey. It hasn’t. Let’s get down to why this money-driven move shouldn’t have gone forward. 1. Players are finally getting healthier. While missed games aren’t a perfect measure to weigh frequency and severity of injury, it’s a reasonable proxy for player health. Enter NHL Injury Viz, which houses 25 years of player injury and illness data. I’ve normalized games missed by season for schedule length and team count over the past quarter-century, and the results are fascinating. From the visual, we can see that games missed have now dropped below pre-pandemic levels. Given the data counts injuries and illnesses that players actually miss games from, we can’t say that every single physical issue is factored. But we can conclude that in 2024-25, NHL players missed the fewest relative number of games in at least 23 years. In a league where players missing “only” 6,641 games is a positive trend, cramming in a few more tough matchups to juice a percentage point of revenue feels wrong. 2. We are wearing out our biggest superstars. No one is going to cry for Connor McDavid. He’s 28 years old and has earned just shy of $100 million in his 10-year career before endorsements. His next deal could push him near $20 million per season given the rising salary cap. Two more games shouldn’t wreck a finely tuned athlete. But consider his last two years. On top of the preseason schedule, McDavid faced 164 regular-season games (missed 21 due to injury), the midseason 4 Nations Face-off (scored the winning goal), plus two All-Star weekends (designed and won the 2025 skills event). He’s also played an additional 53 games of nasty postseason hockey with fewer than 90 days off each summer. That’s more than 230 game days in 21 months. While international best-on-best hockey is great for all of us, McDavid will fly to Italy and back for another six Olympic contests in February 2026. This compresses the NHL season further, resulting in 13 back-to-back outings for the Oilers, who have a famously exhausting travel schedule. With international play now slated as part of the league’s bi-annual calendar, do we need to drain the top guys further? 3. Load management is inevitable — if it hasn’t already started. Hockey fans famously chirp their basketball-loving pals about NBA talent skipping games. Hockey players would never sit out to rest. Well, we might test that theory soon. Every sport has a tipping point. In an NHL where 10 of 16 playoff teams can usually sleepwalk to the postseason, someone is going to implement the obvious benefit of load management. It may have crept in late last season… McDavid missed eight games in April with a lower-body injury. With a playoff spot secured, he was not rushed back, coasting to his 100th point in the season finale against the lowly San Jose Sharks. Leon Draisaitl, with the Rocket Richard Trophy locked, missed Edmonton’s final seven games with an undisclosed injury. He was fit enough to play the Oilers’ first playoff game, logging two points in 22:02. After leading NHL forwards in average ice time (22:47), reigning MVP Nathan MacKinnon sat the final three games with an undisclosed injury. It may have cost him the scoring title — he lost by five points to Nikita Kucherov — but ensured MacKinnon was well-rested for the postseason. While these might not be random Tuesdays in January, three of the league’s biggest stars may have quietly started a trend last spring. They were good with recovering slowly for the greater good. Goaltenders are already ahead of the curve to maximize performance — only five started 60 games last year. Will these two extra games, combined with a recurring international slate, finally push sport science in hockey to its inevitable conclusion? 4. The NHL product will get watered down. Logically, the longer the season, the less important each game becomes. The new CBA is effectively telling us that by adding to the calendar. It’s not good for entertainment purposes. Here’s why: Even if players don’t sit out, there is another consequence … they just don’t play as hard (gasp). Again, it’s two games. But we all know that feeling when you see your favorite team play the first minute of its first April playoff game. The elevated speed and physicality on that opening dump in where you lean toward the TV and nod at your buddy? This is what we give up with more games. Like you or I, athletes only have so much to give in a week, a month or a year. With ongoing talk of further expansion, more teams spread out talent. More games spread out intensity, further diluting the product. 5. The cap is already rising significantly. In the last decade, when the salary cap rose modestly — or not at all during the pandemic years — adding games to the schedule was a defendable lever to pull. Wealthy owners and athletes or not, things were ugly in the not-too-distant past. When would fans return to arenas? How much escrow were the players facing? Would league economics ever get back on track? While many dollars were lost from COVID, the rising salary cap tells a story of a league confident in economic resurgence. The cap ceiling is set to rise 29% from this past season by 2027-28. We saw the first signs of player compensation boosts in July as teams and player agents stickhandled their new reality. While free agents always get paid, they were paid this offseason given the generous cap space. Adding to the schedule as the cap quickly climbs feels like missing the forest through the trees. Conclusion: Adding two games to the calendar may not bring mass injuries, load management and a tired product overnight. But tipping points are difficult to identify in the moment. The new schedule also messes with recordkeeping and milestones, among other statistical issues. Much-needed labor peace is a win for anyone in hockey, yet even the biggest superfan would have to admit the season runs excessively long. At best, the NHL and NHLPA have taken a shortsighted risk. At worst, it could deliver a host of negative, unintended consequences.
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