By: JJ Lanier

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

When the NBA Draft Lottery was over, every organization represented, outside of New Orleans, must have felt as if they were caught in the middle of a funeral procession; their hopes of drafting Zion Williamson had just died before their eyes.

For Atlanta, their chance of landing college basketball’s most exciting player in over a decade was slim to begin with. I wouldn’t have blamed Jami Gertz, the Hawks representative at the lottery, had she gone ahead and just worn black.

As for the overall draft lottery, Atlanta’s night was a bit of a mixed bag.

For starters, besides missing out on the number one pick they wound up with the 8th overall pick, only one spot above their worst possible outcome.

On the other hand, since Dallas’ pick fell outside the top five (10th overall) it went to Atlanta- courtesy of last year’s trade- giving the Hawks two top 10 picks.

Now that the lottery is set it’s just a matter of who Atlanta decides to go with. If their history is any indication, like most every other organization in the NBA, it’s a bit of a mixed bag, too.

This will be only the third draft since 2007, and 10th in the past 30 years, that has seen the Hawks with a lottery pick. (That’s impressive when you think about it. During the past three decades Atlanta has basically spent two of those decades in the playoffs. Of course, they don’t have a single NBA Finals appearance to show for it, but that’s another story for another time).

Over that 30-year time frame there have been some lottery success stories with Jason Terry (1999), Al Horford (2007) Trae Young (2018).

On the other hand, there have also been some flat out busts: Adam Keefe, DerMarr Johnson, and Sheldon Williams.

There’s also a trade where the Hawks basically gave away a young Pau Gasol for two years of Shareef Abdur-Rahim and a handful of magic beans, but we won’t talk about that. You’ve got some good, you’ve got some bad.

It’s almost disingenuous and a bit lazy to say Atlanta has a lot riding on this year’s draft; anytime you’re drafting in the lottery it’s important. There are a few things that seem to add a bit more to this year though.

The draft itself is top heavy, with RJ Barrett, Ja Morant, and Williamson being the consensus top three picks, and not in that order, obviously.

However, after those three there is a pretty precipitous drop in talent. That’s not to say there isn’t anyone worthwhile outside of those three, there’s just much more of an inherent risk.

The Hawks have a nice nucleus of young talent and getting someone that can contribute within the next year or two will go a long way in their return to the playoffs.

Then there’s the matter of the 10th pick. Young and Luka Doncic will always be compared to each other since they were the names involved in last year’s trade. Who Atlanta chooses with that 10th pick and how well that player performs will play just as vital a role in how this trade is perceived five to ten years down the road.

The draft order may not have turned out exactly how they wanted, but with two top 10 picks Atlanta has an opportunity to continue building.

Who knows, maybe under the funeral attire there just might be a celebratory outfit after all.