Day one of the 2025 NBA Draft is in the books and the Atlanta Hawks have been considered one of the teams to be winners of the night as they walked away with Georgia’s Asa Newell, who they drafted with the 23rd overall pick, and an unprotected first round pick for the 2026 draft via a trade with the Pelicans.
On Thursday, 92-9 The Game’s Carl Dukes and Mike Bell were joined by Rod Beard, senior sports editor of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, who shared thoughts on why the Hawks could be a team which finds themselves in the conversation as a contender for the Eastern Conference title in 2026.
“The East is completely wide open now with these injuries to Dame Lillard, to Jayson Tatum, you’re looking at the East to be completely different,” Beard said as he explained why he believes Atlanta has a great opportunity to compete for the conference championship with their new look roster.
“If these moves that they’ve made in the past few days pan out in the right direction for them, they can be right there in that conversation,” Beard said.