Back in May, the Atlanta Hawks lucked into landing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Over a month later, there’s still a great amount of uncertainty surrounding who Hawks GM Landry Fields is planning to select.
Previous reports indicated that the Hawks have had difficulty getting many of the draft’s top prospects to visit for a private workout. The Hawks have had a bit more success as of late, by getting Zaccharie Risacher in for a workout.
Yet, another prospect projected to be selected in the top five has refused to work out for Atlanta with less than a week to go before Wednesday’s NBA Draft tips off.
According to Jake Fischer and Dan Devine on the Ball Don’t Lie podcast, French prospect Alex Sarr’s agency is doing its best to ensure the Hawks don’t draft the 7-foot center.
“Every agency does things differently. Like right now, all this word that Atlanta is not a situation that WME wants Alex Sarr, the top prospect out of Perth, Australia, who’s French. He played several different places. Went to Overtime Elite. They don’t want him to be a member of the Hawks, which could cost him $9 million in theory over the course of four years. It’s all about that second contract. It’s all about fit blah blah blah.”
Jake Fischer on Alexandre Sarr’s preference to avoid Atlanta Hawks
If it’s true that Sarr’s camp is looking to avoid their client being drafted by Atlanta, it should open the door for Risacher or UConn’s Donovan Clingan to become the No. 1 pick instead. Still, we have a hard time imagining why anyone wouldn’t want to be the top pick, especially when given a chance to join Trae Young and Dejounte Murray.
What’s the alternative, joining the Washington Wizards and being expected to be a franchise savior? That might place even more weight on a young rookie’s shoulders than having the distinct honor of being the first overall pick.
Related: Brian Windhorst drops another strong hint about the next major NBA transaction
