Hawks agree to trade down, draft Georgia’s Asa Newell at No. 23

Newell grew up watching the Hawks and having the opportunity to return to the city and play for the hometown team.

“Just being a kid from Georgia, and it means a lot, coming back to the city trying to be that hometown hero,” Newell said Wednesday. “Going to the University of Georgia, and now going right up the road to the Hawks. Growing up as a Hawks fan, having a Kyle Korver jersey, it’s a blessing.”

With the Bulldogs, Newell averaged 15.4 points, 6.9 and 0.9 assists per game. He also averaged one block and one steal per game, while shooting 29% from 3.

The Hawks identified Newell early in their draft process, thanks to their proximity to Georgia. But the Hawks were intrigued by Newell’s motor, as well as the little things he does on the court that impact winning.

“Asa is just an unbelievable competitor,” Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh said. “If you watch him play or get up and down the court, screening, his intelligence, space and re-spacing, like the things that he does impact winning. And people could just look at score and box score stuff like that, but the guy, he really helps with winning and creating a culture of winning for your program.”

With Newell on the roster, the Hawks gain another athletic player who plays well in transition.

But Newell could really help the Hawks on the defensive end because of his high motor. He is looking to always make hustle plays, always has his hands out to impact opposing offenses and he isn’t afraid to close out hard on opponents.

“You’re gonna get a lot of contagious energy on the offensive side and the defensive side,” Newell said. “I’m elite at the rim, running, spacing the floor with my 3-point shot, and also being able to guard multiple positions. I can take a smaller defender and put in the post and take a larger matchup off the dribble.”

From the trade, the Hawks will also receive a 2026 unprotected first-round pick from the Pelicans. That selection will be the more favorable between the Pelicans’ and Bucks’ picks.

Saleh said the Hawks felt good about a bucket of players in this year’s draft class. So, when the opportunity presented itself for the Hawks to potentially gain more draft capital, they made a fair trade.

“I just felt like, we like to we like to bucket players that could potentially be there at 23 and it was really hard to give up that pickup for that pick at 13,” Saleh said. “That’s a lottery pick, just given the context of where we’re at. And it just made sense to do something like that, just for different purposes when it comes to roster building and things like that. So, it just felt like it was the right move. Good, fair deal came down to at the end of the day.”

That gives the Hawks a little more draft flexibility in next year’s draft, along with the pick swap with the Spurs.

With the No. 13 pick, the Hawks selected Maryland big man Derik Queen, who will join the Pelicans. The Hawks also had the No. 22 pick, but dealt that one to the Brooklyn Nets in the Kristaps Porzingis trade.

As of Wednesday night, the Hawks do not have a second-round pick. But the Hawks have already shown that they have no fear in wheeling and dealing and taking optionality.

“It’s funny, the draft is always crazy,” Saleh said. “Even if you don’t have a pick. Like, the draft gets pretty wild because you try to get in and you try and figure out the second round, you kind of go through iterations of the roster and things like that.”