{"id":146949,"date":"2025-06-26T01:54:32","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T05:54:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=146949"},"modified":"2025-06-26T01:54:32","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T05:54:32","slug":"hawks-asa-newell-steal-of-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/26\/hawks-asa-newell-steal-of-draft\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawks Get Steal of the Draft With Asa Newell Pick After Genius Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After trading for <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/porzikr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is<\/a>\u00a0just <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/24\/examining-kristaps-porzingis-fit-with-the-hawks\/\" target=\"_self\">one day before the draft<\/a>, the Atlanta Hawks made another deal at the 2025 NBA Draft. They traded the 13th pick to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for the 23rd selection in the draft and an unprotected 2026 pick. Atlanta will receive the most favorable pick of New Orleans or the Milwaukee Bucks next season. The Hawks selected <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/asa-newell-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Asa Newell<\/a> out of the University of Georgia (UGA) at pick 23. Let&#8217;s break down a busy night for General Manager Onsi Saleh and the front office.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Atlanta Hawks are trading the No. 13 pick in the Draft to the New Orleans Pelicans for the No. 23 pick and an unprotected 2026 first round pick (most favorable of New Orleans and Milwaukee), sources tell ESPN.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShamsCharania\/status\/1938047670750162969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Hawks Get Steal of the Draft With Asa Newell Pick After Genius Trade<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_147014\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-147014\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25351704_168404824_lowres.jpg\" target=\"_self\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-147014\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25351704_168404824_lowres-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25351704_168404824_lowres-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25351704_168404824_lowres-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25351704_168404824_lowres-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25351704_168404824_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25351704_168404824_lowres.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-147014\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Feb 5, 2025; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs forward Asa Newell (14) controls the ball against the LSU Tigers during the second half at Stegeman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>This Trade Seems Like a Slam Dunk For the Hawks<\/h3>\n<p>The unprotected pick in next year&#8217;s draft is the most valuable aspect of Atlanta&#8217;s trade with New Orleans. The Pelicans went 21-61 in the 2024-25 season. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/murrade01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dejounte Murray<\/a> is set to miss a chunk of the season recovering from a torn right Achilles tendon, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/willizi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zion Williamson<\/a> frequently misses time. If New Orleans finds itself at the bottom of the standings again, it might have just lost its chance at the number one pick next season.<\/p>\n<p>The Bucks&#8217; question marks also help Atlanta. They likely take a step back next season without <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lillada01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Damian Lillard<\/a>, who also suffered a torn Achilles. If Milwaukee goes even further into a rebuild and trades <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/antetgi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a>, it can give the Hawks a chance to win the lottery.<\/p>\n<p>According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, the Hawks &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JakeLFischer\/status\/1938067428036039043\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">very much<\/a>&#8221; considered Newell at 13. They still ended up with their guy 10 picks later, in addition to a 2026 unprotected pick. This should certainly give Hawks fans confidence in their new front office.<\/p>\n<h3>How Does Asa Newell Fit on the Hawks<\/h3>\n<p>Newell adds depth to Atlanta&#8217;s frontcourt, which now includes Porzi\u0146\u0123is, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/o\/okongon01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Onyeka Okongwu<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/johnsja05.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jalen Johnson<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gueyemo02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mouhamed Gueye<\/a>. He averaged 15.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, and one block in his lone season at UGA. Newell&#8217;s athleticism and speed in the open court fit the Hawks&#8217; fast-paced offense. He is an excellent lob threat and projects to be a versatile defender who can switch or hedge at the level of the screen. In addition, his weakside rim protection certainly jumps out.<\/p>\n<p>Saleh had <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KLChouinard\/status\/1938097503980712051\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">high praise for Newell<\/a> after the draft. &#8220;With where the league is going, people with size and athleticism like that just makes sense&#8230; He&#8217;s a great screener, a great human being, a ridiculous athlete, and a really smart player too.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/09\/asa-newell-2025-nba-draft-profile\/\" target=\"_self\">Newell has good hands<\/a> and finishes strong at the rim- deadly traits in the pick-and-roll with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/y\/youngtr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trae Young<\/a>. However, he only shot 29% on 2.7 threes attempted per game. His outside shot needs improvement, but Atlanta has developed players like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/krejcvi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">V\u00edt Krej\u010d\u00ed<\/a> and Okongwu, who struggled from the perimeter early in their careers, into capable shooters. Newell expressed that he had a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KLChouinard\/status\/1938098408901992639\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kyle Korver jersey<\/a> when growing up. Now, he can work with the Hawks&#8217; assistant general manager to improve his shooting stroke.<\/p>\n<p>Newell&#8217;s role in his rookie season projects to be fairly limited. If the Hawks see him as a five, he will not find many minutes behind Porzi\u0146\u0123is and Okongwu. If Newell plays at power forward, there is more of an opening, depending on how Atlanta views Gueye. The rookie could see consistent minutes in the G League with the College Spark Skyhawks if he does not enter the rotation early. The Hawks leave the first day of the draft in great position with flexibility in next year&#8217;s draft and a frontcourt piece for the future.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Featured image: \u00a9 Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After trading for Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is\u00a0just one day before the draft, the Atlanta Hawks made another deal at the 2025 NBA Draft. They traded the 13th pick to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for the 23rd selection in the draft and an unprotected 2026 pick. Atlanta will receive the most favorable pick of New Orleans [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5516,"featured_media":147015,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,4,62,3],"tags":[49375,49858],"class_list":["post-146949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-hawks","category-nba","category-news","tag-2025-nba-draft","tag-asa-newell"],"modified_by":"Eamon Cassels, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5516"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146949"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147016,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146949\/revisions\/147016"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}