The 2026 NBA Draft is less than four weeks away and the Atlanta Hawks remain one of the more interesting teams to keep an eye on leading up to and including the draft. The Hawks are the only team from this year's NBA playoffs to have a top ten pick and one of two to have a pick in the lottery, with Oklahoma City being the other. Not only does Atlanta have the No. 8 overall pick in the draft, but they also have the No. 23 pick.That gives the Hawks a lot of options to consider in this draft and while Atlanta;s mantra under Onsi Saleh has been to take the best player available, the Hawks have two clear needs at point guard and center heading into the draft. But what if the shift away from those needs slightly and take the best player on the board? In my new mock draft for Atlanta, that is exactly what happens. Round 1, pick 8: Michigan Forward Yaxel LendeborgMichigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) celebrates on after beating Connecticut to win the NCAA national championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesLendeborg does not get mentioned much for the Hawks at No. 8, and perhaps the Hawks would rather trade back to try and acquire him, but the more I think about it and watch the NBA Playoffs, particularly the Western Conference Finals, the more I think that Lendeborg is going to be taken higher than some think in this draft. The 6'9 240 LBS forward from Michigan is an elite two -way forward who projects well in the NBA and having size, length and athleticism has never been more important in the league than right now. When the Hawks traded for Jonathan Kuminga, it showed they wanted to get more athletic and have length at the wing spot and Lendeborg would be an instant plug and play player. Yes, he is 23, but he shot 52% from the field and 37% from three this past season on real volume and is a shutdown perimeter defender. He could be a great option for the Hawks to bring off the bench and is the kind of player and skill set that makes teams like the Thunder, Spurs, and Knicks so good. So why Lendeborg over one of the guards or his fellow Michgain teammate Aday Mara?There are so few two way wings in this draft with the capability that Lendeborg has and of the four top guard prospects (Keaton Wagler, Darius Acuff, Mikel Brown Jr, and Kingston Flemings), Flemings is the only one without defensive concerns. Having as few defensive liabilities is working well for the three teams still alive in the playoffs, and Lendeborg would give the Hawks another strong defender alongside Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. You can make a case that Lendeborg and his skillset is going to set him apart in the draft process and I think he would be a great fit in Atlanta. Round 1, pick 15 (via Chicago): Kentucky Center Jayden QuaintanceJan 7, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Jayden Quaintance (21) reacts after a play during the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn ImagesThe trade: Atlanta sends Zaccharie Risacher and No. 23 to Chicago for No. 15The Bulls hold the No. 4 and No. 15 picks in the draft, and do you know who runs the Bulls basketball operations now? Former Hawks front office executive Bryson Graham. Chicago is going into a rebuild under Graham and will be looking to accumulate assets and take a chance on a former No.1 overall pick, while still keeping a second first-round pick is not a bad move for him to make. This would get Atlanta back into the range to take a good center, and while he might not be as all-around good a prospect as Aday Mara, Jayden Quaintance is arguably the best interior defender in the draft, something Atlanta really needs. This is not a deep draft for centers and if Atlanta takes Lendeborg or a guard at No. 8, they may want to move back up to get a quality player. Quaintance comes with a ton of medical questions regarding his knee injuries, but he has an incredibly high ceiling as a defender. Round 2, Pick 57: Tennessee Guard Ja'Kobi GillespieWill the Hawks keep this pick? Maybe, maybe not, but if they do and their draft plays out this way, Ja'Kobi Killespie would be a solid pickup late in the second round. He is a dynamite scorer as a guard and if developed well in the G-League (Which Atlanta does very well), he could be a future depth piece for this team in time. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow