Hawks Roundtable hosts Grant Afseth and TJ French break down Atlanta Hawks offseason questions, the Knicks series loss and the May 10 NBA Draft Lottery odds.
The Atlanta Hawks' 2025-26 season ended in a 4-2 first-round loss to the New York Knicks. The latest Hawks Roundtable podcast dug into what happened after the Hawks took a 2-1 series lead.
Hosts Grant Afseth and TJ French talked through a brutal final stretch. Atlanta lost by 16 at home, then by 29 in New York, then by 140-89 in Game 6, when the Knicks set an NBA playoff record with a 47-point halftime lead.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson, and OG Anunoby controlled the paint over the final three games, and French said the Hawks' center rotation of Onyeka Okongwu and Jock Landale could not match that frontcourt.
"They have to figure out that size thing in the paint," French said. "The Knicks were just having their way with Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson, even OG Anunoby. All their wings were just getting really involved."
CJ McCollum drew significant attention. He hit clutch shots in both Atlanta wins, each decided by one point, before New York tightened its coverage for the rest of the series, even holding him to 6 points in a Game 5 blowout.
"The two wins were one-point wins with CJ McCollum coming up big in clutch time," Afseth said.
McCollum, 34, came to Atlanta in the January deal that sent Trae Young to the Washington Wizards in exchange for McCollum and Corey Kispert. He holds a player option for next season. Afseth said a shorter-term deal could work two ways, keeping a useful veteran while leaving Atlanta a movable contract if it later lands a younger lead guard.
"I would like to see McCollum back just given all that he did for us, kinda down the stretch of the season and really being a part of that turnaround," French said.
For Afseth, the bigger question is whether the Hawks need another shot creator at guard to play next to All-Star Jalen Johnson and Most Improved Player Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
"You don't really want to rely so much on just a big wing that can facilitate and really push the pace, that still needs to improve in the half-court himself," Afseth said.
The hosts turned to the May 10 NBA Draft Lottery. The Hawks own the New Orleans Pelicans' selection, which carries a 6.8% chance of landing at No. 1 and a 29.3% chance of landing in the top four. Atlanta also owns the No. 23 pick, acquired from Cleveland in the De'Andre Hunter trade. Under the flattened odds, the Pelicans pick can only land in the top four or between 7th and 10th. Fifth and sixth aren't on the table.
If Atlanta jumps into the top four, French wants Duke's Cameron Boozer.
"I've always been a Cameron Boozer guy. I think he probably translates very well," French said. "It's really hard to find any Duke player that gets drafted in the first round that doesn't become a legitimate scoring option."
Afseth highlighted Darryn Peterson of Kansas and Caleb Wilson of North Carolina as additional names to track, while flagging Darius Acuff of Arkansas as a polarizing fallback option if the pick falls into the back half of the lottery.
"It could be one of those situations where a couple years go down the road, you know, he's kinda struggling offensively and then the defense kinda collapses behind that," French said of Acuff.
The hosts ran through contract calls on Jonathan Kuminga, Zaccharie Risacher, Mouhamed Gueye, Buddy Hield, and more. Each one could give the general manager, Onsi Saleh, salary-matching flexibility in a trade. They closed by floating hypothetical star trades if Atlanta lands the No. 1 pick, including Anthony Edwards and Kevin Durant.
"I think they'll probably be disciplined just with the quality of the draft this year," Afseth said.