It was long a formality since the end of the season, but it’s officially official: the Atlanta Hawks have exercised their right to swap first-round picks with the Brooklyn Nets in the upcoming NBA Draft, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Hawks have officially informed the NBA and the Nets their intention to swap first-round draft picks, No. 15 from No. 29. #ATLHawks
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) May 11, 2015
The Nets traded the rights to swap first-round picks with the Hawks as part of the package to acquire Joe Johnson back in 2012. They also traded the rights to swap 2014 first-round picks, but the Nets picked below the Hawks, and the swap was not exercised. The pick swaps were not originally reported as part of the deal.
RELATED: 5 Potential Brooklyn Nets Draft Targets
The Nets also own the 41st pick in the draft. General manager Billy King made no secrets of his intention to move up in the draft in his final press conference following the regular season.
“I’ll say as I say every year, we’ll try to move up in the draft,” King said last week. “We’ve already heard of some teams that may be willing to move their picks so we’ll be talking to them next week in Chicago as we go prepare for the pre-draft camp.” The Chicago pre-draft camp — a.k.a. the NBA Combine — begins today.
