Atlanta Hawks: 5 predictions for the 2018-19 NBA season

1. They will get two first-round picks next summer

I talked about this at length a couple of months ago, so I’ll just give you the cliff notes version: Cleveland’s decision to hand Kevin Love a max extension this summer more or less guaranteed the Hawks another first-round draft pick.

Thanks to the Kyle Korver trade from 2017, the Cavs’ 2018 firs- round pick only stays with them if it falls in the top 10. Because of this, many people believed that this would give the Cavs the incentive they needed to tank this year.

The Cavs, determined to prove that they could win without arguably the greatest player of all time, had other ideas.

Even when they had James, last year’s Cavs at times looked more like a lottery team that the Eastern Conference champions that they eventually became.

Expecting Kevin Love to simply put up the numbers he did with the Minnesota Timberwolves and carry this team to the playoffs is a tall task.

Even if the Cavs do make the playoffs, they will likely serve as a first-round jobber to the Celtics or the Sixers. Is that really worth giving away a first round pick?

There’s a small chance that it won’t matter, but the Cavs’ need to prove they can thrive without LeBron could ultimately serve the Hawks.