Hawks GM Landry Fields Comments On Potential No. 1 Pick Alex Sarr Declining to Workout With the Team

Will the Hawks still take Alex Sarr with the No. 1 Pick?

Mar 23, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks general manager Landry Fields on the court before a game against the Charlotte Hornets at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

There is just one more day until the 2024 NBA Draft. After a month of speculation, the world will finally know what the Atlanta Hawks are going to do with the No. 1 pick. Ever since they won the NBA Draft Lottery, those around the league have not been able to nail down exactly what the Hawks are going to do. After the Lottery, French big man Alex Sarr was the presumed favorite for the No. 1 pick, but that has changed. There have been a lot of rumblings about Sarr not coming to workout with the Hawks and in a radio interview today, Hawks general manager Landry Fields addressed that topic:

"He was scheduled to come work out. We had it on the books and then he declined to come work out."

Fields went on to say he knew which teams Sarr did workout for, but he did not share that during the interview. Fields was also asked if he was bothered by Sarr not coming to workout for Atlanta:

"I don't take a large offense to that because it's nothing novel. This is something agents do."

He did not reveal much more about the situation, including the explanation from Sarr on why he would not workout with the Hawks.

Landry Fields on Alex Sarr not working out for the Hawks (via 92.9 The Game today):

"He was scheduled to come work out. We had it on the books and then he declined to come work out."

Also said he knows which teams Sarr worked out for but he declined to share. https://t.co/Rm0lSbMT82

— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) June 25, 2024

Fields on whether he's bothered by Sarr not coming in:

"I don't take a large offense to that because it's nothing novel. This is something agents do."

Fields also declined to give detail on what the explanation was from Sarr's side.

Also said Sarr was only player to decline.

— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) June 25, 2024

Yesterday on an episode of the Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN NBA analyst Brian Windhorst had draft analyst Jonathan Givony on and they talked about the situation with Sarr:

"He does not seem like he really wants to play for the Hawks, even though he would be the No. 1 pick. He elected not to come and workout for them and it makes you wonder... now the Hawks have said privately is... they did meet with him at the NBA Combine, they have done their whole batch of research on him, they have seen him play, they have his medicals, they have his testing, they have talked to people as coaches, they have done their due diligence. They say they would still take him and that he is in consideration for the No. 1 pick, with Risacher and maybe another player or two. Naturally, people think about Eli Manning here and the idea that you don't want to be the No. 1 pick."

Windhorst then asked Givony about his thoughts on the situation:

"I have been told that it is not so much that Alex Sarr does not want to play for Atlanta as much as he prefers to play for the Washington Wizards and maybe that is semantics, maybe that is a polite way of saying it, but when you look at the Washington Wizards depth chart and you compare it to the Atlanta Hawks depth chart with Jalen Johnson at the four, De'Andre Hunter, Onyeka Okongwu, Clint Capela, I understand their point of view where they are looking at the Wizards depth chart and they are saying, Marvin Bagley, Richaun Holmes, Kyle Kuzma... he probably views himself as more of a three. Alex Sarr probably looks at that and says the opportunity there for minutes and to play a really featured role is really attractive."

This talk of the Hawks still being interested in Sarr is a possible ploy to get the Wizards to trade up to the No. 1 pick. It is possible the Hawks view him as the No. 1 player in this class and will take him despite not coming in for a workout and his reported preference to play for the Wizards.

At last Monday's pre-draft press conference, Hawks general manager Landry Fields had this to say about Sarr:

"He is a good player, projected to go pretty high from what I have heard. He has a lot of tools that you would want at the NBA level."

While Sarr is talked as being a high-level player on the defensive end of the floor, there are a lot of questions about his offensive game. Fields was asked about that and what he thought about Sarr's potential progression on that end:

"I think with Sarr and the other guys, you are going to see some areas that they have to grow in. So for a guy that we bring in, we are going to think very highly of"

With this news about Sarr, French forward Zaccharie Risacher is the presumed favorite to go first overall tomorrow. There is a lot that can happen between now and then so until Atlanta makes a pick and announces they are keeping it, be ready for anything.