Who should the Hawks DRAFT with #1 Pick? | Part 1: Prospect Evaluation

Who should the Hawks DRAFT with #1 Pick? | Part 1: Prospect Evaluation

good things don’t typically happen to the Hawks it’s been 49 years since the Hawks were blessed with a number one pick in the NBA draft the second longest draw of any team in 1975 the Hawks took Hall of Famer David Thompson who once scored 73 points in a single game in the last game of the season while battling George gerin for the scoring title he never played a single minute for the Hawks just when it seemed the Hawks finally caught a break Thompson chose to play for the aba’s Denver Nuggets who had also drafted him number one I’m going to walk you down a very pain f Road full of misery so you can grasp the magnitude and importance of the Hawks receiving number one pick because Misfortune that’s how it’s been for the vast majority of my lifetime as a Hawks fan I don’t think I’ve seen a haulk game this year so I’m just keep why would you watch the Hawks exactly now the draft isn’t in exact science as evaluating prospects is incredibly complex and nuanced and no franchise has 100% hit rate unfortunately for the Hawks though we have a long history of draft misses Misfortune and worst of all have been part of a plethora of one-sided trades involving future Superstars the Hawks were widely expected to take Jaylen Williams in the 2022 NBA draft but OKC got him one pick before for three seasons straight from 2018 to 2020 I endured awful basketball as my favorite team tanked and got a top five pick just once we missed on multiple Wings in the past 5 to 10 years drafting guys over players who’ve carved out more impactful careers after going the Great Lengths to keep their interest in an intriguing young Greek Prospect SE the Hawks committed to choosing aena kmpa with their first available pick on draft night and on giannis’s trip to New York there would be a stop Atlanta and the Hawks didn’t want anyone in the world to know they told me to go by myself like no no way I’m going with my brother he walked into the arena it was dark the buck selected jannis and tendo Copo which is two picks before the Hawks plan to select him they also traded away the great Bill Russell letting his potential contract scare them away and of course the Luca donon trade which has unfortunately linked try and Luca’s legacies forever now 2001 to 2005 was particularly rough in 2005 the Hawks selected Marvin Williams with the second pick two picks before Chris Paul in 2004 they took Josh childr 6 one of my favorite players growing up but one pick before Lu alang and three before Andre Iguodala and the situation eily reminiscent of this year the Hawks had the number three pick of 2001 and they took Paul Gasol and then traded him to Grizzlies for Sharie abdrahim PA of course went on to RN rookie of the year he was Kobe’s pick and rooll partner in two championships and became one of the greatest big man ever Shar is from the city and was one of the best power forwards in the NBA That season but for a Hawks team that needed to make drastic improvements after finishing with the worst record since moving to Atlanta an eight- win increase from 25 wins wasn’t enough to justify trading way pal this quote from then GM Pete Babcock perfectly encapsulates the Hawks flawed approach to building a contending Ro roster we wanted to acquire Talent with this draft pick that would make us the best we could be over the next five plus years we don’t have to wait for Shar to develop and he has a big upside because he’s only 24 the Hawks were so desperate to improve that they tried to rush their rebuild by acquiring a proven Talent even calling it another step in a 2-year rebuilding process I detailed the painful history of my favorite team because the Decades of misery might have finally all been worth it the dozens of draft misses due to bad process and bad luck made prove to not be in vain but instead serve as valuable lessons that the franchise must learn from the NBA drafts Premier prize typically comes at the Steep cost of sacrificing A team’s dignity and revenue if I was told the Hawks were destined to pick number one nine months ago I’d assume something went horribly wrong but for once one of the unluckiest NBA teams they finally got blessed the Atlanta Hawks have a chance to completely change the direction of the franchise starting with the decision on what to do with the number one pick there are three passs toward contention line before the Hawks the first path keeping the number one pick and making a selection the second option is packaging the pick alongside other assets to bring a proven star someone like Paul George or trading back in the draft behind the third door entering a complete rebuild by trading everyone with value for future assets and using the number one pick as the Cornerstone for the future we’ll explore all these options starting with the first and my favorite keeping the number one pick and making a selection as I detailed in the intro the Hawks have a long long tormented history of absolutely terrible draft luck from selections to the lottery itself with that considered I find it very hard to believe the Hawks trade the only number one pick we’ve ever had the privilege of receiving you may have heard this draft class is much weaker than previous years drawing some comparisions to a truly horrible 2013 draft class but in reality the biggest reason that this draft is considered weak is a lack of a clear-cut generational player headlining the class but for a Hawks team that’s looking to add to an exceptionally skilled franchise Cornerstone the number one pick is just as valuable as it would be for any other year for a team like the Hawks because this draft boasts a ton of guys who profile as highlevel complimentary pieces this is a draft to build with your tier one guys not necessarily around the player you select with that being said even the worst draft classes produced at least 5 to 10 productive NBA players 2020 2013 2006 and 2000 all had the same reputation but decades later or even just four years later for the 2020 draft class and at least 5 to 10 guys playing meaningful minutes and impactful roles there were four players I could feasibly see the Hawks selecting first overall and I separated them into tiers based on how mad I’d be if they picked them in my first tier where I would celebrate by throwing something on the grill I have just one player Alexandre SAR SAR is the next iteration of one of the most valuable yet rare archetypes in the NBA young versatile bigs his Mobility feel and touch on both ends would be an absolute Revelation for a Hawks team star for defensive impact and connective offensive ability right now coming into the NBA his defensive versatility I’m pretty confident it translates almost immediately in the NBL where he’s playing against grown men where he just recently turned 19 he held opponents to just 41.7% at the rim and he was able to hold opponents to just 26.9% in ISO with the sixth best defensive box plus minus in the he has so much mobility and that allows him to not only just contain guards on the perimeter but be very versatile in the way he can defend pick and roles whether it’s showing blitzing hedging or full-on switching um and they combined that with Elite Rim protection both straight up against Defenders who are driving directly at him and then also great sense and spacing off the ball to be a weak side rim protector and I’m pretty confident that translates really within the first couple minutes that he plays on the NBA floor offensively he’s a little bit more work um but he’ll immediately be a transition threat he runs the floor really really well and of course that’s a great value add next to someone like Jaylen Johnson and Trey young his length athleticism and functional handle makes him a multifaceted threat on the run as well so he can make a great defensive play or secure rebound and immediately look to push the ball up the floor or kick the ball ahead to a guard and he made a couple of those reads when he was in NBL this [Music] season he has a good amount of 3point shooting upside now the percentages and the volume are not there he charges 28.6% on 57 threes for the entirety of the Season man he did only play 18 minutes per game and I think they only play around 30 to 35 games uh and the shot needs work not necessarily in the mechanics of it but more so it needs to speed up and he may need to raise his release point when I watched some of his OT film he did get blocked which doesn’t necessarily make sense for someone who’s 71 with a 76 or 7 s wingspan um but really there weren like a ton of horrible bad misses um so I do buy his shot long term the next thing that I’m really really excited about is his a dribble handoff and post playmaker flashes in today’s NBA having a big man who can bring the ball up the court or run an offense from the top of the key into delay action or Chicago action or do these dribble handoffs that’s a huge value ad and while he didn’t necessarily show a ton of um ability in the NBL his court vision and the flashes that he did make when people were cutting off ball um or even crosscourt passes both in OT and in the NBL is really really encouraging um now the overall process is there and I think he can get there but again his ability he’s not a great screener at this point he doesn’t necessarily know how to get his body in the way on these DP handoffs to effectively open space for his guards but I think if anything uh learning how to screen is very teachable in the NBA and the great thing is Rudy go said he became a great screener under Quinn Snider so I could expect the same for SAR how much did Quinn help you become such a great screener and for the screen assist I remember my so my second year in the league which was wi’s first year um tell me you should really start watching your screens because if you able to become a great screener all team is going to take a another level tell me how to flip a screen and how how to do all these things and how pin downs and all of that and and I started to like kind of like love it I started to embrace it the numbers he’s about 65.3% at The Rim so his Rim finishing is pretty decent he can struggle with physicality at times especially if he gets bumped off a spot or if he can’t necessarily finish with finesse but he has good spatial awareness he’s very active cutting into space and he finishes with touch and Above the Rim well if he can dunk he’s going to be able to dunk it just more so if he has to go through somebody I’m a little bit less confident he can do [Applause] that another reason why I’m very very high on his shot is that he shot 48.3% on pull-up jumpers and he loves to get into Postman the fadeaways which and this is really the biggest indicator along with his touch and mechanics that he’ll be able to shoot consistently and in driving scenarios where he was driving a close out so out of a spot up uh he shot 53.5% so that shows a little bit of comfortability putting the ball on the floor and and being able to attack those close outs which is again that pairs very well with the skill set if he’s going to be picking and popping uh running double drag running delay uh being able to run those fake handoffs it all sort of meshes together really well so SAR entered the draft lottery with the most compelling case for number one thanks to his scarce combination of skills we just discussed alongside his 71 frame with Elite length and athleticism in addition to Great fi IQ and processing what makes him a viable number one pick is less of any Superstar upside although I do think he can get there if the shot develops but rather just how rare his combines skill set and tools is there maybe five players who share his repertoire and if he puts it all together he will be a unicorn among unicorns in my second tier which I’m calling I’d still be pretty happy but a little scared I’ve got two guys one slightly ahead of the other as much as I individually love their potential and skill sets and believe both of them solve slightly different areas of need for the Hawks their path to impac and winning is a good bit more convoluted that SAR they both have major swing skills to reach the level of player that would justify selecting them over alexar uh the first player I have at 2A is Ron Holland now Ron is a slashing two-way Wing who competes incredibly hard on both ends because he’s got a Relentless motor he applies a ton of pressure on the rim and gets downhill with ease with his length and frame he profiles as a player who can eventually be a terrifying point of attack Defender while being incredibly disruptive off ball in the passing Lanes Hollands a strong finisher around the rim with highly realistic connective upside as a secondary or tertiary playmaker thanks to plenty of reps running the show for the ignite the shot needs a ton of work and he’ll need to be an above average shooter to reach what I feel is his potential which is the All-Star level player when I watch Ron Holland in transition I’m convinced he’s going to be one of the most athletic players in the NBA from day one he has ridiculous open court burst especially off of rebound or off of Steel it’s almost like when you watch one of the best receivers in the NFL when they Gap their Defender and they just hit a second gear Ron has the ability to completely outpace anybody in front of him he’s Relentless getting downhill in these scenarios and pushing the pace and he really looks like he was shot out of Cannon like he’s running track the amount of speed and burst that he has in the open court one of my favorite aspects of his transition game is that he was the ball handler 58% of the time which means that he has reps in a professional League playing both on and off the ball filling Lanes in transition but also looking for guys while he’s running the show um and anytime he got a steal it was basically going to be an immediate and emphatic two points because he’s so fast and so gifted athletically there are multiple plays where he’s two or three steps behind somebody and he’s able to close that Gap within seconds he may be all the way in the corner and the defender at the key but by the time Ron gets the running he’s already at the other free throw line before the other guy can even realize how much space he just ate up we mentioned his point of attack Defender upside and something that synergizes really well with his transition game is his ability to absolutely rip ball handlers he was sixth in steel percentage in the g- league at 34.7% in one-on-one scenarios or pick and roll scenarios he took the ball from the ball handler super frequently he blows up handoffs really well getting his arm in between and absolutely just converting it into two points I think he’s physical enough to withstand bump offs from the couple reps I’ve watched and him in oscillation or guys driving against the basket he didn’t necessarily get knocked back when they initiated contact now his overall stance does need work in my opinion he’s not not really active with his hips his hands are he’s good with his timing which is how he gets those steals but one thing that definitely stands out is that he can flip his hips really quickly and of course because he’s so gifted athletically he can make up any sort of shifted advantage or uh improper footwork because he’s so gifted he was second in isolation points per possession allowed at just 375 points per possession off the ball he’s just as disruptive you cannot throw a lazy pass around him I mean he jumped post entry passes lazy swing passes with regul ity what I really like about him as well is he could recognize mismatches and communicate defensively as the low man uh there was a pick a roll where he’s a low man instead of having the the point guard switch he then bumped him off to his man in the corner and then when that when the big man came to set the screen again he switched again and he’s really good with his communication what I also really love about his game is that when he makes a mistake whether it’s a turnover or he misses a shot he’s going to bust his ass to make up for that mistake so that could be stealing the pass and transition that could be absolutely glassing somebody’s shot 12 feet Above the Rim it could be catching a la pass out of midair and throwing it off of the defender to keep it in their possession the man is a terrifying chase down artist there are multiple instances this season where he absolutely destroyed somebody’s shot at The Rim where they should have had an open layup almost Anthony Edwards like sort of like that block he had against the Pacers and Aaron n Smith the ice the game now of course with that length and verticality Ron is a pretty strong Rim finisher he shot 59.8% at the rim and 66.3% the restricted area he is good burst off both one and two feet and emba dextrous finishing but what’s really interesting is he was better going left driving to his left um I like that he had some really creative finishes whether it was some finesse finishes some absolute power finishes he can go both through and around Defenders which I really love to see what’s really interesting as well is he played forward in high school so he still has some big man skills from then we’re talking about uh drop steps or power dribbles going up with a hook shot so I can expect him to sort of be a mismatch match hunter a little bit if he gets a guard on him in the NBA because he has that strength that frame and that skill set when it comes to self creation he didn’t shoot it too poorly from two-point range in ISO around 46.9% when you watch him play he doesn’t necessarily get into a bag super often in terms of a lot of heesy twns lots of pounding the air out the ball he knows he’s faster and most more athletic than pretty much anyone who’s going to be guarding him so he typically goes to a quick change of pace or a very quick crossover to just shift his Defender and get to the basket with that burst in that first step that’s not to say he didn’t have any nasty dribble highlights he had a really nasty hesitation highlight um and because he’s so quick with that crossover he can really shift his Defender now the shot is a major major concern when you watch him shoot he has a severe dip off the catch if he catches the ball he’s going to bring the ball down almost near his knees before he rises back up to shoot he doesn’t really catch the ball ready to shoot either he didn’t have a single make at least from what I saw from Stan still meaning he was typically moving his feet um off the catch which of course has time which gives the defense more time the close out he’s really inconsistent in his base sometimes he hopped into it sometimes he didn’t move at all or but more often he would drag his foot his right foot in and sort of narrow his base and so he shot 23.9% on catch and shoot threes and it seemed like he shot it better when he sort of jabbed before he shot which is interesting as well off the dribble jumpers weren’t much better at around 27.4% and this is concerning because he’s going to have to be able to punish Defenders going under screens if he’s going to want to run any sort of pick and roll reps in the NBA Defenders were completely comfortable going under even on screens within the three-point line and while he did make a couple of those pull-up jumpers it wasn’t consistently enough for defenses to feel concerned about going under on his pick and roles as a young player playing in a pro league against NBA level athletes and former NBA players and current NBA players his decision making left a little bit to be desired although you got to give him some leeway seeing that he was a forward and he was playing more as a primary initiator or secondary ball hler in G League KN night so the sister turnover ratio wasn’t the best and he can get in trouble driving into a crowd whether he’s throwing the ball away or getting an offensive foul and I think that’s because defenses know he wants to get to the rim so badly he doesn’t necessarily have an in between game and he can’t punish you from three so they time where where he could have opted for a floater or a pullup jumper and instead it was a Mis layup or a turnover or charge he has some really nice reads though and for the most part I think he saw those openings but sometimes a live dribble pass would give him some issues in transition but the flashes were definitely there he also had some weird travel calls attacking off the catch or stepping on the Baseline Ron is my favorite player in the class I think he has the potential to be everything the Hawks could ever want in a wing with serious two-way upside if the shot ever becomes functional at 2B I have modest buellis now buellis is 610 and can dribble pass and shoot that alone is a wildly intriguing player but you add in his self-creation flashes weak side Rim protection and finishing at The Rim you have an Uber talented Ultra versatile forward who can do pretty much anything you ask him to do uh one of my favorite parts of his game is his pull-up shooting he shot 47.2% on pull-up twos and it came in a variety of different Fashions he has great footwork uh great Up and Under moves I really like his spin post game he even flash some some dirkes moves in there as well and I do think this is a a skill that could translate to the NBA with his length and his size M also shined as a weak side rim protector in the night opponent shots is 49.4% at the REM against him on 83 attempts and he had a great knack for uh timing when to come over for help and also making sure he wasn’t fouling and I do think that’s something that would translate as well because at 610 you know he doesn’t have a plus wingspan necessarily but he still has on enough side to bother guys unlike Ron he did demonstrate a good bit of off ball value he was sixth out of the 61 players that qualified in Cuts points for possession um and he was very timely with his Cuts he was always floating in the open space making himself available for his guards and he averaged 1.36 cut points per possession which is Elite a downhill driver as well we mentioned Ron has an ability to get downhill but it was actually modus who led the ignite prospects which includes Tyler Smith almanza Ron Holland and Maas in Drive percentage at almost 20% Which is really good especially for someone who I view more so as a forward now very similar Ron his shooting has to be better I do think M’s shot is probably going to translate a little bit quicker or a little bit more effectively than Ron he shot 34.4% on guarded threes on 61 attempts and then shot 24.3% on unguarded threes and 37 attempts um I honestly do think that he’s one of those guys that shoots better when he’s not thinking about it in terms of like where he doesn’t have to methodically calculate his release or he doesn’t have too much time to think about it and I do think with contest he was a little bit better which would explain why he’s better on pullup twos than he is on catch and shoot but that definitely get better now while I mentioned he’s a pretty decent Rim finisher his touch around the rim leaves a lot to be desired he smoked a lot of layups he he shot 47% at The Rim that’s not good enough for a 610 guy especially if he’s not going to be able to shoot at the high level um again there wasn’t the best amount of spacing in the ignite but I think his lack of elite length even at 610 caused him some issues here and uh he definitely has to get better at that decision making somewhat similar to Ron they actually have the exact same assistant turnover ratio at 0.89 it kind of lets you know that for both of these guys being a primary playmaker may be out of the question um but as that connective playmaker who can just make a swing pass or make a quick read I think they both have the capability for that that and then rebounding uh his rebound percentage just wasn’t good it’s at 11% that’s 27th out of the 31 players that are 610 or taller and when you cut that to just forwards so you get rid of centers uh you’re now looking at 11th out of 13th and so with a team that already has a smaller guard and Trey Young it’s important that everyone else should have some positional size and versatility and while Maus fits that frame if he can’t rebound effectively then that’s going to be an issue uh Hawks fans remember how much John Collins rotations help bolster the Hawks defense once the ball got swung and modest has a very similar ability the cist is bigs when defending the rim but he has that same initial positional concern that plagued John Collins uh where we weren’t sure if he’s a four or five for modus is he a three with subpar burst or and ball handling for the position is he a four whose inconsistent shot makes it tough to play him next to traditional five or is he a five without enough size and length to play real minutes there the shot improving is Paramount and there is real potential of improvement here with his Elite off the dribble shooting numbers I think once you view him as a four with ball skills rather than a wing his potential fit with the Hawks becomes tantalizing Holland and buellis both have a long way to go as Shooters but they have both displayed a feverish work ethic and an encouraging desire to be the best players they could possibly be I have no doubt that both guys have a similar ceiling to SAR but they have a much wider range of outcomes than Alex SAR if Mod’s jump shot doesn’t improve and he struggles Garden in space he’s much closer to Kyle Anderson light than a player closer to his highend comp in my opinion like someone like Pasco seaka if Ron can’t shoot and his court vision and decision making doesn’t develop he’s going Aon n Smith than Jaylen Brown these aren’t Alla outcomes but that would be damn in for a Hawks team that needs real impact from this pick s becoming an elite Defender is an outcome I’m much more sure about and that’s also a much easier sell to convince try to buy in on the retuning plan than taking Ron or Matas where their time frame is a good bit murkier immediately after the Hawks got the number one pick and in the days that followed I honestly only considered SAR buellis and Holland as viable options for the Hawks but now that I’ve looked through the film through the stats there’s one more player I would consider and in my third tier where honestly if we took him number one I’d be furious I’d probably crash out but I’d at least see the vision in the process behind the pick I have Zachary reash now he had a tumultuous season on draft boards skyrocketing to the number one pick across most boards with his hot streak of three-point shooting but the consensus has cooled on his stock as he hit a prolonged cold stretch in theory a 610 knockdown three-point shooter with flashes of suffocating perimeter defense sounds amazing at the number one pick however while reet’s highle shooting and defense gives a relatively High floor in comparison to the rest of the class his limitations as an overall scorer and self-c Creator limits his ceiling in my opinion especially when compared to the first three prospects we discussed R is an incredible shooter flat out he shot 40.8% on catch and shoot threes on 2.8 attempts per game this season he’s somewhere around 40% over the last year and a half of basketball um he’s been asked to sit in the corner of the majority of possessions so he’s learned how to lift and relocate to get higher quality shots he’s also flashed some movement shooting now this isn’t in the sense of someone like Duncan Robinson where they’re flying off the screens and letting their momentum carry them um he’s more so coming off the screens and setting his feet and squaring up similar to someone like Michael Porter Jr and he shot 55.6 effective field percentage off screens but he also shot 35.7% on threes off the dribble he’s comfortable pump faking and putting the ball on the floor to relocate he has some really nice step backs as well another thing I’ve learned to love about his game is that he’s not just a shooter off the ball he averaged 1.28 three points per possession cutting and 63% on Cuts directly to the basket and he leverages his shooting gravity to cut back door in Reverse his Direction running off picks he’s a good enough athlete to catch LS Above the Rim and he had a ton of cuts directly off of inbounds plays [Music] defensively I don’t know if I would call him a lock down Defender as of right now he is fifth in points per possession allowed off screens and he’s good at using his length to bother the shots as he chases and he’s pretty solid on ball I don’t think I would call him a stopper because he has a lack of strength versus bigger wings and while he has good foot speed guards can be a little bit quicker than him as well but I do buy him as an Elite Team Defender he functioned really well rotating as a low man blocking shots and blowing up passes I think he’s without a doubt a plus Defender but not necessarily a perennial all defensive candidate someone like herb Jones or jayen McDaniels but more of a Jason Tatum Elite in his team scheme defensively Defender um especially in help now he’s not a reliable self Creator by any means at this point shot just 30% on jump shot twos 25% on off the dribble twos and then had just 29 pick and roll possessions and he struggles anytime he needs to put the ball on the floor for a long time mainly because he doesn’t have the strength or the handle to create separation consistently although there are some encouraging flashes and I’m not looking for someone this young to be an elite pick and roll Maestro but I would be a lot more optimistic on his scoring ability if he was able to attack closeout as well he shot just 34.4% on drives out of spot UPS attacking Closeouts and he was really bad at the basket driving to his right he shot 35% driving to his left he shot 29.4% but he was at 40% pulling up driving to his left out of a closeout um and a lot of those were step back threes but he has some beautiful mid-range jumpers mixed in as well I’m also slightly concerned about his touch he shot 54.9% at The Rim on 133 layup attempts and there are some wild misses where he got himself in trouble by taking bad L angles and that’s a really low percentage for someone who’s 610 again I do think this is strength related and he has pretty good touch on his floaters he shot 43.5% and as long as he doesn’t see many bodies he can finish nicely with a diverse bag of layup packages around the rim his issues both as a self-c Creator and effectiveness at The Rim seem to be correlated heavily with a lack of strength team will have to evaluate whether that’s something he can fix down the line with his frame without taking too much away from his open cord speed and movement shooting teams will run him off the line relentlessly if he cannot punish close outs well someone in that same vein he doesn’t have great playmaking feel he turned the ball over 44.8% of the time on those 29 pick and roll reps although majority did come early in the season like eight of his first 10 pick and rolls resulted in turnovers he also has nearly double the amount of turnovers to assist at 103 turnovers to 57 assists now ret is super young he was 18 for the majority of the Season he just turned 19 but he has a tendency to not be aware of help when driving maybe that’s a lack of confidence in his handle and that resulted in a ton of offensive fouls errant passes and turnovers he was the ball handler 36.4 % of his 176 transition possessions and he turned the ball over 30% of the time good mixture of offensive fouls loose handle SL trying to be too fancy and just miss live dribble passes while trying to run down the floor I know my fellow Hawks fans have dreamed of mpj playing with Trey because I have to but I don’t necessarily see that comparison that everyone else is making with rashay I honestly think people just see 610 and lightskin and they’re comparing them but mpj as a prospect was way farther than Ray as a scorer he was a three-level scorer actually now the combination of Ray’s shooting and defense is more than enough to Warrant some consideration he has flashes of some archetypes that are very very desirable in today’s NBA guys like Keegan Murray or Trey Murphy with his athleticism Above the Rim as well and we’ve seen how well try and shooting lineups have destroyed other teams that level shooting in a 610 package is so intriguing next to Trey if the Hawks truly believe he is this level shooter the perimeter defense is real and they believe that a lot of his issues are strength related I can at least understand the process behind the pick but I really wouldn’t like it in the moment because I don’t believe his ceiling is anywhere close to the first three guys we’ve discussed and at the number one pick you’re going to have to go for guys who have a little bit higher of a ceiling at least in my opinion these are the four guys I’d be bringing in for workouts if I was functioning as the Hawks GM if I was asked to make a top five board though number five would be Donovan kingan the Hawks might as well evaluate every big who’s been projected top five and Clingan promises to provide instant impact as a massive screener effective play finisher and dominant rim protector Clingan is Elite defending the rim in in pick and roll combining great positioning with his 7 s wingspan to compensate for somewhat of a lack of vertical athleticism while operating in jop coverage the issue with jop coverage though is that this defensive scheme is relying on the entire roster to be competent navigating screens and funneling Defenders into the big the Bucks are a great example of how easily drop coverage can be exploited when a team lacks competent perimeter Defenders with size Brook and Yannis are among the best drop pick and roll bigs thanks to their length athleticism and size but their scheme fell apart once their roster lost guys like Drew holiday Javon Carter and Dante D venzo who work to get over screens and pressure ball handlers as great as clinging is in this coverage those same issues would plague the Hawks as currently constructed and it would take a massive overhaul to justify taking Clingan number one however we’ve seen how important highle screening is in this playoffs from Isaiah hardenstein ability to free up Brunson to Gafford and Lively’s roles and generating incredibly effective offense with Luca and Kyrie Clingan is a great screener but most importantly an intelligent screener who flips screens and adjust angles to create advantages for his guards I’m higher on his offensive upside in the consensus as well as he operated as a high post and dribble handoff Hub and one of the most complicated offenses in colle basketball regularly making highle reads and passes I feel confident saying Clingan could replicate some of Derrik ly’s initial impact as a rookie especially next to a high level playmaker thanks to his processing speed and overall feel Donovan has exceptionally soft hands and displayed some feel and touch around the rim now however his range is somewhat restricted to within 5 to 7even feet of the basket as of right now there’s been some hype surrounding him adding a three-point shot but he’s never been a great or even a good shooter on any sort of volume the shot looked better at the combine but I wouldn’t expect for him to be a pick and pop guy within his first couple Seasons but I do think he can become a better free throw shooter and add a push shot from 10 to 12 feet similar to what Jared Allen added this season as much as I love his skill set his incredibly High floor and easily projectable NBA role as well as his fit next to Trey Young and the Hawks as a whole I ultimately don’t believe the Hawks have the Personnel to maximize his defensive ability and I don’t think his ceiling is anywhere near as high as SAR buellis Holland or rash which makes it hard for me to see any justification to select him with a number one pick immediately following the draft lottery Alex SAR was a player I gravitated towards as a guy I thought we should draft after weeks of film study and Prospect evaluation I feel even more confident in that opinion adding Alex SAR to Jaylen Johnson and Trey young is a match made in heaven because he compliments both their game so well but it also allows the Hawks to completely shift their team building philosophy ticking s enables the Hawks to organically build a contender revamp their identity to focus on versatility and length and comfortably explore their options with Clinton capella by providing cheap and impactful minutes at Center which could bring some much needed competent wing and point of attack Defenders to the a continuity is everything in today’s NBA Trey is still just 25 years old Jaylen Johnson hasn’t even scratched his ceiling and SAR would come in at just 19 years old these three are formidable and most importantly multifaceted core to build around SAR is more than just an ideal fit with this team he is a physical representation of what the Hawks have been trying to build under this new front office he aligns perfectly with the 2023 draft selections the franchise player and the young Ford who will hold the keys one day now roster transformation takes time and most importantly patience with SAR as he develops while I believe his defense will translate nearly immediately and TR and Jaylen will simplify his role offensively he still has a way to go as he learns to effectively set screens play out of the short role and adjust to the NBA this is the most sustainable option for the Hawks with the right complimentary moves following this selection I I truly believe the Hawks are poised to contend for half a decade within 2 or 3 years thank you for watching and I hope you all enjoyed exploring all the potential options for the Hawks to draft at number one like I said this is part one of our three-part Series so the second part will be exploring all the trade opportunities with the number one pick and as we get more Intel I’ll explore that so a little bit closer to the draft and then the third part will come after the Hawks make their official selection on draft night because then we’ll have a little bit more clarity and I can put together my full offseason plan and what I would do as a GM now that we’ve made that sort of Distinction with the number one pick so again thank you so much for watching and if you enjoyed I would really really appreciate if you subscribed and I’ll see yall in part two [Music]

#nbadraft #traeyoung #atlantahawks

The NBA draft’s premier prize typically comes at the steep cost of sacrificing a team’s dignity and revenue. If I was told the Hawks were destined to pick #1 9 months ago, I’d assume something went horribly wrong. But for once, one of the unluckiest NBA teams finally got blessed.

The Atlanta Hawks have a chance to completely change the trajectory of the franchise, starting with their decision on what to do with the #1 pick. In part 1 of this series, we’ll thoroughly explore 5 prospects I believe the Hawks will consider at #1, breaking down their games and potential fit in Atlanta.

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Timestamps:
0:00: Intro: The Decades of Draft Misery & Misfortune
4:27: The 2024 Draft Isn’t As Weak As You Think
5:43: Tier 1: Alex Sarr | Film Breakdown & Prospect Evaluation
11:37: Tier 2.A: Ron Holland | Film Breakdown & Prospect Evaluation
19:26: Tier 2.B: Matas Buzelis | Film Breakdown & Prospect Evaluation
24:19: Why Sarr Ranks Higher than Matas & Ron
25:12: Tier 3: Zaccharie Risacher | Film Breakdown & Prospect Evaluation
31:53: Tier 4: Donovan Clingan | Prospect Evaluation
34:27: Why Drafting Alex Sarr is the 1st Step on the Path to Contention
36:04: Outro

Music Creds (in order):

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