Atlanta Hawks Mock Draft 3.0

The Atlanta Hawks are currently mired in a 5-game losing streak, are 1-9 in their last 10 games and have the second-worst record in the entire NBA at 21-55 (tied with the Memphis Grizzlies).

Despite the rather unpleasant basketball the team has played this season – with some exceptions – this loss-heavy season has been about what could’ve been expected in the first year of a rebuild.

Though the play has been insipid and lifeless at times, the payoff will be an extremely high draft pick in the 2018 draft – always the main goal in the first year of a rebuild. With many tantalizing prospects already committed to playing in the NBA next season, the Hawks would do well to remain in prime position to grab a top 3-5 pick in a top-heavy draft.

As our previous Mock Drafts (post All-Star break and Mock Draft 2.0) would indicate, the top 7 or 8 in this draft are all top-flight prospects and should be taken with alacrity, but when deciding who to take with their extremely high first round pick, a more nuanced approach must be taken.

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Sure, the team has multiple needs across pretty much every position, but some needs are more glaring than others. Also, General Manager Travis Schlenk’s master plan must be taken into account.

Will Schlenk, in his second year at the helm, eschew established point guard Dennis Schröder in favor of a different type of ballhandler? Will he draft a pure center to play alongside clear franchise building block John Collins? Will he grab another high-upside wing to play alongside Taurean Prince and to replace Kent Bazemore, who might leave via trade in the offseason?

These are all salient questions. The prudent response for this Hawks front office should be: Take the best player available. NBA drafts from years past are littered with the mistakes of hubristic front offices, so let’s not let that be the trademark of Schlenk’s regime as well. His first choice of John Collins has been a terrific one, so let’s see if he continues the hot streak.

Without further ado, here’s our most recent Mock Draft for the Atlanta Hawks.