Atlanta Hawks: Re-Drafting the 2018 NBA Draft

#19 — Anfernee Simons

The Hawks were in a tough spot with this pick, as SDS darling Lonnie Walker IV went just ahead of the Hawks to the San Antonio Spurs.

Though we actually liked the selection the Hawks made here (Kevin Huerter), this seems like another situation where the Hawks stubbornly selected whatever player was at the top of their board – with no thought to how the board had broken.

Again, selecting Huerter was probably the Hawks’ most logical decision of the night (which is saying a lot), but if Josh Okogie, Keita Bates-Diop, Khyri Thomas, Anfernee Simons, Robert Williams, Mitchell Robinson, Elie Okobo and Jalen Brunson were all available here, wouldn’t it have been wise to at least ponder selecting someone else?

We would’ve opted for Anfernee Simons here, as his upside is intensely high despite the fact he did not play college ball in 2017-18. A fluid athlete with size and speed, Simons would’ve been a long-term prospect the Hawks could develop slowly.

One thing the Hawks do have is lots of time, as the team projects to be a bottom-dweller for years to come as they accrue assets, which means they should’ve been to take a few swings in this draft on some high-upside, boom-or-bust draft candidates.

I guess they did that by taking Trae Young, but again, why do that when a safer option is on the board at #3 overall with…