Atlanta Hawks: Mock Draft at the Halfway Point of 2018-19 Season
By Chris Guest
#10. Jaxson Hayes, Texas (via Mavericks)
With Dewayne Dedmon likely gone before the end of the season and Alex Len not looking like a long-term starter for the Atlanta Hawks, one clear for the team is a starting center.
Though John Collins can certainly ably play the position, his negative wingspan and sub-seven-foot size means the team will be a sieve on the defensive end. Combined with a less-than-inspiring point guard defender in Trae Young, the team should be looking to add value in the draft by nabbing a high-upside young center prospect who projects to be a fearsome rim protector and roll man.
Enter Jaxson Hayes out of Texas. A lanky, 6-11 center with a whopping 7-foot-3 wingspan and mammoth 10¾-inch hands from tip of pinky to thumb, Hayes is using that length to disrupt opposing drivers to the rim as Texas’s best center option.
Hayes is living up to that role in spades. With a sky-high 12.8 percent block rate that is 5th in the nation, Hayes has piled up 41 total blocks and 2.4 blocks per game in only 21.9 minutes per night. Since he currently has 3.4 fouls per game in that same time frame, it must be noted that Hayes is surely a raw prospect that would need a few years to develop.
Luckily, the Atlanta Hawks have nothing if not time, so Hayes would be an excellent value with the Dallas Mavericks pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Other Options: DeAndre Hunter, Keldon Johnson, Rui Hachimura