A look at what the thinking of the Atlanta Hawks, and General Manager Travis Schlenk, might be in the 2019 NBA Draft.
After a series of excellent games from rookie Trae Young, the Atlanta Hawks might be faced with an interesting question in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Should the team focus on drafting the best player available, or aim for filling a specific team need?
The answer to that question is multi-faceted. The most obvious thinking on this subject is simply take the best player available – no questions asked. However, if the Atlanta Hawks truly want to accelerate the team’s rebuild to the point that the goal is making the playoffs, then drafting for positional need might make the most sense.
Really, not unsurprisingly, it comes down to where the team will draft in June. This year’s draft lottery will likely be remembered as one of the most important in recent memory, as the prize with the number one pick is a chance to land generational prospect Zion Williamson – who literally every team in the NBA would love to have on its roster right now, let alone for 7-8 years on a relatively inexpensive rookie deal.
If the Atlanta Hawks manage to win the lottery with their own pick (remember: The Mavericks pick is protected 1-5, so them winning the lottery won’t do Atlanta any good), they will be drafting both the best player available as well as for positional need, as the Hawks need a strong rim protector and a supernova-level star – which Zion definitely is.
To ponder seeing a core of Trae Young, John Collins, Zion Williamson, Kevin Huerter and a big-name, fairly young free agent play together for the foreseeable future in Atlanta is enough to make this writer shed a tear.
Beyond winning the lottery, the Hawks would be well served of drafting best player available within certain constraints – as both Young and Collins are fairly settled in their roles as franchise cornerstones. As long as the players drafted don’t conflict with those two player’s skill sets, the Hawks should be willing to draft the best player available at every opportunity.
However, looking at Atlanta Hawks GM Travis Schlenk’s drafting history, those prospects better be able to shoot three-pointers.