Atlanta Hawks: 13 Players Hawks Could Select in 2019 NBA Draft
By Chris Guest
#6 — Jaxson Hayes, Freshman, Texas
In the 2018 NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks only made one major mistake: Not selecting Mitchell Robinson with the #34 overall pick and instead trading it to the Charlotte Hornets.
Robinson has been one of – if not the single – best player on the New York Knicks this season, and his defensive effort and athletic gifts would be a perfect fit on the Atlanta Hawks.
This year, the Hawks should right that wrong by pondering the selection of Jaxson Hayes out of Texas in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft. If the Atlanta Hawks land the Mavericks pick somewhere in the 6-9 range, Hayes would be an excellent choice due to his defensive upside and athletic fluidity at the center position.
Though not quite as long as Robinson, Hayes was a master of the shot block in college with 2.2 blocks per game, 71 total blocks and a 10.6 block rate – all of which were top 5 in the Big 12 conference.
Beyond that, Hayes is a fluid, natural athlete that smashed home lob dunks all season. Alongside Trae Young, Hayes would have plenty of opportunities to produce similar highlights. Since most of his shots came right at the rim, Hayes led the country with a ludicrous 73.9 true shooting percentage on the season.
Lastly, Hayes drew a lot of fouls in his sole college season (67.4 free throw attempt rate), and he shot a solid percent on those shots as well (74 percent). Another reason why he is reminiscent of Robinson is because he fouls a lot himself – 107 personal fouls was #1 in the Big 12. Hey, at least that means he’s trying!