2019 NBA Draft: Ranking the 16 Best (and Worst) Lottery Picks for Atlanta Hawks
By Chris Guest
Worst Fits: Ja Morant, Coby White, Darius Garland
This was obvious, but the Atlanta Hawks selecting a point guard in the 2019 NBA Draft seems kind of out of the question. Though Hawks General Manager Travis Schlenk has stated that the team is still in “best player available” mold, all three of these selections might not necessarily fit that need depending on where the Atlanta Hawks select.
This is no way intended as a slight on these players, it’s just that Trae Young looked the part of a legitimate NBA point guard in his first season – so much so that he deserves to be named Co-Rookie of the Year when the NBA awards are announced.
Ja Morant, the best point guard prospect in this class, averaged 20 points and 10 assists in his sophomore season for the Murray State Racers; Coby White helped lead the North Carolina Tar Heels to a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament; Darius Garland showed impressive flashes before suffering a season-ending injury that barely dented his draft stock.
Despite sterling efforts in college and solid pedigree, all three of these players should be lowest on the team’s list to draft in the 2019 NBA Draft lottery simply due to an overlap of skills with Trae Young. Though perhaps the team could nab them in a backup capacity – where the Atlanta Hawks do have a need – these players are good enough to be given the keys to the offense on day one, which the Hawks could not provide.