2019 NBA Draft: 5 Big Men Options for Atlanta Hawks at #10 Overall

An in-depth exploration of five big men the Atlanta Hawks could select with the #10 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

After a semi-unsuccessful 2019 NBA Draft Lottery, the Atlanta Hawks will be selecting at #8 and #10 overall in the draft.

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While that’s certainly not the ideal scenario for the team, two Top 10 picks is better than most teams can muster in any given year, so the Hawks must put their best, well, talon forward as they look to improve a five-win lift in the 2018-19 season next year.

Though Zion Williamson would’ve surely been amazing, the 8th and 10th picks will still provide plenty of upside for the Atlanta Hawks as they look to build the team organically through the draft around Trae Young, John Collins and Kevin Huerter. The rebuild started swimmingly as three of the team’s past four first round picks were named to All-Rookie teams (including both Young and Huerter this year).

One major need for the Atlanta Hawks in the 2019 NBA Draft is at the center position – where it is clear that General Manager Travis Schlenk and Head Coach Lloyd Pierce believe that Collins is not suited to play long-term.

With multiple big men in the conversation for the #10 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, let’s delve into five options for the Hawks when draft day rolls around in June.

Brandon Clarke

First up is Gonzaga University’s Brandon Clarke, who erupted as one of the best players in the nation during the 2018-19 college season as the best player on one of the best teams in the country (finished #2 overall in KenPom’s team rankings).

Though many of the postseason awards went to his younger, heavily lauded teammate Rui Hachimura, it seems that NBA teams are just a wee bit higher on Clarke’s future in the league than they are on Hachimura’s.

Hachimura is a fringe lottery pick, while Clarke is widely slated to be taken in the mid-to-late lottery at the latest. For the Atlanta Hawks, we have previously mocked Clarke to the Hawks in the 2019 NBA Draft with the Mavs pick.

Why would Clarke be a good fit on the Atlanta Hawks? For one, he is a truly astonishing defensive prospect with amazing speed and anticipation with natural athletic gifts that allow him to move laterally with fluidity while also producing stunning explosion off one or two feet to challenge shots around the rim.

Beyond that, Clarke’s offensive production in his lone season at Gonzaga means he is far more than a defensive one-trick pony. Per Bart Torvik, Clarke was tops in the NCAA with a 16.6 box plus/minus – which was tied with the historic production of Zion Williamson last season.

Furthermore, Clarke’s offensive rating per Bart Torvik of 134.3 was actually higher than Zion’s and Jaxson Hayes’s (who we’ll get to later). That rating ranked 6th overall in the nation. His field goal percentage at the rim (also per Bart Torvik) was a lofty 79.7 percent, second only to Arkansas’s Daniel Gafford among player who attempted at least 200 shots at the bucket.

Clarke’s lack of traditional center size and length might’ve been a problem in the past, but in the modern NBA, nabbing a swiss-army-knife defender who also happens to be a historically good finisher in the paint would make for a terrific choice for the Atlanta Hawks at #10 in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Bruno Fernando

Though it might be surprising to see Bruno Fernando’s name so high on this list – especially considering where he has been mocked in our most recent full 2019 NBA Draft mock-ups – but according to reporting from The Athletic’s Chris Kircschner, the former Maryland Terrapin is indeed on the team’s radar at #10 overall.

Since Fernando is far lower on most draft boards, trading down with the #10 overall pick to take Fernando later on might make the most sense, but either way, Fernando’s interesting skill set is certainly worth a mention at #10 overall too.

First off, Fernando clearly looks like an NBA athlete with a massive, hulking frame and Popeye-sized arms. Fernando uses that bulk to nab defensive rebounds at a 27.5 percent clip and offensive rebounds at a 12 percent clip, per Bart Torvik.

Fernando uses his heft to nab easy buckets around the rim off putbacks and OREBs, as his 71.3 clip at the rim would indicate (also from Bart Torvik).

Across the board, Fernando grew by leaps and bounds in his second season as he showed fairly impressive passing chops in short roll situations and also leveraged his huge size to affect myriad shots on defense.

If the Atlanta Hawks were to take a swing on Fernando with the #10 overall pick, he would be reunited with his former college teammate, Kevin Huerter, as they both played for Maryland in the 2017-18 season.

Goga Bitadze

Due to the huge coverage that NCAA men’s basketball receives on a night-to-night basis, college prospects are usually far more “approachable” than international ones. Just look at the often skeptical coverage of Luka Doncic ahead of last year’s draft to see how international players often do not receive the same level of focus that college players do.

While that is certainly changing as we speak, the simple matter of not having as much film to pore over for the typical NBA fan means that international players will often come in with a certain mystique and mystery surrounding them when they’re drafted.

One such international player that the Atlanta Hawks could ponder at #10 overall in the 2019 NBA Draft is Goga Bitadze out of the Republic of Georgia.

The idea of having a person from the country of Georgia play in the state of Georgia has always been an enjoyable one for Hawks fans (just ask Zaza Pachulia), and Bitadze comes in with a scintillating skill set that combines shot-blocking and deadeye three-point shooting – two things that the Atlanta Hawks will certainly be looking for in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Bitadze won the Rising Star Award in the EuroLeague in 2018-19. The award, which was hoisted in consecutive seasons by Luka Doncic, recognizes the EuroLeague’s best player under the age of 22 each season. Goga will not turn 20 until July.

https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1129832332133916672

Bitadze fits with the Atlanta Hawks due to his age and skill set, so taking a swing on a high-upside international prospect with the team’s second 2019 NBA Draft pick in the first round makes perfect sense.

Jaxson Hayes

We have previously discussed how well Jaxson Hayes out of Texas would fit on the Atlanta Hawks, and he fell to Atlanta with the #10 overall pick in our most recent post-lottery 2019 NBA Draft mock-up.

Though extremely raw due to switching from football to basketball after sprouting nine inches in height in just over two years, Hayes possesses an indelible physical profile that befits a rim-running center with a mammoth amount of upside.

Hayes was one of the best rim finishers in the NCAA last season with an insane 85.4 percent clip around the basket per The Stepien’s shot chart tool. At this point, Hayes does not project to have much of a jump shot, but he did shoot 74 percent from the free throw line on 100 attempts and a 59.2 free throw attempt rate per Sports Reference – a good sign for a projectable jumper in the future.

On defense, Hayes is incredibly fluid – gliding down the floor with the elegance of a floppy-haired gazelle. Hayes was something of a shot-blocking expert in college as his 10.6 percent block rate was 3rd in the Big 12 Conference and 13th in the country per Sports Reference last season.

Though certainly exceedingly unpolished, Hayes would make for an excellent long-term project for the Atlanta Hawks in the 2019 NBA Draft as the team continues to build organically with youth and upside.

Bol Bol

Though it seems the scuttlebutt surrounding the Atlanta Hawks and Bol Bol out of Oregon is completely unfounded (at least according to The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner), he will stilly likely be on the board at #10 overall – unless something truly bonkers happens in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Even if the Hawks aren’t interested, Bol features an absolutely singular combination of size, length and feathery shooting touch the likes of which hasn’t been since maybe his father, Manute Bol, roamed the perimeter of the NBA, hunting for his shot in the 1990s.

Though Bol’s length was certainly eye-opening at the 2019 NBA Draft Combine (7-foot-2, 7-foot-8 wingspan), his slight frame (208 pounds at the combine) is certainly an issue. For someone who’s expected to play center at the next level, weighing less than some guards is certainly not a good sign.

Still though, Bol’s shooting ability combined with his length and touch, mean that he could run off screens or as a lethal pick-and-pop option – were he to put on a bit more weight.

Again, Bol seems to not be anywhere close to the Atlanta Hawks’ radar, though a player that fills a position of need who can also shoot from that position would certainly seem to be a good fit.

There you have it! What other big men should the Atlanta Hawks ponder in the 2019 NBA Draft? Stay tuned to Soaring Down South as we delve into plenty more draft coverage over the next month.