2019 NBA Draft: Full Mock Draft 4.0, Atlanta Hawks Trade Down to Pick at 8, 14 & 22, Lakers Trade #4
By Chris Guest
125. . Wing/Big. Atlanta Hawks (via Boston Celtics). Grant Williams. 22. player
And here is the final pick the Atlanta Hawks obtained by trading down with the #10 overall pick with the Boston Celtics. This would be an absolute dream come true for this writer, who has loved Grant Williams for quite a while now.
Despite being mocked as high as #13 overall in our previous 2019 NBA Draft mock-up, it seems that NBA front office executives and scouts are a bit lower on Williams due to his size and “tweener” positionality.
However, why isn’t that regarded as a positive? Isn’t a lack of positionality and switchability one of the more coveted skills in today’s NBA? If so, why aren’t teams higher on a two-time SEC Player of the Year? Who knows, but in this case, the Atlanta Hawks are the beneficiary of those teams’ oversight.
Related Story. 4 Sleepers for Hawks at #10 Overall. light
Though certainly Williams might not fit elegantly alongside John Collins – who is better at the four at this juncture – there is no question that the 20-year-old college junior would be a huge boon for this Atlanta Hawks squad.
A supremely efficient scorer, especially from two-point range, Williams is also a terrifically strong defender that does not allow much in and around the paint – even against much larger players.
On offense, per Bart Torvik, Williams shot 72.2 percent around the rim on a 37.2 at-rim attempt rate, then Williams shot 50.2 percent on over 200 mid-range attempts – both of which were team-highs for the Tennessee Volunteers.
Perhaps most notably on offense, Williams shot 81.9 percent from the foul line on a 63.7 percent free throw rate – which was 44th in the country.
Williams might lack for eye-popping measurables and gaudy offensive highlights, but the simple fact is that he is an extremely productive and efficient player who makes the smart play and the right play pretty much every time. Atlanta Hawks General Manager Travis Schlenk has made some gutsy choices in the past, and taking Grant Williams in the 2019 NBA Draft could be his greatest masterstroke if he goes that direction.