2019 NBA Draft: Full Mock Draft 4.0, Atlanta Hawks Trade Down to Pick at 8, 14 & 22, Lakers Trade #4

Another late riser who do not announce his intentions to stay in the 2019 NBA Draft until hours before the May 29 deadline, Nicolas Claxton of Georgia has been an extremely interesting prospect for the entire draft season.

Though we have previously explored why taking Claxton in the second round would be a huge win for the Atlanta Hawks, it seems that his terrific NBA Combine showing combined with his age and measurables (6-foot-11¾ height, 7-foot-2½ wingspan) means that Claxton will be a late first round pick – if not even higher!

On a Georgia team with a dearth of point guards, Claxton showcased the interesting ability to grab and go off of defensive rebounds, and his 12.2 assist rate on only 22.1 percent usage is fairly strong for a massively tall and wiry center prospect.

Per Bart Torvik, though most of Claxton’s scoring came at the rim (70.3% on 37.2 rim attempt rate) – as expected for a near-seven-footer – he did show a willingness to step out from deep, where he shot 28.1 percent on a 21.5 percent three-point attempt rate.

Though the Brooklyn Nets have a long-term traditional center locked in Jarrett Allen, Claxton would make for a gutsy home run swing by a front office that has shown a willingness to gamble with their first-round picks in recent years.