2019 NBA Draft: Atlanta Hawks Have Nearly Limitless Options After Nets Trade
By Chris Guest
A pie-in-the-sky exultation about the Atlanta Hawks trading Taurean Prince to the Brooklyn Nets for Allen Crabbe and the #17 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
The Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets shook up the NBA world yesterday when the two teams announced a big trade that sent three-year Hawk Taurean Prince to the Brooklyn Nets for Allen Crabbe, the #17 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and a lottery-protected 2020 draft pick.
This was a truly surprising move, but, in the end, this is an absolutely huge win for Hawks General Manager Travis Schlenk, who was seemingly never sold on Prince as a long-term option for the team going forward, especially considering Prince was drafted by the previous administration before Schlenk arrived on the scene.
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Now that this deal has taken place, the Atlanta Hawks have an utter glut of options in the 2019 NBA Draft. They could trade up as high as 5th (per Adrian Wojnarowski, though potentially higher) in order to select whoever remains of Jarrett Culver, De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish, or the team could move down with one of those picks to nab more first rounders in order to load the team up with young talent.
Now that the New York Knicks seem like an unlikely destination for Kyrie Irving, perhaps the team’s #3 overall pick could be had for a package of first and second rounders that the Atlanta Hawks obviously hold in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Another option for the Hawks is actually making all six picks, or only trading up in the second round to make four or five of the picks in the draft. If that were to happen, that would give the Hawks five young, cost-controlled contracts and a full 15-man roster.
Though that might be a stretch, GM Schlenk has long said he aims to do this rebuild “the right way” without “skipping steps” so drafting a huge amount of players in the 2019 NBA Draft might fit for the Atlanta Hawks.
Mock Draft 4.0: Hawks Trade Down with C's, Pick 8, 14 & 22. dark. Next
Only time will tell, but this is an exciting time for Atlanta Hawks fans. Stay tuned for plenty more coverage of this blockbuster deal.