An in-depth look at how the Atlanta Hawks might pick in the 2019 NBA Draft with all six of their picks – including the #17 overall selection from the Taurean Prince trade.
The Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets pulled off a surprising trade involving Taurean Prince on Thursday that puts both teams’ plans into stark perspective – the Hawks are looking to build organically through the 2019 NBA Draft and beyond, and the Brooklyn Nets are positioning themselves as a premier free agent destination for Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and more.
On the Atlanta Hawks side of the equation, this was yet another tremendous trade for General Manager Travis Schlenk, who has become adept at the “salary dump” trade in order to accrue draft assets. This is the third straight offseason in which the Hawks and Schlenk have produced a deal like this.
In 2017, it was with the LA Clippers and (former Hawk) Jamal Crawford. Then, famously, in 2018, it was the famed Dennis Schröder/Carmelo Anthony swap, which was a double whammy of getting off Schröd’s salary while nabbing a future draft pick.
Now, with the Nets trade, the Hawks have a whopping total of six draft picks in the 2019 NBA Draft at #8 overall, #10, #17, #35, #41 and #44. Though it seems unlikely that all of those selections will be made by the team, let’s dig into possible selections the Atlanta Hawks could make at each draft spot.
With the #8 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks would do well to select Brandon Clarke out of Gonzaga. This might be something of a reach, but a recent mock draft from Def Pen Hoops had the Hawks taking Clarke 8th overall, which would be a terrific choice for the team going forward.
Because this draft will be all about finding more building blocks for this team going forward, Clarke makes sense as a supremely high-floor choice who should be able to immediately impact the team going forward.
A supremely gifted vertical athlete, Clarke would make for a formidable pairing alongside John Collins in the frontcourt of the Atlanta Hawks. Though Clarke would likely work best as a roaming four man, his verticality and tremendous defensive instincts should help paper over some of Collins’s less-than-stellar work in the interior.
On defense, Clarke uses his stunning agility and tremendous bounce to produce a bevy of events on the defensive end, while also projecting to be one of the best off-ball help defenders in the 2019 NBA Draft class.
Beyond that, we have previously expressed Clarke to be one of the best at-rim finishers in this draft class, as his 79.7 percent clip at the cup per Bart Torvik would indicate.
Furthermore, Clarke’s all-around brilliance is typified by his statistical profile on KenPom, which shows Clarke was top-15 in the nation in the following categories: Effective field goal percentage (69.2%, 4th), true shooting percentage (69.9%, 5th), offensive rating (134.5, 5th), two-point field goal percentage (70.5%, 9th) and block rate (11.2%, 15th).
Perhaps the fit might not be the best, but perhaps the next player the Atlanta Hawks select could make up for that.
Though this selection might register as “carb on carb” (seeing as its yet another big man), with the 10th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks will have the option to select Grant Williams out of Tennessee.
A savant-level offensive and defensive player with limited lateral quickness, Williams is widely expected to fall fairly far in the 2019 NBA Draft, so selecting him at 10th overall will likely be regarded as something of a reach – especially with plenty of smoke surrounding the Hawks taking Cam Reddish somewhere in the lottery.
Despite a glaring need for someone to play the three now that Taurean Prince is no longer on the team, Williams qualifies as a ceiling-raiser for this young Atlanta Hawks squad while also bringing proven collegiate production to the team as a two-time SEC Player of the Year.
Even though Williams is coming off of his junior season, he won’t 21 until November 30, meaning he firmly fits into the Atlanta Hawks’ youth-oriented purview of player selection in the NBA draft.
Yet another tremendous defender, Williams’s immense basketball IQ lends itself to him being a terrific help defender. Who is also incredibly strong, which would combine well with the high-flying exploits of Brandon Clarke and John Collins – who rely more on verticality and touch to finish around the rim.
Per Bart Torvik, drafting Williams would give the Hawks yet another good rim finisher, as he shot 72.2 percent around the rim on 37.2 percent of his shots. Williams is also an amazing foul-drawer, who shot 81.9 percent from the line on 7 attempts per game during his junior year.
Combined with Trae Young, Williams and the Atlanta Hawks would be living at the free throw line for easy points.
Now comes the big reveal. After the Atlanta Hawks obtained the 17th overall pick from the Brooklyn Nets, let’s hope the team selects Matisse Thybulle out Washington in order to shore up the team’s porous defense.
We have previously featured five reasons to draft Thybulle and have also expressed his tremendous rim finishing ability for a guard, but where the Atlanta Hawks will be hoping Thybulle can impact this team is on the defensive end.
Though his numbers were slightly inflated by playing in a strict zone in college, Thybulle was a truly masterful defender that produced staggering numbers in his senior season with the Huskies. In 31.1 minutes per game, Thybulle produced 126 steals on a 6.7 steal rate as well as 82 blocks on an 8.4 percent block rate, per Sports Reference.
Both of those numbers are historic as well as patently absurd, showcasing Thybulle’s defensive wizardry. With quick feet, terrific hands and a terrific frame that projects to be able to put on some more muscle at the next level (right now, he’s a bit scrawny at 6-foot-5 and 195 pounds), Thybulle should be able to combine with Clarke and Williams in this draft class to provide the Atlanta Hawks with a strong defensive core for years to come.
Even though he’s a senior, Thybulle is only 22 years old and won’t turn 23 until early March 2020.
As with many prospects, the real question about Thybulle is his offensive role and specifically whether or not his three-point shot will translate to the next level. Though he shot 30.5 percent from deep in his senior season, it must be noted that Thybulle shot over 40 percent in his sophomore when he played next to a high-level prospect in the form of Markelle Fultz.
Further than that, Thybulle was a career 78.2 percent free throw shooter on a 21 percent free throw rate, which is usually a better indicator of three-point success at the next level for whatever reason.
So far in this 2019 NBA Draft mock-up for the Atlanta Hawks, the team has taken two big men in the lottery and a guard/swingman prospect with the 17th overall pick. With Taurean Prince traded away, the team still has a sore need at the three.
Enter Dylan Windler out of Belmont. Though Windler is rail-thin at 6-foot-8 and 200 pounds, he does have a 6-foot-11 wingspan, which can perhaps help him hang on the defensive end, where he produced a 2.4 percent steal rate (1.4 steals per game) and a 1.7 percent block rate (0.6 per game) in his senior season per KenPom.
Windler’s most notable defensive skill, however, is his rebounding. Windler has a terrific nose for the ball and seems to know exactly where to be to nab boards at a stellar rate. Per KenPom, Windler produced the 30th-ranked defensive rebound rate in the country in his senior year at 27.2 percent.
However, where Windler will truly impact the Atlanta Hawks is on the offensive side. Windler produced exceptional scoring numbers in his final year at Belmont, and he should provide the Hawks with a capable secondary ballhandler to play alongside Trae Young – as well as another terrific shooter on the wing who should be a catch-and-shoot expert.
Per Bart Torvik, 51.4 percent of Windler’s shots were three-pointers and he drilled those shots at a 43 percent shooting clip (95 of 221). That combination of three-point shooting efficiency and volume is exactly what the Atlanta Hawks should be looking for in the 2019 NBA Draft. Combine that with the fact that 88.4 percent of Windler’s triples came off of an assist, and one can imagine Windler curling around screens or zooming through the paint to the wing – where a Trae Young assist awaits him with open arms.
Perhaps the most joyous pick that the Atlanta Hawks could make (at least for this writer) is taking Admiral Schofield out of Tennessee at 41st overall in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Beyond reuniting him with his college teammate (and seemingly close friend) Grant Williams in an Atlanta Hawks jersey, Schofield projects to play a key role at a position of need for the Atlanta Hawks at the three.
Schofield possesses a chiseled, shredded frame, a booming, nautical voyager’s voice and perhaps the best name in this entire draft class: What’s not to like?
Beyond those slightly whimsical reasons for wanting Schofield on the Hawks, Schofield projects to be an archetypal three-and-D wing for the Atlanta Hawks with the requisite size (6-foot-6, 241 pounds) and length (6-foot-10 wingspan, 8-foot-8 standing reach) to be able to switch and maneuver around the perimeter on defense.
On the offensive end, Schofield has proven himself to be a reliable three-point threat by shooting 38.7 percent from deep per Sports Reference across four college seasons. In his senior season, Schofield shot 42.2 percent on 173 attempts per Bart Torvik, and over 90 percent of those were assisted.
In the second round, the Atlanta Hawks can let themselves be a bit exploratory, but selecting an older player (though only 22, still fairly young for a senior prospect) like Schofield might help lift the team’s floor by bringing in a seemingly terrific locker room presence that could be an inexpensive cornerstone for years to come.
Last but far from least is the 44th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, which the Atlanta Hawks will use in the mock-up to take a swing on a player with big-time injury concerns.
Jontay Porter, Michael Porter’s younger brother, was slated to be a first round pick in the 2018 NBA Draft before he opted to return for his sophomore season. In hindsight, that was the wrong choice.
Porter tore his ACL not once but twice in his sophomore season, raising a multitude of red flags – especially considering his brother missed almost all of his freshman season at Missouri due to a back injury and also sat out the 2018-19 season due to surgery for that same injury.
Despite all of those injury concerns, Porter would still be a godsend for the Atlanta Hawks were he still available in the middle of the second round. Yet another truly brilliant basketball mind, Porter is a true seven-footer with a beautiful jump shot, good defensive instincts and amazing passing ability in that seven-foot frame.
An interesting prospect that teams have seemingly soured on due to injury concerns would make perfect sense as a high-upside play late in the second round.
There you have it! The 2019 NBA Draft is sure to be extremely entertaining but especially for the Atlanta Hawks – who now hold 1/10th of the picks that are slated to be selected on June 20, which is simply bananas. Keep it locked to Soaring Down South for plenty more draft coverage as the fateful day arrives sooner than you’d think.