Our offseason grades series continues with a look at the Atlanta Hawks move to trade up to #34 overall in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft.
The Atlanta Hawks came into the 2019 NBA Draft with a whopping 6 draft picks, but it soon became apparent that only a fraction of those picks would be made by the team. General Manager Travis Schlenk confirmed as much in interviews leading up to the draft, and when the fateful day arrived, a plethora of moves were made.
Of course, the headlines went to the seismic trade of moving up to #4 overall due to the sheer volume of draft picks involved, but a less-heralded move occurred in the second round, where the Atlanta Hawks moved up to #34 overall to select Bruno Fernando out of Maryland.
The Hawks traded the #57 overall pick and two future second-round selections to the Philadelphia 76ers to obtain the pick. Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice had the full details of the trade:
The Sixers will get Atlanta's 2020 second, the best of ATL/CHA/BKN 2023 2nd, and 57th pick this year in exchange for No. 34 tonight, source says
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) June 21, 2019
Because the Hawks had already targeted Fernando – even going so far as to give him a lottery-level grade ahead of the draft – moving up in the second round to “get their guy” at a relatively was a terrific move.
Contrast this trade up in the 2019 NBA Draft to the trading down the team did in the 2018 NBA Draft, when they could’ve drafted Mitchell Robinson at #34 overall but instead opted to trade the pick away – a huge mistake in hindsight.
Fernando fills a position of need for the Atlanta Hawks as a burly near-seven-foot center, and he will be 21 in his rookie season – meaning his age perfectly aligns with the team’s core going forward of Trae Young, John Collins, Kevin Huerter, De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish.
In terms of an asset-for-asset move, this deal was tremendous, especially considering Fernando’s draft pedigree heading into draft day.
Grade: A
Keep it locked to Soaring Down South for more offseason grades as we creep ever closer to preseason basketball.