Soaring Down South
Fansided

Redoing the Past Eight Atlanta Hawks’ Draft Picks

By Dallin Duffy

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 21: Luka Doncic poses with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted third overall by the Atlanta Hawks during the 2018 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 21, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 21: Luka Doncic poses with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted third overall by the Atlanta Hawks during the 2018 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 21, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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Atlanta Hawks
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 27: Shane Larkin of Miami walks towards the stage after Larkin was drafted #18 overall in the first round by the Atlanta Hawks during the 2013 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 27, 2013 in in the Brooklyn Bourough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

2013 NBA Draft

Round one, pick 16:

Original Pick: Lucas Nogueira, C, Brazil

New Pick: Rudy Gobert, C, France

The Hawks were close, taking one International center instead of the other. Lucas Nogueira never suited up for the Hawks and his draft rights were traded to the Raptors for basically nothing a few years later, while Rudy Gobert has become an All-Star. The two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year has been rock solid in a center-heavy draft, emerging as the top big man.

Gobert has been a constant force protecting the rim since being selected by Utah and could have brought that energy to a Hawks team already known for their defensive might.

Luckily, the Hawks had two first-round picks in 2013, and the second one went better than this one.

Round one, pick 17:

Original Pick: Dennis Schröder, PG, Germany

New Pick: Dennis Schröder, PG, Germany

Yeah, you can make the case for Mason Plumlee (pick 22) or future Hawk Tim Hardaway Jr (24) here, but given that I said this was the  Atlanta Hawks’ only good pick in the Intro, I’ll let them have this one.

Dennis the menace had an up-and-down five-year tenure with the Hawks and showed enough promise to eventually be given the keys to the offense when the team traded Jeff Teague in 2016.

Schröder appeared in 352 games for Atlanta (if you’re counting at home, that’s 352 more than Nogueira did), and was a constant scoring threat. He was arguably the Hawks’ best player on the 2016-2017 team and was definitely their best player in the next season.

He’s moved on, and has seemed to find his role as the sixth man in OKC, and will continue competing for the Sixth man of the Year award if/when NBA play resumes.

Round two, pick 44:

Original Pick: Mike Muscala, C, Bucknell

New Pick: Robert Covington, SF, Tennessee State

Sorry, moose. Muscala was a good bench center and a fan favorite in Atlanta and was perhaps the best player to come out of the second round of the draft. There were some really talented players who went undrafted, however, including current Hawks center Dewayne Dedmon, Seth Curry, and the pick here, Robert Covington.

Covington played seven games as an undrafted rookie for Houston back in 2014 but didn’t break out until being handed a starting role on the ‘Trust the Process’ Sixers teams. He transformed into a fantastic perimeter defender, adding a three-pointer to become one of the league’s best 3-and-D wings.

He made the 2017-2018 All-Defensive team and has averaged over 1.5 steals per game in his career.