Atlanta Hawks NBA Draft Prospect Profile: Cassius Stanley

In addition to the Atlanta Hawks fourth overall pick, they also have a late second-rounder. They may want to consider Cassius Stanley with that pick.

Let’s take a look at Duke freshman shooting guard Cassius Stanley. The Atlanta Hawks are currently slotted to receive the fourth overall pick in 2020 NBA Draft which would be far too high to select Stanley. However, they are also projected to receive the 53rd overall pick via the Houston Rockets. If Stanley falls all the way to 53, that would be a really high-value pick for the Hawks.

Cassius Stanley is a 6’6 shooting guard with crazy athleticism that got him quite a lot of attention. His high flying ability has some people very intrigued by Stanley and others wanting to keep their distance.

This season, Stanley played and started in 29 games for Duke who was the 11th ranked team in the country at the end of the season. Throughout the 29 games, he averaged 12.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game on shooting splits of .474/.360/.733. These are honestly pretty solid numbers for a still really raw freshman guard.

As mentioned, Cassius Stanley is a super gifted athlete and he flashes potential to be a high-end two-way player in the NBA. Stanley has already been mentioned as a potential dunk contest participant at next years All-Star weekend so for that reason alone, he should certainly be drafted this off-season.

It’s unlikely that Stanley will ever be a lead guard for a team as his playmaking ability and isolation scoring ability off the bounce is severely lacking. At this point in his career, Stanley essentially uses his athleticism to score all of his points. He’ll need to develop past that to thrive in the NBA.

While Cassius Stanley is an intriguing prospect, he doesn’t go without his flaws.

The biggest flaw in Stanley’s game is his aforementioned limited offensive repertoire. Stanley relies on his speed and athleticism to score almost every time down and this often leads to him driving to the basket too fast and being out of control. This also isn’t helped by his poor handle.

Another thing that is preventing Stanley from being higher on draft boards is his age. Cassius Stanley was born in 1999 which makes him roughly two years older than his college freshman counterparts. This obviously isn’t something Stanley can change but it is definitely hurting his draft stock, although it may help the Hawks if it leads to him falling to 53.

Considering the fact that the Hawks are still such a young team, they have the ability to take flyers on guys like Cassius Stanley. A raw athlete that flashes the potential of being a really good three and D shooting guard in the NBA is something the Atlanta Hawks should take a serious look at, especially if it’s with the 53rd overall selection.