Atlanta Hawks NBA Draft Prospect Profile: Tyrese Haliburton

The Atlanta Hawks are projected to receive the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. If the pick drops they may want to consider Tyrese Haliburton.

Today we’re taking a look at Iowa State point guard Tyrese Haliburton. The Atlanta Hawks are currently projected to receive the fourth overall pick in 2020 NBA Draft and they can fall no lower than eighth overall. Mock drafts have Haliburton basically anywhere from the mid to late lottery so if the Atlanta Hawks want him they would be best to trade down unless their pick drops down.

Tyrese Haliburton is a 6’5 point guard/shooting guard out of Iowa State. He’s a long, athletic point guard with great passing vision and a really good jump shot. He’s kind of a do-it-all type of point guard that plays both sides of the ball and could fit well on almost any team.

Tyrese Haliburton played and started in 22 games for Iowa State this season and he averaged 15.2 points, 6.5 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. This was an incredible improvement from his freshman season where he averaged just 6.8 points per game in similar minutes.

As mentioned, Tyrese Haliburton can do it all on the basketball court. He’s an incredible passer and shooter that can lead a team as a primary ball-handler. In addition to his impressive offensive tools, he also plays really great defense, as mentioned, he averaged 2.5 steals last season at Iowa State. His length and athleticism are what help him disrupt passing lanes as the head of a defense.

Tyrese Haliburton projects to be a Lonzo Ball or Dejounte Murray type of player. He’s similar to these guys especially in respect to his defensive ability, but his playmaking ability is certainly more like Lonzo than Dejounte. If he ends up like either of those guys, any team that took him would certainly be happy with their selection.

While Tyrese Haliburton is certainly a tantalizing prospect, he, like all prospects, is flawed.

The biggest flaw in his game is that he lacks the ability to be a primary scorer at this point in his career. He’s really great at scoring within the offense but if you need a bucket at the end of the shot clock, he lacks creation in isolation. However, considering his vast improvement from his freshman to sophomore season, it’s not impossible that he continues to improve greatly.

In terms of Haliburton’s fit with the Atlanta Hawks, I think it would some sense.

His fit with the team would work in the sense that he is a really good defender that could play alongside Trae Young. However, both Haliburton and Young need the ball in their hands to be most effective so Haliburton’s playmaking ability may be redundant with Trae Young already rostered.

If the Hawks feel that his defense is worth that risk, they may want to take a shot with Tyrese Haliburton as his potential is incredibly exciting.