Atlanta Hawks NBA Draft Prospect Profile: Markus Howard

Scouting Markus Howard and his potential fit with the Atlanta Hawks.

The Atlanta Hawks hit a home run in the 2018 NBA Draft by selecting Trae Young. Since being drafted 5th overall, Young has developed into one of the NBA’s premier scoring threats and started the All-Star game in his second season.

His brand of free-shooting, limitless range basketball is going to be the prototype that guards follow into the modern NBA, and teams will be looking to replicate the Hawks’ pick in this year’s draft.

Of all the point guards expected to be drafted this summer (or fall), one player best aligns with Trae’s capabilities: Markus Howard.

Howard was a four-year starter at Marquette and was one of the nation’s leading scorers from his sophomore season on. He was named a consensus All-American twice, winning Big East Player of the Year honors as well.

His 27.8 points per game in his senior season led the nation, and only three players attempted more shots than Howard. He made 41 percent of his 10.1 three-point attempts per game, never afraid to let it fly from “Trae Range.”

The comparisons to Young don’t stop there, however, as Howard will have to overcome questions about his size and defense in the pre-draft process, just as Trae had to. Howard is just 5’11, and that, combined with his draft age of 21, will keep him out of the first round more than likely. In most mock drafts, Howard’s name comes off the board in the mid-to-late second round.

The question marks are certainly warranted, but Howard also has a real chance to be among the best offensive players to come out of this draft class. He’s a natural scorer and can finish at the rim regularly despite his stature.

Perhaps his best attribute is his ability to run the pick and roll and combined with a solid rim-running big like John Collins or Aaron Gordon, could be among the league’s best P&R ball-handlers.

In college, he was the definition of a volume shooter, and unless something unforeseen happens, he likely won’t even get half the looks he got as a senior in his first few seasons in the NBA. Because of that, he’ll need to be more consistent when it comes to his shooting, and it’ll be interesting to see how Howard develops without a sky-high usage rate.

Fit with Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks are still searching for their long-term backup point guard, and while some think they could do that early on in the draft, if Howard falls to them in the second round, it could be a great match.

They’ll just have to decide if they want Trae’s backup to play just like him, or be his antithesis. If the latter, they should probably shy away from Howard.

Markus Howard had one of the best collegiate careers of my lifetime and could carve out a solid role in the NBA. He’s a good bet to have a breakout Summer League or G-League performance and should put up insane offensive numbers when given the chance. In terms of late second-round picks, you can’t ask for much more than that.

Should the Atlanta Hawks draft Markus Howard?