Atlanta Hawks NBA Draft: 5 players to avoid with the 20th pick

Atlanta Hawks NBA Draft prospect to avoid No. 1: Tre Mann leaves Florida with the skills to help, but a better fit can be found

2021 Stats: 16.0/5.6/3.5; .459/.402/.831

At 6-foot-5, Tre Mann checks a lot of the boxes the Hawks could use. Not the least of which is as a secondary playmaker capable of playing next to Trae Young. Mann took a massive leap forward in his second season with the Gators, seeing statistical improvements across the board with more playing time.

After averaging just 5.3 points and fewer than one assist per game as a freshman, he jumped to 16 points and 3.5 dimes per contest as a sophomore.

He also shot 40.2 percent from outside and grabbed 5.6 rebounds.

The good report essentially ends there as far as the Hawks are concerned. Mann has a negative wingspan; that is his arms are shorter fingertip to fingertip than he is tall.

Dillon Brooks and Kelly Olynyk are a couple of recognizable names to have success in recent years despite sharing this characteristic. But Brooks is a terrific defender while Olynyk stands 6-foot-11 and also isn’t a terrible positional defender.

Mann has been described as “contact-averse” and offering “no resistance” defensively. Both of those should be major turn-offs in evaluating options for a backup to Young. Because while you’d like to add the scoring and playmaking, a small point guard tends to need a bigger backcourt mate to make up for physical limitations on defense.

Young really is no different.

The report also mentions Mann has a tendency to become a statue without the ball in his hands. That might interfere with the whole thing about being able to play next to Young.

In the end, Mann may have a similar impact as Tyrese Haliburton on the Sacramento Kings which would be very useful. But at 20, and with such specific needs, the Hawks should be able to better match talent to need than what the Florida guard brings.