Atlanta Hawks: 5 worst NBA Draft lottery picks in team history

The Atlanta Hawks were the beneficiaries of their own due diligence last season. Despite dealing with numerous injuries, they still managed to make a deep run in the postseason. And they got glimpses of the potential of a young core that will seek consistency in the upcoming campaign.

Trae Young and John Collins both got new money this offseason after proving to be foundational pieces. Kevin Huerter and Cam Reddish both had huge games with the former in particular furthering his resume as an all-around player.

This year’s crop of rookies — Jalen Johnson and Sharife Cooper — have drawn rave reviews since their names were called.

No one bats 1.000, however, and even Schlenk has a blemish on his otherwise pristine record.

Omari Spellman was the Hawks other first-rounder in 2018, the year they took Trae Young. A 6-foot-8 big man out of Villanova, he was supposed to offer some rim protection while spacing the floor.

He only lasted one season, getting traded to the Warriors for Damian Jones and a draft pick.

The Atlanta Hawks have had some head-scratching picks in the top of the draft

After a year there, another trade to the Timberwolves, and then the Knicks who waived Spellman in January. Still, as the 30th-overall pick, it’s hard to call it a complete bust.

And talent wasn’t his issue, conditioning was. The big man still shot over 34 percent from deep as a rookie and 39 percent the following season with the Warriors

As for the Hawks history, here are the five worst lottery picks in team history. Why just lottery picks? Because that’s when the misses hurt the most.

Atlanta Hawks worst lottery pick No. 1: Selecting Adam Keefe looks worse in context

A nine-year career with seven trips to the postseason would be considered pretty solid. But, in the case of Adam Keefe and the Hawks, it represents an opportunity missed. Taken 10th overall out of Stanford in the 1992 draft, Keefe should have helped ease the transition from Kevin Willis but instead wound up a footnote in Hawks history.

He was a standout at Stanford, averaging 22.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game over his last three seasons with the Cardinal. As a senior, Keefe averaged 25.3 points and 12.2 boards.

Keefe also averaged 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals in his final collegiate season with averages of 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals in his four years.

But the 6-foot-9 forward could only average 7.8 points and 5.5 boards at his peak which was not as a member of the Hawks. He’d spend the majority of his nine years with the Utah Jazz before finishing his playing career in Spain.

He only lasted two years in Atlanta, further adding to his case to be on this list, putting up a paltry 5.6-point, 4.4-rebound line.

In his first year abroad, Keefe averaged 13.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 2.0 steals. Not bad for a player most would consider a bust given his college career, draft pedigree, and subsequent performance in the NBA.

The worst part is Keefe’s draft class was littered with talent. Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning were the first two picks followed by Christian Laettner and Jim Jackson. Obviously out of the Hawks reach. But while most of the talent taken after Keefe were guards and wings, one spot later the Houston Rockets took Robert “Big Shot Bob” Horry.

It’s part of why Keefe made our list of the worst draft picks overall in team history a while back. For however successful he wound up in his career, he was a wasted pick and missed opportunity.

Atlanta Hawks worst lottery pick No. 2: Rumeal Robinson contributed mostly in his departure

While we move from one 10th overall pick to another, the Hawks actually selected Rumeal Robinson two years before Keefe, in the 1990 NBA Draft. This after a three-year run at the University of Michigan that saw him win a National Championship as a sophomore after he hit the game-clinching free throws with seconds on the clock.

In many ways, he was even better as a senior. Robinson saw his scoring average go from 9.7 points per game as a freshman to 14.9 to 19.2 as a senior.

He finished with career averages of 14.5 points and 5.6 assists.

The Hawks team Robison was drafted to was loaded with big names, including at the guard spots with Spud Webb and Doc Rivers still in town. This was during a very successful time for the Hawks.

For Robinson, that meant scant playing time early on as he averaged just 5.6 points, 2.8 assists, and 1.5 rebounds as a rookie.

In his second season, Robinson’s numbers saw a significant increase in opportunity with the departure of both Webb and Rivers. The former Wolverine averaged 13.0 points, 5.5 assists, and 1.3 steals on a Hawks team that would miss the postseason for just the fourth time in 22 years.

That would also be the personal peak for Robinson’s playing career.

Robinson spent parts of four more seasons in the NBA between the New Jersey Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, and Portland Trailblazers with a stint in Spain in the middle.

His personal life would also spiral as he found himself in legal trouble over bank fraud that landed him in prison.

In the end, Robinson’s greatest contribution was being the piece to bring Mookie Blaylock to Atlanta after the 1992 season.

Atlanta Hawks worst lottery pick No. 3: DerMarr Johnson life was almost very different

DerMarr Johnson was, in a lot of ways, ahead of his time. A 6-foot-9, 201-pound forward with crazy athleticism, he might have thrived if he were playing in the wide-open style of today’s NBA. As it stands, he mediocre career even for a journeyman, after being drafted sixth overall in 2000.

It might not be all his, or anyone’s fault after he was forced to miss the entire 2002 season with a neck injury suffered during a car crash. It nearly ended his life but it definitely stunted his growth and career.

Johnson averaged 5.1 points and 2.3 boards as a rookie but saw those numbers increase to 8.4 points and 3. rebounds in his second season. He also averaged 1.1 assists that season.

There was clearly progress being made.

The accident fractured several vertebrae in Johnson’s neck threatening to keep him off the court forever. He returned in 2003 with the Suns, playing another four seasons after that; three of which were with the Denver Nuggets.

Johnson averaged just over three points in each of his final two seasons, the last coming in a five-game cup of coffee with the San Antonio Spurs.

This is obviously not the typical “bust” story because of the accident. It’s fair to wonder what could have been. But it’s also fair to note the numbers never quite getting to the levels many expected of him.

He was a one-and-done at Cincinnati but averaged 12.6/3.8/1.4 with a steal per game to boot. Perhaps the athleticism jaded the Hawks decision-makers too much.

Atlanta Hawks worst lottery pick No. 4: Acie Law was supposed to be the point guard of the future

The 2007 NBA Draft introduced many in the world to Kevin Wayne Durant who many argue is the best player in the league today. But he wasn’t the only player to have a successful career with 17 of the 30 first-round picks playing for more than a decade. Acie Law, taken with the 11th pick, was not one of those players.

In fact, his NBA career lasted as long as his collegiate one; just four years.

Law saw his production increase every year at Texas A&M, going from 7.5 points per game as a rookie to 18.1 points per game as a senior leading A&M to the Sweet 16.

His NBA career, like the others before him on this list, would never reach those heights.

The 2007-08 Hawks had a losing record, winning just 37 games. But they still made the postseason. They were bounced in the first round by the eventual champion Boston Celtics after seven games.

Law averaged just 4.2 points and 2.0 assists in a little over 15 minutes per game as a rookie. His numbers and playing time fell in his second season to 2.9 points and 1.6 assists in about 10 minutes per game.

He was traded after that second season for sixth-man extraordinaire, Jamal Crawford.

Over the next two seasons, the 6-foot-3 guard would average just 4.3 points and 1.4 assists per game while playing for four different franchises, including two separate stints with the Golden State Warriors. Then, Law headed overseas and had a successful career winning two EuroLeague championships.

Adding insult to injury, Thaddeus Young was taken just one pick later. He’s still playing and might be coming off of his best season yet.

Atlanta Hawks worst lottery pick No. 5: Top-5 picks are supposed to be building blocks

Shelden Williams is another player who entered the league following a collegiate career that hinted at big things at the next level. A 6-foot-9, 250-pound bruiser, Williams teamed with J.J. Redick to lead the Duke Blue Devils to the NCAA Tournament as a top seed as a senior. He averaged 18.8 points and 10.7 boards that year.

Williams was a consistent contributor from his second season on, averaging 15.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks from his sophomore to senior seasons. He led the ACC in blocks each of his last three seasons too while also averaging 1.0 assists and 1.3 steals.

Quite honestly, it seemed he could do it all.

At the next level, however, Williams did very little. After averaging just 5.5 points and 5.4 boards as a rookie, he never even averaged 5.0 points again.

Only in his final season, spent with the Nets, did he average 6.0 rebounds.

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In total, Williams played for six seasons but half of them were spent playing for multiple teams. He spent less than two seasons in the A before being shipped out in a package with Anthony Anderson, Tyronn Lue, and Lorenzen Wright for Sacramento’s Mike Bibby.

As is often the case, the selection of Williams is made to look worse by the success of those taken after him.

Joining Redick among the names they passed on that are still playing are Rudy Gay, Rajon Rondo, and Kyle Lowry. There are others like Brandon Roy — whose own career was cut short by injuries — who also went on to be better NBA pros than Williams, who finished his career overseas, was.

Perhaps fittingly, he has another instance furthering the argument that his greatest contribution was as a trade asset. Williams was also part of the deal that brought Carmelo Anthony to New York. Of course, that didn’t help the Hawks.