With a couple of weeks still until the Atlanta Hawks report for training camp we’ve been taking quite a few looks into the Hawks past, both distant and recent. We’ve re-visited the best and worst lottery picks in team history, wondered what would have happened if Pau Gasol wasn’t traded after being drafted back in 2002.
We also re-did the 2017 NBA Draft to see where John Collins would go this time around.
In the same vein, Bleacher Report has taken another look at the 2016 NBA Draft (the one with Ben Simmons at the top) and there were quite a few changes.
The Atlanta Hawks get a different duo in second chance at 2016 NBA Draft
In the piece written by Andy Bailey, the Hawks land center Ivica Zubac with the 12th overall pick and, later, Danuel House with the 21st overall pick. Zubac was originally a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Lakers. After a little over two and a half years, he was traded to the Clippers in a cap-clearing move.
Last season, Zubac averaged a career-high 9.0 points and 1.3 assists to go with 7.2 rebounds. But he began the season coming off of the bench and averaged 10.3/7.7/1.5 once he was re-inserted back into the starting lineup.
Atlanta originally got the 12th pick from Utah in return for sending Jeff Teague to Indiana who sent George Hill back to the Jazz. They used it on forward Taurean Prince out of Baylor.
Prince averaged 13.3 points, 4.8 boards, and 2.2 assists in three years after becoming a starter in his second season. But it seemed bigger things were on the horizon after he showed well in the playoffs as a rookie. He put up 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds with 1.3 assists while starting all six of the Hawks playoff games.
He was traded to Brooklyn for Allen Crabbe and after a year and a multi-year contract, traded in the deal that landed James Harden for the Nets. Prince spent last season in Clevland averaging 10.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists for the Cavaliers.
With their second pick, per Bailey, the Hawks took House who initially went undrafted out of Texas A&M.
After literally recording a single rebound as his only counting stat as a rookie, House would have to wait a couple of years before landing in Houston and playing alongside Harden where his worth as a three-and-d wing was maximized. In two full seasons, the 6-foot-6 House averaged 10.1 points, 4.0 boards, and 1.2 assists while shooting 38.1 percent from deep.
The reality was Atlanta took St. Joseph’s DeAndre’ Bembry. Billed as a great passer, the 6-foot-5 wing averaged just 1.9 assists in four years with the Hawks. His best season was his third when he averaged a career-high 8.4 points, 4.4 boards, and 2.5 assists.
Bembry did display his two-way versatility averaging 1.3 steals over his final two seasons in Atlanta. But he was ultimately allowed to walk after his contract expired.
He spent last season with the Toronto Raptors.
It’s hard to say if these would have been upgrades. But the most interesting part about this re-draft is how it would have affected the current re-build (that is way ahead of schedule). Bembry was allowed to walk, sure, but Prince ultimately turned into De’Andre Hunter and Solomon Hill.
And with Zubac in tow, what’s done at the center position in the years after, such as the trade to acquire 2020 rebounding champ Clint Capela?
Ultimately, the draft worked out just fine for the Hawks. An argument could be made that House and Zubac are better players than Bembry and Prince. But it’s hard to say they would have made the Hawks a better team than the one they have now.