The Atlanta Hawks currently own two picks in the upcoming 2022 NBA draft. With their first-round pick, they could take the likes of the high-energy prospect Tari Eason or the tremendous versatility of TyTy Washington. There have also been thoughts that the Hawks could take the starting point guard from last season’s G League Ignite team, Dyson Daniels.
However, as the Hawks showed over the past two seasons, there is still value to be had in the second round. Skylar Mays was selected last in the second round of the 2020 NBA draft, and Sharife Cooper was selected right near the end of the 2021 draft.
This season the Hawks’ second-round pick is at No. 44. Unless they make some trades to clear some cap space, they are going to need to make every pick count. While they are not averse to going into the luxury tax, they are going to need a number of low-cost players to fill out their roster.
The Atlanta Hawks should take Johnny Juzang according to B/R
According to a recent article by Sportstalkatl the Hawks should select the walking bucket Johnny Juzang out of UCLA. Juzany was extremely solid for the Bruins, especially in the final year of his tenure. He averaged 15.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 31.8 minutes per game.
He was efficient with his shooting, going at 46.4 percent from the floor, 36.0 percent from the perimeter, and 83.5 percent from the charity stripe. While the 3-point percentage does not leap off the page, Juzang was one of the main options at UCLA so was shooting that well with defenses concentrating on him.
He will have a level of freedom as an NBA player, relatively speaking because he will be used as a floor spacer and a secondary ball-handler if he is taken by the Hawks. While NBA defenses are a lot better than college, they still allow for an open man, particularly as Young can break down a defense as well as he has shown over the past four seasons.
Juzang is not going to completely fix the issues the Hawks have but presents as a good potential rotation piece for the Hawks if they select him.