The Atlanta Hawks benefited from an unexpected slide of a prospect from Duke. Last season, they watched, patiently, as Jalen Johnson slid to them all the way at 20th overall. He did not see much time. But he did put up impressive numbers in the G-League. This year, the Hawks tapped into that same well.
A draft that saw surprises from the very start saw the Hawks take Duke’s AJ Griffin with the 16th-overall selection in the 2022 NBA Draft.
There is a lot to like about one of the youngest prospects in the class.
That does not mean that everyone loved – or even liked – the pick despite the best efforts of some to show it in a positive light. This is just the start of what the Hawks and fans hope will be a long and productive pairing.
Atlanta Hawks fans sound off on selection of Duke G A.J. Griffin
Locked On Hawks host, Brad Rowland tried to set the stage by calling Griffin’s slide a boon for the Hawks. He also came with receipts for those still on the fence about Hawks president Travis Schlenk’s ability to take advantage of such slides. Johnson, who averaged 20.1 points and 11.8 rebounds in the G-League, was among his examples.
Collins and Johnson are the prominent examples.
— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) June 24, 2022
Huerter also fell to them so unexpectedly that they almost traded up for him. https://t.co/BHiTOwla2h
Still, there were some who decried the Hawks efforts in the annual selection process.
Hawks front office: We wanna get better on defense
— The Therapist, M.S. (@INNVENDO) June 24, 2022
Hawks front office: Picks a player that’s terrible on defense
Bro I’m so fed up.
That led to a lukewarm response of, “he’s not terrible, but he’s not a great defender” from @JayJDonda.
The Hawks had the second-ranked offensive rating during the regular season but the 26th-ranked defensive rating. The belief was that, if they could just be an average defense, they would have had a better season than finishing as the eight-seed.
Things eroded in the postseason as their offensive rating cratered to 14th while their defensive rating was 12th in the field of 16 teams.
They ranked second during the regular season shooting 37.4% from deep but just 32.6% in the playoffs; again 12th in the field.
So, they target a player that shot 44.7% on three-pointers.
https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/1540157061702590465
Earlier reporting saw a proposed trade that saw the Hawks move all the way up to the fourth-overall pick to take Griffin so this would certainly qualify as a steal.
Proposed trade sees Atlanta Hawks acquire former $94M F, top-5 pick
The Atlanta Hawks tap back into the Duke pipeline for 3&D help and get a veteran with championship experiece in this trade proposal.
The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner shared news of the pick first and the response was of a similar tone.
https://twitter.com/Htown4life_/status/1540146269351399424
Others still pointed out how tough it has been for rookies to crack head coach Nate McMillan’s rotations and how, given Griffin’s age, we could see a lot of talent on the College Park Skyhawks.
He’ll be very good in the G-league with the rest of the rookies we take yearly
— J P (@procodiledundee) June 24, 2022
This is only one side of the coin and Griffin will have his chance to prove all of the doubters wrong.
There is a reason he was considered a consensus lottery pick. The raw skills are there and he has the bloodlines as the son of former player and current assistant, Adrian Griffin.
His grind may have to start on the defensive end if he is going to see the floor for McMillan. To his credit, Griffin said he has been working on that end, per Kirschner. Already be proving his detractors wrong.