There’s a reason why the NBA Draft has two rounds, and the Atlanta Hawks took full advantage until the very end of the second round. Now that the dust has settled, how good did Onsi Saleh do during his second year in charge during the draft?
The Hawks truly filled in the gaps
Atlanta had a multitude of issues after suffering elimination at the hands of the New York Knicks. The six-game playoff series taught every piece of the roster a valuable lesson in meaningful basketball.
It exacerbated their weaknesses in rim protection, size, and half-court shot creation. Just two months later, they managed to find potential solutions for all three areas. Firstly, drafting Kingston Flemings with the eighth-overall pick has given Atlanta more shot-creation from the point guard position and a reliable defender in the backcourt.
Having Flemings in the rotation will quell their weaknesses when scoring in the half-court while also absorbing some of the ball-handling pressure. Both of these skills will help take the load off Jalen Johnson, but drafting Kingston alone wouldn't fix their issues in the post.
Fifteen picks later, the Hawks drafted Zuby Ejiofor from St. John's University, and the 245-pound power forward was a powerhouse in the paint. He averaged 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists for the Red Storm.
The numbers are undeniable for the 22-year-old, but some fans weren’t fond of adding another 6’8 bigman to the roster. Luckily for them, Saleh managed to put together a package of cash and the 57th pick to acquire the draft rights to Center Henri Veesaar. At 7’0, he’s exactly what the Hawks needed, and it sets them up for an interesting offseason,
Atlanta Hawks Draft Grade: B+
After analyzing the value of each prospect, the Hawks are deserving of a B+ for their performance on draft night. The main reason they’re not receiving an A is because of Zuby Ejiofor’s size and age.
They passed up on Chris Cenac Jr., who has a tailor-made playstyle for the Hawks' five-out playstyle. He’s also 6’11 and 240 pounds at only 19 years old, so the Hawks could’ve developed him into something very promising.
He also would've had great chemistry with Flemings since they were just teammates in college. The two of them would've motivated each other in practice every day, like how they did in Houston.
Nonetheless, this is what makes Veesaar such an important acquisition for the future. The Estonian shot 42.6% from three last season for the UNC Tar Heels. He also averaged 17.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game alongside the fourth-overall pick Caleb Wilson, who is an athletic freak of nature.
It’s hard to be mad at any of these prospects, seeing how they all performed in college, especially Flemings, who was a true freshman. He headlines what could be a trio of talented new Hawks, but only time will tell how good they truly are.
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