In Christopher Klein’s latest FanSided mock draft, the Atlanta Hawks selected Keaton Wagler with the eighth pick in what would be a bittersweet selection.
It would be a disappointment to most Atlanta fans for the club to fall to the eighth pick after being as mocked as high as third overall just a month ago. But this is one of the best draft classes in recent memory. Every team picking in the top ten, and perhaps even some outside the lottery, will have the chance to add an exciting player to their team.
The Hawks are no exception, adding the ever-controversial Wagler to a Hawks team desperately looking for shot creation at the guard position. Wagler has been an elite offensive engine at the collegiate level, somewhat reminiscent of Luka Doncic as a prospect (although he is nowhere near as NBA-ready as Doncic was). He’s averaging 18.1 points, 5.0 boards, and 4.3 assists while sinking an incredible 42.0% of threes on 5.8 attempts a night.Â
Wagler plays a beautiful brand of basketball, again oddly reminiscent of Doncic. He is patient while dribbling the ball, using his body and length to carve out space as he carefully navigates the defense. While stronger, longer defenders can knock him off his rhythm, the threat of Wagler’s stepback keeps defenders honest.
Wagler is eerily similar to Trae Young as a prospect (in both a good and bad way)
If Atlanta landed Wagler, he would be the perfect long-term replacement for CJ McCollum. He is a do-it-all scorer who can score at all three levels, but whose rim finishing leaves a little to be desired, much like McCollum. Still, CJ carved out quite a successful career by being a pure jumpshooter with some juice off the bounce. Wagler could follow in his footsteps to be the offensive guard companion to Jalen Johnson.
As alluded to above, Wagler is a controversial prospect due to his concerning athletic and defensive limitations. He has not recorded a single dunk this season, despite standing 6’6. The only star in recent NBA history that never dunked in college was, you guessed it, Trae Young. Even short point guards who grew up to be non-vertical threats in the big leagues, such as Jalen Brunson and Steph Curry, recorded at least a few dunks over their collegiate careers.
Wagler also has a concerning defensive track record, with Tankathon listing his brief set of weaknesses as: defensive rating, defensive rebounding, steals, blocks, and 2pt field goal efficency. Essentially, Wagler’s only weaknesses are on defense, but he is pretty much hopeless as a defender at this stage in his career.
Like Natasha Bedingfield in the mid 2000s, Wagler’s story remains unwritten, having just turned 19 a month ago. He could still improve upon his athletic deficiencies, namely by adding muscle to his his slight 6’6, 185 pound frame. With this added strength could come both defensive improvement and enhanced ability to absorb contact when driving on offense.
Of course, we’d all like to see Atlanta rise up the lottery boards and land a top-three pick. But as the tanking teams outpace the New Orleans Pelicans in the loss department, a mid-lottery placement looks more and more likely each day. What’s important is that, even in a worst-case scenario, the Hawks can still land their ideal draft target.