The Atlanta Hawks could emerge from the 2025 NBA Draft with not one, not two, but three French players on their roster if the results of a recent mock draft play out as projected.
Fox Sports’ Research Department projected the Hawks to use the second of their two first-round picks on French guard Nolan Traore. This comes nine slots after the outlet projected the Hawks would select Traore’s countryman Noa Essengue.
Like Essengue, Traore is 18 years old, giving him plenty of runway to develop.
“Traore just turned 19 a few days ago and was one of the better young guards in the French league this past year,” Fox Sports wrote on May 31. “He posted 11.6 points per game along with 5.1 assists.”
Traore drew comparisons to former Hawks star Dejounte Murray, now of the New Orleans Pelicans, and Portland Trail Blazers PG Scoot Henderson.
“Traoré oozes upside with his size, blazing speed, and shiftiness off the bounce,” Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor, who made those comparisons, wrote in March. But he’s an inefficient scorer all over the floor who needs to improve his erratic decision-making to prove he’s worth the big swing.”
Hawks could solve trio of issues with international players
If Fox Sports’ projections were to come true, Essengue and Traore would join 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher as French-born players on the Hawks.
Risacher earned All-Rookie First Team honors.
He also gave the Hawks a ready-made replacement for De’Andre Hunter, whom the Hawks traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers before the 2025 deadline.
It would be ambitious to expect a similar impact from Traore, or even a lottery pick like Essengue could be. They do project as fitting pieces to the Hawks’ long-term vision that featured Risacher and fellow starter Jalen Johnson.
Essengue’s arrival would protect the Hawks against Johnson’s injury history.
Traore could give the Hawks a long-term out on Young in addition to a backup option in the intermediate.
That job once figured to go to 2023 first-round pick Kobe Bufkin, but he has struggled to remain healthy through two seasons, playing in 27 games. It is not difficult to envision the Hawks looking to another option, and Traore could be appealing, especially later in the first round.