The newest members of your Atlanta Hawks organization may not be Flash and Reverse Flash from the DC Universe, but they're pretty close.
The Hawks had an incredibly transparent draft strategy this year - Kingston Flemings and Zuby Ejiofor posted the two fastest shuttle times in the entire first round, at 2.69 and 2.76 seconds, respectively.
With all that speed and athleticism on the floor, both rookie Hawks will be able to step in and give the squad a boost from the get-go.
Flemings' speed is the perfect instant-offense advantage creator
A growl in your stomach and a devoid kitchen heralds the worst. Nothing in the pantry, nothing in the fridge; save for instant noodles. Pop them in the microwave or the stovetop, and voila - the evening is saved.
Kingston Flemings is exactly the perfectly-seasoned instant noodles Atlanta has been so fervently deprived of, ever since Ice Trae played his last game in State Farm Arena. Throw him on the hardwood, and watch the magic happen - he's instant offense.
Onsi Saleh himself recognized Kingston's unique style of play on draft night:
"He can create advantages without a screen, which is pretty rare. That stuff doesn't happen a lot. And his processing is really high-level, he doesn't turn the ball over, much at all."
Sound familiar to a former franchise cornerstone? While Flemings' offense has yet to be proven at the next level, his defense already projects to be significantly better than Young's. As Saleh pointed out:
"Point-of-attack defender... the guy can do a little bit of everything."
Does Zuby Ejiofor's switchability remind Saleh of Draymond Green?
As fervent of a supporter as Saleh expressed himself to be for Kingston Flemings, the praise was just as loud for fellow first-round draftee Zuby Ejiofor. Saleh stated:
"The guy is a beast... talk about a guy who can guard one through five. Point guards, bigs, big wings, it doesn't really matter."
That skill is an incredible rarity in the league. How many players can you legitimately say can guard all five spots? Possessing the lateral quickness to keep up with Steph Curry, while also having the length and strength to deal with towering interior threats like Nikola Jokic or Victor Wembanyama is a unicorn-esque ability to have.
Off the top of my head, there's really only been one player in the modern NBA who's exhibited a true ability to switch one through five, and shut down each position - he also happens to be a former colleague of Onsi Saleh on the Golden State Warriors, before Saleh joined the Hawks as GM last season.
Saleh himself playfully harkened Zuby's switchability to Draymond Green before toning his excitement down a notch, to preserve a bit of subtlety:
"I don't want to compare [Zuby] to certain players, but there's some guys that I've had in our past on other teams that have similar qualities... his ability to guard everyone on the court... that's something that's important to us."
Ejiofor's rare blend of size, speed, and defensive IQ are truly a once-in-a-decade type of talent. With Draymond Green on his last legs in the Bay Area, who's to say that Zuby isn't the next man up?
Time will tell how Saleh and Snyder elect to utilize their shiniest new tools in their deep treasure trove of talent in Atlanta, but one thing is certain - opponents will be put on notice day one of next year with how quick and versatile the Hawks are.
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