The NBA season is winding down and the playoffs are set to begin soon. While there are a number of teams that have had their eye on the draft for much of the season, more teams will be added to that list if they miss out on the postseason. This is going to be a highly anticipated NBA Lottery, with the winner earning the right to draft Duke superstar Cooper Flagg. There are going to be ripple effects of the lottery, with teams set to move up or down depending on the top four picks.
The Hawks are not in the position they were last year, but they are in an interesting position when it comes to the NBA Draft. Atlanta could have as many as two first-round picks this year. They get the King’s pick if it falls outside of the top 12, and they own the Lakers’ first-round pick. Right now, the Hawks would have the 14th and 25th picks. This would give the Hawks a chance to add to their young core of Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, and Jalen Johnson. It should be noted, though, that the Kings have not been playing well as of late and are in danger of missing the play-in tournament, which would hurt the Hawks’ chances of landing the pick.
In the latest mock draft from Bleacher Report’s Julia Stumbaugh, the Hawks land South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles with the lottery pick from the Kings and with the Lakers’ pick, they select Saint Joseph’s Rasheer Fleming.
If the draft fell this way for the Hawks, I think it should be considered a home run. Murray-Boyles took a huge leap forward this year and is one of the draft’s best defenders. He averaged 16.8 PPG and 8.3 RPG on 59% shooting from the field and 27% from three. Murray-Boyles would give the Hawks a big boost in defense, and if his three-point shot comes along, I think he has one of the highest ceilings in the draft and would be a perfect fit. The question would be, does he actually make it to where the Hawks pick in the lottery? He has been a projected top ten pick for some time and could even be in the top six.
Fleming should firmly be on the Hawks radar if he is available with their second pick. Bleacher Report draft analyst mocked Fleming to the Hawks a few weeks ago and compared him to Utah forward Taylor Hendricks:
“Rasheer Fleming’s three-point shot (40.0 percent, 4.6 attempts) never slowed down, a key reason he’s rising in popularity and becoming more believable to NBA scouts.
He’s the only player in college hoops with over 50 dunks and 50 threes. The mix of 6’9″ size, rim finishing, shooting, 1.6 blocks and 1.5 steals should look attractive for a stretch-4 role.”
The Hawks needs going into the draft are going to be interior defense, shooting, and size/depth at the forward position. They would hit it out of the park if this is how the draft fell.
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