Atlanta Hawks Draft Grades and Analysis

After a 60-win season that was derailed by a depth issue, the Atlanta Hawks draft was their chance to fix what may be called the team’s last major flaw. The Hawks had the 15th pick, something they essentially stole from the Nets in the Joe Johnson trade. With a lot of rotational talent still remaining, the Hawks had a chance to draft a guy in an area of need.

Instead, the Hawks decided to make it complicated. They traded the 15th pick to the Wizards, who selected Kelly Oubre. The Wizards gave Atlanta the 19th pick and two second rounders. Oubre is a solid defensive player on the wing who needs to improve on offense to become a full NBA talent. He had a bit of value to the Hawks, but with DeMarre Carroll and Thabo Sefolosha, the Hawks have enough wing defenders.

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The Hawks drafted point guard Jerian Grant at No. 19. This pick was strange, because Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroeder are both solid players that Atlanta seems to like. The Hawks then flipped this pick to the Knicks for Tim Hardaway Jr.

So Atlanta essentially flipped the fifteenth pick for a wing shooter and two second rounders. The team did not mince words in saying what they planned to do last night.

So the Hawks did accomplish their stated objectives. Hardaway is a good spot up shooter, can create a bit off the dribble, and will add something to Atlanta’s offense. The trouble is that he isn’t very efficient. Hardaway shot only 39 percent from the floor last season. He also is not a good defensive player.

The merit to adding Hardaway might be that the Hawks need someone else who can effectively create offense from the bench, Thabo Sefolosha isn’t an offensive player, Mike Scott is an inconsistent stretch big, and Schroeder doesn’t have a lot of range. The Hawks have use for someone off the bench who they can hand the ball to and say “get a bucket”. Even a team that relies greatly on passing and moving the ball needs isolation players from time to time.

In the end, there are reasons to support this trade and reasons to oppose it. Hardaway is ineffective on defense and hit a slump in his sophomore season. Having a wing like Oubre or a big man like Bobby Portis may have been a better value pick by filling more needs. Hardaway can do some things though, and the Hawks did need to add offensive depth.

In the second round, the Hawks selected  guard Marcus Eriksson from Spain and big man Dimitrios Agravanis from Greece. Both of these guys are stash players, probably to ensure the Hawks have the cap space to retain DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap.  These are rather immaterial picks until they come to the NBA and try to get on the roster.

The Hawks draft results have drawn a great deal of backlash from media members and analysts. USA Today graded the Hawks draft an F. Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports spelled out probably the most sensible case for the Hawks botching this draft:

"“The Wizards then selected Kelly Oubre, a player that could have acted as a pretty nice long-term replacement for DeMarre Carroll in a few years. Then, instead of insuring themselves against the potential of Paul Millsap leaving by taking the No. 11 player on my board in Bobby Portis, they traded out of the first round altogether for Tim Hardaway Jr., a guy that shot 39 percent last season and really struggled to defend.”"

The argument that the Hawks should have used this draft to cover the risk of one of their departing free agents  is fair. Hardaway in no way lessens the risk of Carroll or Millsap walking. If Carroll or Millsap does leave, this draft decision will be looked at very unfavorably.

The counter argument is that if the Hawks had drafted a guy as free agent insurance but hadn’t lost any free agents, they wasted a pick and didn’t get any assets out of it. Hardaway at least will play a role regardless of how the rest of the roster shakes up.

In the end, the Hawks draft is one of those things that needs time to be officially called. If no one leaves and Hardaway rebounds from last season, it will be a good move. If Millsap leaves and the Hawks didn’t draft a replacement at the 4, it will be a bad move. I’ll tentatively take the more optimistic route and trust the Hawks brass with these decisions

Grade: B-

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