Atlanta Hawks: 2018 NBA Draft grades
The Hawks trade No. 34
It wasn’t a bad deal for the Hawks to trade their 34th pick in this year’s draft. Sure, it would have been nice because there were a lot of gems left at that point in this deep class, but you get what you get.
For the Hawks, what they get are two future second round picks.
We have agreed to terms with the @hornets for two future second-round picks in exchange for the rights to Devonte’ Graham.
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) June 22, 2018
The case for using second round picks is that they usually don’t pan out. In a draft like this, it could bite them in the butt and right now it looks like a mistake. Though having two second round picks is valuable, I personally would have kept No. 34.
The Hawks will be sending longtime guard Devonte’ Graham out of Kansas to the Charlotte Hornets. What Graham did at Kansas was nothing short of spectacular. While he was never a winner there, he still had a lot of big seasons.
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Graham played four years and averaged 17.3 points, 7.2 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game in his senior season. He even shot the ball 40.6 percent from 3 on 6.9 attempts per game. He’s a solid player and the Hornets should be happy with this pick.
One thing that will be missed from not keeping the pick is that he is a smart player who finds ways to do the little things and help others win. He’s a leader and has that similar feel to what Tyus Jones and fellow Kansas alum Frank Mason III are able to do when they’re on and off the court.
The next step for Atlanta will to be go into free agency and try and add small pieces to develop its budding stars.
Grade: C+