Complete 2018 NBA Draft grades for all 30 teams
Atlanta Hawks
- No. 5: Trae Young, Oklahoma (via Dallas Mavericks)
- No. 19: Kevin Huerter, Maryland
- No. 30: Omari Spellman, Villanova
It was a really odd start to the draft for the Atlanta Hawks, who traded down from No. 3 — and the chance to take Luka Doncic — to No. 5, where the Dallas Mavericks selected Trae Young for them. Why not just take Wonder Boy, or Jaren Jackson Jr. third overall?
Atlanta and Dallas have agreed to a deal, league sources tell ESPN. They'll trade Nos. 3 and 5 picks, sending Luka Doncic to Dallas and Trae Young to Atlanta, sources said. Dallas will send Atlanta a future first.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 21, 2018
Jackson would’ve been a tremendous defensive fit to help cover for John Collins in the frontcourt, and Doncic would’ve brought the star power the Hawks are trying to get with Young. Oklahoma’s star scorer is marketable and will certainly put butts in the seats for an arena that badly needs them there though, with his shooting, playmaking and well-known name making Dennis Schroder fully expendable as well.
The Hawks also added a top-five protected 2019 pick from the Mavs, which could be a nice pick if Dallas takes steps forward but doesn’t excel just yet behind the Dennis Smith Jr.-Luka Doncic backcourt.
Nabbing a knockdown shooter like Kevin Huerter at No. 19 was a great way to bounce back from that head-scratching start and make the decision look better in retrospect. This kid shot 41.7 percent from 3 on a total of 175 attempts last season, so like Young, he won’t be afraid to hoist. He’s also a very smart player who can attack off the dribble and create for others when defenses close out too hard on his shot.
Trae Young. Kevin Huerter. In Atlanta, for a GM who was in Golden State for years. Does Travis Schlenk see Splash Brothers 2.0? Maybe Sprinkle Brothers?
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) June 22, 2018
The common theme of shooting continued with the selection of Omari Spellman, a modern big who had one of the highest body fat percentages at the NBA Draft Combine, but can spread the floor the 3-point range and work the pick-and-pop game. He tries hard on defense and is a tenacious rebounder, but also has very raw post skills and still needs to refine his body a bit more.
Rounding out the draft, Atlanta took Kansas’ Devonte Graham at No. 34 and traded him to the Charlotte Hornets. In exchange, they got two future second-rounders. It feels like they could’ve used the pick to find better talent at No. 34, but they still added three quality shooters to spark some interest in a very boring roster, and bringing four new rookies to the 2018-19 roster might have been a tad excessive.
All in all the Hawks had a good night, but you’ve got to dock points for taking the flashier Splash Brothers trainee over the surer thing in Doncic, or the ideal fit in JJJ.
Grade: B-