2024 NBA Mock Draft: New ESPN Mock Draft Debates Atlanta's Best Pick For Need And Best Pick For Value

We are close to two weeks away from the NBA Draft and the Atlanta Hawks having to make a huge decision on the future of their franchise. Yes, there is not superstar, no-brainer talent in this draft to choose from, but there are plenty of capable players that would fit on the Hawks and make them a better team. The Hawks have to make the right decision though and that is the process they are undergoing currently. There is still a lot of debate about who the Hawks will actually take in the draft, with French prospects Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher, as well as UConn center Donovan Clingan, being the favorites for the pick.

In the latest mock draft from ESPN, draft analysts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo made a pick that would fill the Hawks's biggest need and made a pick that would be the biggest value for the Hawks. Givony picked Clingan, while Woo picked Risacher.

Here is what they each had to say about the picks:

Givony's pick that fills the biggest need: Donovan Clingan | UConn | C | Age: 20.2

"The 36-win Hawks, who have one of the NBA's worst defenses, could surely benefit from adding the draft's best rim-protector in Clingan, who might remind coach Quin Snyder of his Utah Jazz days with Rudy Gobert patrolling the paint. Clingan, ranked No. 3 in ESPN's Top 100, could be an excellent pick-and-roll partner with Trae Young, as he sets bruising screens, has terrific hands, can facilitate out-of-dribble handoffs and zoom actions and is a good passer and finisher."

Woo's pick that gets the best value: Zaccharie Risacher | Bourg (France) | SF | 19.1

"Risacher possesses an excellent baseline at a young age to become a valuable starting-caliber wing who excels on both ends. He also has a strong developmental floor. The No. 1 pick isn't as clear-cut this year -- and Atlanta might need rim protection more than it explicitly needs another wing -- but Risacher is the top-ranked prospect for both Givony and me, and he comes off the board here."

It was interesting that neither mentioned Sarr, the player a lot of analysts consider the top prospect in the draft. Sarr is said to have the highest ceiling in the draft and as an athletic shot blocker who could potentially stretch the floor (his offense is a work in progress), he would be a tremendous fit on the Hawks and that is who I would select if I was the Hawks.

It seems increasingly likely that the Hawks are going to take one of those players and Risacher and Clingan seem to have more buzz than Sarr does at this stage. Sarr was the popular pick right after the Hawks won the lottery, but Risacher and Clingan have been heavily discussed since then. A trade back from No. 1 could still be on the board for the Hawks, especially if they like Clingan the most.

Clingan is a propsect that I really do like from a defensive perspective for the Hawks, but I have a lot of questions about his offensive game, as well as his abiltity to guard in space. He is an excellent shot-blocker, rebounder, and passer for a big man though and might be the most ready to play prospect in the draft.

Risacher seems to have split opinions, especially on his ceiling. He fits the 3-and-D archtype that is so important in the league, but he does not do much with the ball in his hands and does most of his damage off ball. He is also not a lockdown defender yet. He made huge strides with his shooting and could be a knock down shooter, but it is tough to take a player at No. 1 if he can't create for himself on offense.

It should be repeated though that this situation still appears very fluid. I don't think anyone truly knows what the Hawks are going to do just yet and they still have a few weeks to decide.

On an episode of the Lowe Post Podcast, ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony and Zach Lowe discussed the top of the draft and what the Hawks might end up doing:

"And so especially Atlanta, I think this kicks off a really long process for them where its like, wow, we're drafting No. 1, this is amazing. And then its, holy s***, now we actually have to decide who to take No. 1. And it's not like one of those years where its like, Victor (Wembanyama) at the top, boom, done. Or Anthony Davis, LeBron, whatever, Zion.

There is no clear consensus. I have heard that they are trying to invite between six to eight guys in, but there is also some talk that maybe they are going to look at moving down, taking multiple swings at this, which I think could be an interesting play in this draft. They have a lot of things to figure out internally first, Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Clint Capela, De'Andre Hunter. There's so many moving parts on their roster that, you know, how do they view themselves?

Are they, you know, does this kick off, you know, potential rebuilding process where maybe they are looking at trading one of Trae Young or Dejounte Murray or both? And you know, what is the appetite there? You know, first of all, in the front office and then with the coaching staff, ownership, you know, there's going to be a lot of voices there in terms of what direction they should head in, which is normal. I mean, every NBA team goes through that process for, you know, where are we at? Where do things stand and where are we going to be and how do we view it? And I've been told that it is going to take time to figure out this process and sift through the options, you know, figure it out, you know, what to do.

And I have been saying along, you know, even from, you know, our very first mock draft in February of 2023, we said something like, this might be a draft where we don't know who the No. 1 pick is until Adam Silver steps up to the podium and announces the pick, which is rare. You know, we saw that, you know, a couple of years ago with Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, and Jabari Smith. But usually, you know who the No. 1 pick is going to be. You know what the top five is going to look like. And we really have no clue. Part of that is, you know, one of the guys at the top, Zaccharie Risacher, just finished his season. You know, instead of coming over here to start his pre-draft process, workouts, and, you know, getting ready for interviews, he had to fly to France and Italy.

So I've used the lull between the conference finals and the finals and some of the days in between games to start making calls. And I just, everyone is like, no one has any idea what Atlanta is going to do. Everyone just tells me that it is too early. Atlanta does not know what Atlanta is going to do."

Before they wrapped up their conversation on the Hawks, Givony and Lowe talked about UConn center Donovan Clingan and where he might go, with Givony mentioning that Hawks head coach Quin Snyder does like Clingan:

"Yeah, so we have Donovan Clingan ranked No. 3 on our big board. You can make a case for him as high as the second best prospect or even the No. 1 prospect. I have heard that Atlanta likes Donovan Clingan. Quin Snyder especially like Donovan Clingan and so Atlanta had, I think, one of the worst defenses in the NBA the past few years and one great way to fix that is to draft a guy with a 9'7 standing reach who is the best shot blocker in this draft and who anchored a national championship defense the past two years."

These next few weeks and this entire decision process is going to be crucial for the Hawks. Let's see what transpires.