Final Atlanta Hawks Summer League Grades and Evaluations

The Atlanta Hawks Summer League is over.

Atlanta played more basketball than a lot of teams that were participating in Summer League, due to playing in Salt Lake City and then heading to Las Vegas to compete, and there were a lot of good signs and takeaways for Atlanta, from their rookies to some of the more veteran players on the roster.

The rookies got a lot of the buzz for Atlanta heading into both Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. As a Top 10 pick, Kingston Flemings was going to have a lot of eyes on him, as was Zuby Ejiofor, who was one of the best players in college basketball last season. After falling late into the second round, Henri Veesaar came into Summer League with a lot of intrigue, and he flashed the upside that showed why he was considered by some as a late first-round type of talent.

What kind of grade did the Hawks rookies earn for their Summer League performances?

Kingston Flemings: A-

Flemings had the highest expectations among the three Hawks rookies and he did not disappoint.

Flemings ability to run the offense, create shots for his teammates, make effort plays on defense, and just overall feel for the game was what was most impressive, even in a Summer League setting.

The shooting and the scoring is what prevents this from being an A+ (that's how good the other stuff was). Flemings did not shoot well from three and also struggled finishing at the rim, which were two concerns for him heading into the draft. Flemings showed the ability to do these things though, but must gain consistency.

I think Flemings solidified himself as a part of the rotation with how he played over the past couple of weeks, and Hawks fans should be excited about what they saw from the top pick.

Zuby Ejiofor: B+

Ejiofor saw his stock go way up over the past couple of weeks.

Some Summer League players catch your eye because they do a lot of things they did not show in college or in the G-League previously and that causes their stock to go up. For Ejiofor, he did not necessarily show anything new (though he was a more consistent shooter), but he just excelled at the things he was already good at, which are rebounding, physicality, rim protection, and ability to score around the basket.

Analysts wondered if his style of play would translate, and while it is just Summer League, the early returns are positive for the Hawks' other first-round pick.

Ejiofor averaged 12.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 2.5 APG on 39% shooting from the field and 43% from three in the two games that he played in Las Vegas.

Henri Veesaar: C+

Veesaar has the skillset that will make him an effective NBA center at some point and he did not have a terrible Summer League, but it is clear that he is going to need some time to develop before he is ready to be an NBA rotation player.

Veesaar showed good shooting touch in most of the games that he played, was solid as a roll man and screener, and was ok in rim protection, but he struggled to score aside from outside shooting and his rebounding for a seven footer was disappointing.

This is likely going to be a year where Veesaar spends a lot of time in the G-League developing his game, and he could emerge later in the year, or we could see how much he has improved when next summer rolls around. Solid summer, but there is plenty to work on, which is expected from the No. 52 overall pick.

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