Hawks NBA Mock Draft 1.0: Who Atlanta Targets With Every Pick

The NBA Draft is six days away.

The Atlanta Hawks are entering the draft with a pair of first-round picks (at No. 8 and No. 23), they are the only playoff team with a top -ten pick, and they are one of two playoff teams with a lottery pick. This offseason is going to be about figuring out a solution in the backcourt, potentially long-term, and how they are going to add to the center position, which is something they are going to do in the draft, free agency, or both.

While the lottery did not fall their way, this can still be a very impactful draft for Atlanta. Which direction will they choose to go?

Atlanta Hawks Mock Draft 1.0

The picks leading up to No. 8:

1. Washington Wizards- BYU forward AJ Dybantsa
2. Utah Jazz- Kansas guard Darryn Peterson
3. Memphis Grizzlies- Duke forward Cameron Boozer
4. Chicago Bulls- North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson
5. Los Angeles Clippers (via IND)- Illinois guard Keaton Wagler
6. Brooklyn Nets- Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr
7. Sacramento Kings- Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr

8. Atlanta Hawks (Via NOP)- Houston guard Kingston Flemings

If the draft does indeed fall this way, the Hawks will have their choice of Flemings, Michigan center Aday Mara, Arizona guard Brayden Burries, Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg, or trade back (and possibly still get one of these players).

My gut tells me that the Hawks will look at the quality of guard prospect in this class and determine that they can fill their long-term point guard need with Flemings, who is a tough, two-way point guard who I think is going to flourish once he gets to the NBA. The offensive system that he ran at Houston bogged down some of his skillset and I don't think that Flemings has shown his full capability just yet.

The size is not ideal and the shooting could have been better, but Flemings can defend, get to the rim, and create shots for other. He got his teammates high quality shots at Houston, but the Cougars were not a great shooting team and I think that Flemings assist numbers will go up a lot at the next level.

He is not a perfect prospect, but Flemings fits in with this Hawks core and he can immediately fill the Gabe Vincent minutes off the bench and work towards becoming the point guard of the future.

9. Dallas Mavericks- Arizona guard Brayden Burries
10. Milwaukee Bucks- Tennessee forward Nate Ament
11. Golden State Warriors- Michigan center Aday Mara
12. Oklahoma City Thunder (via LAC)- Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg
13. Miami Heat- Baylor guard Cameron Carr
14. Charlotte Hornets- New Zealand Breakers forward Karim Lopez
15. Chicago Bulls (via POR) - Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson
16. Memphis Grizzlies (via PHX)- Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz
17. Oklahoma City Thunder (via PHI)- Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr
18. Charlotte Hornets (via ORL)- Washington center Hannes Steinbach
19. Toronto Raptors- Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr
20. San Antonio Spurs (via ATL)- Santa Clara forward Allen Graves
21. Detroit Pistons (via MIN)- Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie
22. Philadelphia 76ers (via HOU)- Houston center Chris Cenac Jr

23. Atlanta Hawks (via CLE)- Kentucky center Jayden Quaintance

Will Quaintance actually get this far? I don't know, but while the medicals are scary, it is absolutely worth a shot taking him here at No. 23 over the other center prospects that are currently on the board.

If not for the knee problems, Quaintance would likely be a top ten pick, even in a loaded draft such as this one. Yes, the offense needs lots of work and he might not play much as a rookie while recovering and getting as healthy as possible, but this would be a tremendous long-term bet for the Hawks.

Even with the injury concerns, Quaintance is an elite defensive prospect who would pair nicely with Onyeka Okongwu and would go well with Flemings long-term as well.

There is certainly risk to taking Quaintance, but at No. 23, getting someone with his defensive upside is worth gambling on.

No. 24. New York Knicks- Arkansas guard Maleek Thomas
No. 25. Los Angeles Lakers- Texas forward Dailyn Swain
No. 26. Denver Nuggets- North Carolina center Henri Veesaar
No. 27. Boston Celtics- Duke forward Isaiah Evans
No. 28. Minnesota Timberwolves (via DET)- Arizona forward Koa Peat
No. 29. Cleveland Cavaliers (via SAS)- Valencia guard Sergio de Larrea
No. 30. Dallas Mavericks (via OKC)- UConn center Tarris Reed Jr

No. 57. Atlanta Hawks (via BOS)- Duke forward Maliq Brown

Will the Hawks actually keep their second round pick? I am skeptical, but if they do and their draft has already fallen this way, taking a pure defensive specialist might be worth a shot.

I don't know if he would play a huge role or anything in his rookie season, but Brown's defense and instincts are good enough to play right away in certain roles. He is very limited on offense, but the Hawks could use him on the perimeter and you can never have too many good defenders on the roster.

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