Minutes before the NBA Draft started, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Hawks had traded up to the No. 4 pick. In the trade, the Hawks were able to keep their No. 10 selection while giving up No. 7 and change to the Pelicans. Everything else went right for the Hawks afterward, and their future is now as exciting as it’s ever been.
At the very worst, the Atlanta Hawks just got a lot more exciting
Travis Schlenk’s evil-genius plan to build Warriors East is, dare we say, going as planned?
The Hawks selected Virginia wing DeAndre Hunter with the No. 4 pick, which many would argue to be a reach. But no matter anybody’s feelings, general manager Travis Schlenk hasn’t been afraid to move to get the players he believes to be the best fit for what the Hawks are building. See: Trae Young.
The Hawks then took Cam Reddish at No. 10, a player that has been mocked to the Hawks many times over all across the internet. Hawks fans were geeked:
That’s the draft watch party at State Farm Arena, with a crowd nearly as robust as a night with LeBron James or Stephen Curry in town. It’s usually been a fine place to read a novel over the years.
That’s because the Hawks finally have real hope for becoming an actual contender in the future.
That’s not to take anything away from what the Hawks accomplished in the more recent past. They made the playoffs every season from 2007 through 2017. But outside of the 60-win, Starting Five Eastern Conference Players Of The Month Hawks — which, let’s be real, was a candle that was going to burn out sooner rather than later — nobody could argue the Hawks were any real threat to even win the Eastern Conference.
John Collins was one of the first pieces to Schlenk’s puzzle, and has proven to be a good first step in the right direction. The 2017 No. 19 pick averaged 19.5 points and 9.8 rebounds in his second season in the NBA. He’s an explosive and versatile big man, providing skills that are necessary to win in today’s NBA.
A year later, it became clear Schlenk was emulating what he was able to be a part of in Golden State by drafting Trae Young, Kevin Huerter, and Omari Spellman. The additions of Young and Huerter understandably drew a lot of This Smells Like An Attempt At Steph Curry And Klay Thompson 2.0 reactions.
You won’t find anybody who is going to complain about Schlenk trying to build something similar to what’s been going on in Oakland the past seven or so seasons. All of that [wildly motions to the Warriors] looks like a lot of fun. Shoot, the Hawks were fun and exciting last season.
Even though it’s easy to see Schlenk’s vision, Thursday was still nerve-wracking for Hawks fans.
We don’t need to rehash all of the bad draft picks and decisions the Hawks have made over the years. You could even look back to last year, when they passed on Luka Doncic for Young. There was still tons of uncertainty around that trade, since it seemed Doncic was the best player in that draft. Knock on wood, that deal looks good so far.
So yeah, it felt weird on Thursday when the Hawks were able to trade up to No. 4 overall while keeping the No. 10 pick they got from Dallas in the Young-Doncic deal. It had to be Hunter, and it had to be Reddish. Who knew Schlenk was about to pull off a perfect draft for the Hawks?
The Hawks added the best defensive player in the draft in Hunter, who is also — you guessed it — a great spot-up shooter. They also added Reddish, who didn’t stuff the box score like Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett, but has all the potential to be a future star scorer.
SB Nation’s March Madness overlord/wizard/guy Ricky O’Donnell called Reddish one of the draft’s biggest and best mysteries, and described him as such:
Reddish looks like the prototypical NBA prospect from the moment he walks into the gym. He measured at 6’8 with a nearly 7’1 wingspan at the combine, ideal size for a wing who can defend multiple positions and still create his own offense. Add in a smooth shooting stroke, the ability to pull-up off the dribble, and point guard experience from his high school days, and Reddish offers an intoxicating package of new-age potential that feels like a seamless match for today’s NBA.
At one point, Reddish was considered a slam dunk top-five pick. These are dice worth rolling.
The Hawks’ rebuild will still take time, and some of the players mentioned previously may not work out. That also doesn’t matter for the time being.
The hope Hawks fans can take with them is maybe, one day, in a not-so-distant future, the team can compete for an NBA championship. At the very worst, they’re going to have even more Big League Pass Energy and be one of the most exciting young teams in the NBA. An end-game lineup of Young, Huerter, Reddish, Hunter, and Collins — players that are all 21 years or younger — is going to be fun.
After a season where the Toronto Raptors — a team that has existed for less time than I’ve been on this here Earth — won the title, it feels more likely that one day the Hawks could do the same. It’s just going to take some time. That’s not a feeling of hope that Hawks fans have previously had.
And if a Larry O’B happens for the Hawks one day, you better believe that parade will be the best the NBA has ever seen.
For now, Hawks fans can rejoice for another seemingly successful draft night.
Some of these June evenings over the years have been among the more depressing as an Atlanta sports fan. The 2019 NBA Draft was not one of those, and that’s worth celebrating.
The Hawks are finally exciting. What a world we live in.
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