New Atlanta Hawks grades from latest ESPN NBA Draft Big Board

The NBA Draft is getting closer and the time for the Atlanta Hawks to make a decision is getting closer.

The Hawks shocked everyone when they won the 2024 NBA Draft lottery with just a 3% chance, but it’s unclear what exactly they will do with the top pick. There appears to be a top three draft prospect, with French prospects Zaccharie Risacher and Alexandre Sarr, as well as UConn center Donovan Clingan, being the most talked about prospects at No. 1.

In the latest NBA Draft Big board from ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, they still had these three players as top prospects and they included some new notes on the Hawks talking about:

1. Zacharie Risacher:

“Risacher’s 75-game season ended on May 30, giving him a few days off before the start of the NBA Global Camp on June 4. There, he was measured and conducted interviews, a physical, tests sports and exercises Risacher will leave for Atlanta next week, his home base for the rest of the selection process, a city he knows well from having trained there in previous summers, before leaving for the states. United, he has some details to tie up in France, according to sources, including passing his driving test, a farewell press conference at his club, JL Bourg, and a suit fitting in Paris. with Armani for the draft night on June 26.

We will see how much of a network Risacher chooses to participate in NBA team practices with fairly limited time at his disposal and after a long season. Most teams don’t expect him to be available in the draft after No. 4, when the San Antonio Spurs are selected, so the Atlanta Hawks (No. 1 pick) and Washington (No. 2 pick) seem to be increasingly strong options. “

2.Alex Sarr:

“Sarr will be one of the first names on the board on June 26, but the situation at the top of the draft has not yet been fully defined. He is firmly in the mix as an option for Atlanta at No. 1, but The Hawks are carefully gathering information as they move toward their decision If Atlanta moves on from Sarr, Washington is shaping up strongly as a landing spot, with rival teams believing the Wizards at No. 2 are his home court.

As a mobile 7-footer with elite skill potential and physical tools, Sarr has obvious long-term appeal as he gains experience and matures, and he should be capable to have an immediate defensive impact. He’s made big strides this season in Perth, and if he can protect the rim and space the floor at a high level at the 4th and 5th spots, he’ll be the type of player teams will struggle to acquire in any no matter what draft, no. no matter how deep the class is. These high-end potential outcomes make it worth the top pick in the draft. »

3. Donovan Clingan:

“Clingan is a top-three prospect who could see a slight decline on draft night as teams ranked Nos. 3-6 already have starting centers in place. He’s in conversation at No. 1 after having trained in Atlanta (which is exploring trade-off scenarios He is also spending time in Washington, which has the No. 2 pick, and is not expected to overtake the Portland Trail Blazers at No. 7, to whom he came from). visiting for a private workout as a player, well, he’s being discussed among teams as a possible target for Chicago, Memphis, Oklahoma City or Utah, all of whom could consider trading for a player in his mold.

Clingan’s appeal is evident at 7-foot-3 with a 7-7 wingspan and a 9-7 standing reach, and he is considered by many to be the most impactful defensive prospect in the draft with the timing he shows as a rim protector and the improvement he has made guarding the pick-and-roll. His youth, productivity, touch and instincts on both ends of the floor give him a high floor and make him a sleeper candidate to hear his name called at No. 1. »

Those were the Hawks’ only notes that appeared in their new big board.

It seems increasingly likely that the Hawks will draft one of these players and Risacher and Clingan appear to have more buzz than Sarr at this point. Sarr was the popular pick right after the Hawks won the lottery, but Risacher and Clingan have been the subject of much discussion since then. A No. 1 trade could still be in the cards for the Hawks, especially if they like Clingan the most.

However, it is worth repeating that this situation still appears very fluid. I don’t think anyone really knows what the Hawks are going to do yet and they still have a few weeks to decide.

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

“And so especially Atlanta, I think it starts a really long process for them where it’s like, wow, we’re drafting No. 1, that’s amazing. And then it’s, holy shit, now we actually have to deciding who to take No. 1. And it’s not like one of those years where it’s like, Victor (Wembanyama) at the top, boom, done or Anthony Davis, LeBron, whatever, Zion.

There is no clear consensus. I’ve heard they’re trying to invite between six and eight guys, but there’s also talk that they might consider going down, taking multiple shots, which I think might be a play interesting in this draft. . They have a lot to sort out internally first, Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Clint Capela, De’Andre Hunter. There are so many moving parts on their roster that, you know, how do they see themselves?

Do they, you know, does this start, you know, a potential rebuilding process where they’re looking at maybe trading one or both of Trae Young or Dejounte Murray? And you know, what’s the appetite there? You know, first of all, within 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 where we’re going, which is normal. I mean, every team in the NBA goes through this process, you know, where are we? Where are things, where are we going to be and how do we perceive them? And I was told that it would take time to understand this process and sift through the options, you know, understand, you know, what to do.

And I said, you know, even since, you know, our very first mock draft in February 2023, we said something like, this could be a draft where we don’t know who the No. 1 pick is until for Adam Silver to stand on the podium and announce the choice, which is rare. You know, we saw it, you know, a few 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 idea. Part of the reason is that one of the guys at the top, Zaccharie Risacher, just finished his season. You know, instead of coming here to start his pre-draft process, his workouts and, you know, getting ready for interviews, he had to fly to France and Italy.

So I took advantage of the lull between the conference finals and the finals and some days between games to start making calls. And I, everyone says no one has any idea what Atlanta is going to do. Everyone tells me it’s too early. Atlanta doesn’t know what Atlanta is going to do.”

Before finishing their conversation about the Hawks, Givony and Lowe talked about UConn center Donovan Clingan and where he could go, with Givony mentioning that Hawks head coach Quin Snyder likes Clingan:

“Yeah, so we have Donovan Clingan ranked No. 3 on our big board. You can make his case up to second best prospect or even No. 1. I heard Atlanta likes Donovan Clingan. Quin Snyder especially since Donovan Clingan and Atlanta had I think one of the worst defenses in the NBA in recent years and a great way to solve that problem is to draft a guy with a 9’7 standing reach who is the best blocker in shots this draft and who has anchored the national championship defense for the past two years.

These next few weeks and this entire decision-making process are going to be crucial for the Hawks. Let’s see what happens.