Atlanta traded Jeff Teague the day before the NBA Draft, acquiring the No. 12 pick in a three-team trade with Indiana and Utah. Then they took two wings with experience, toughness, and tons of upside.
The Hawks have been excellent in recent history at developing wings, with DeMarre Carroll and Kent Bazemore serving as evidence. However, Carroll is long gone to Toronto, and Bazemore is about to bank in on a breakout campaign.
So at No. 12, the Hawks took Baylor’s Taurean Prince, whose tremendous story was recently covered by Jessica Camerato of CSN Philadelphia. Prince is an ideal 3-and-D forward who projects as a lockdown defender at multiple positions. For these reasons, Prince has the chance to be one of the most valuable players from this class.
With the No. 21 pick, Atlanta added St. Joe’s Hawk DeAndre Bembry, who has been likened to a young Andre Iguodala with the swagger of Jimmy Butler. Like Iguodala, Bembry is happier making the extra pass than firing up his own shot. He has experience playing in a role ill-suited for him as a top-dog scorer (as a junior in college), and so did Iguodala for a while in Philly. On a Hawks squad that values ball movement, spacing, and team play, Bembry is an absolutely excellent fit.
Bembry and Prince will probably be able to survive as rookies and earn minutes right away on decent defense alone, which speaks volumes about their general ceilings. If both prove capable of hitting threes and defending multiple positions, this was a killer draft for a Hawks franchise that forked over last year’s first round pick for Tim Hardaway, Jr. Of course, the Knicks have since traded Jerian Grant, but there were plenty of superb players drafted soon thereafter.
It was time to re-stock on the wing anyways. Defensive cog Thabo Sefolosha and sharpshooter Kyle Korver (who had his lone All-Star season in Atlanta) are starting to slow down, and even if Hardaway resembled an NBA starter he’d need a sidekick.
Like the Suns did with Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss at the four, the Hawks doubled down on their biggest need by taking two guys who technically play the same position. Both pairs might be interchangeable defensive enigmas though, so it’s reasonable to expect they’ll be able to share the floor during more than just the summer league.
If Al Horford sticks around this summer on a five-year max, this team is probably poised to remain in the playoff race with Dennis Schroder taking over duties at point guard. Meanwhile, the youngsters pressing Korver-Sefolosha-Hardaway for minutes is great for maximizing what Korver and Sefolosha have left in their tanks. It’s a longshot that the Hawks as presently assembled would ever have a chance at matching up against LeBron and the Cavs, but strange things happen sometimes. In their recent 60-win season, things spiraled out of control, beginning with Sefolosha’s shitty situation – and climaxing in the second round with an unfortunate injury to Korver and subsequent suspension for Horford.
Everybody (well, almost everybody) outside of Atlanta will be hunting for Horford in free agency. He is among the most versatile two-way forward-centers in the league, an extremely rare blend of size, speed, skill, and unselfishness. As an outside observer, it’s easy to picture Horford being an outstanding fit on just about any team. However, here’s one boring blogger hoping that this flock sticks together and tries its best to woo Kevin Durant or other top-flight talent. However, here’s a compelling case that the Hawks should tear it down and lose for a year.
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