The Atlanta Hawks were a team of mystery on the first night of the NBA draft, but clues were lying around. The Hawks’ needs entering the draft were noticeable. Find a long-term point guard and solve the problems that inevitably led to their season ending against the eventual NBA champions, the New York Knicks. They addressed some of these issues in the first round of the draft with the 8th and 23rd overall picks to kick off a new era of Hawks basketball.
Kingston Flemings Is the Future at Point Guard
If you had to trust and believe in one small guard to develop and become the future of a franchise, you’d choose Kingston Flemings.
Every trip on the floor, he makes his presence known. The competitive spirit is apparent not just in his play on the floor but also in how he approaches life. A day before the draft, Flemings wrote a letter in The Players’ Tribune, titled “A Letter to NBA GMs,” revealing what makes him compete in the way he does and what basketball means to him.
Flemings is a 6-foot-2 guard from the University of Houston who dominated throughout his freshman season. He is a shorter guard in this draft but makes up for it with a wider wingspan. This is very apparent on the defensive side of the floor, where he’s able to consistently cause havoc on the ball and in the passing lanes. Rebounding at his size will always be a challenge, but he has the attitude to become an annoying guy for defenses to box out.
Flemings Has an Elite Toolkit for a Guard
There are so many tools for Flemings to develop on the offensive side of the floor at the next level. Averaging 16.1 points per game at 47% from the field, he is a very crafty driver for his size and often used his elite speed to blow past defenders, but showed a variety of moves to get to the rim, avoiding rim protectors. With athleticism as his trump card, he is often able to create his own shot at will in one-on-one situations because of his speed.
Very consistent stroke from the perimeter, where he excelled at the elbow, rising up and knocking down shots over defenders. His feel for the offense at his age rivals very few, as he can consistently create opportunities for others.
What makes Flemings different in a class full of guards who can shoot the lights out is his IQ and his hunger to keep getting better every day.
Zuby Ejiofor Is Atlanta’s Next Big Project
The later pick on the night for the Hawks landed big Zuby Ejiofor at No. 23 overall from St. John’s. He is the most physically competitive player in the draft, and it shows on every play.
Ejiofor is an active defender who can guard one through five on the floor by flashing quick feet and hands on the perimeter while also withstanding most body blows in the post. The motor shows up on the glass as he believes every miss will eventually end up in his hands.
There is a project in Ejiofors offensive game that can be unlocked with time. For a big, he has a great feel for the offense and makes big-time passes in all phases. Ranging from cutting or making a pass at the top of the key. As a driver he shows great footwork and a great first step by being able to get around a ton of bigs.
Onyeka Okongwo has become a staple in the league for bigs who “can’t shoot,” eventually developing a shot over the first seasons of their careers, and Ejiofor will have to follow. Shooting 30% from behind the arc his senior season, he struggled overall, but made some hard shots in clutch moments, which is a decent base for his form already.
There’s no denying the size concerns as a center at the next level. At 6-foot-8, he immediately is one of the smallest 5’s in the leagu,e but the Hawks are banking on his will, physicality, and speed to be the difference off the bench.
What Is the Hawks’ Direction?
The talons of the team got sharper after Round 1. The Hawks went out and added pure competitiveness that they felt like they lacked during the postseason. No matter the opponent, no one is going to be able to punk or want it more than Flemings or Ejiofor. The second half of the season showed flashes of what Atlanta could do on the defensive end, and these two picks can only help develop those flashes into a culture.
If both of these players can develop into the guys that the staff believes they can be, this Hawks team will become exponentially deeper as a rotation and ultimately bring an edge back to Atlanta.
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