The Atlanta Hawks are not among the 22 teams, which are competing in Orlando for a place in the postseason.
As a result, Atlanta is looking forward to the next season with the 2020 NBA Draft being the priority. Heading into the draft lottery, the Hawks have the fourth-best odds to land No.1 pick.
In particular, the high chance of landing a top-4 pick put the franchise in place to select LaMelo Ball. According to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, the Hawks front office is considering to select Ball in the upcoming draft, but they are sceptical on how he is going to fit with Trae Young, especially on defense.
“There are some folks inside the organization who firmly believe Ball is the best prospect in this draft class, and it’s not close, and there are others who are against taking him because of the fit with Young. Particularly, the defensive end of the floor scares them because they aren’t good on that end. From what I’ve heard, he’s not a total cross off for the Hawks, but a lot more evaluation and talks are going to have to happen to get everyone in agreement for him to be the choice,” Kirschner wrote per USA TODAY Sports.
Atlanta is going to need to choose between fit and talent, if they choose talent, they should go with Ball’s ability. On the other hand, if they choose someone to fit in the current culture, they had to draft a player, who can cover the defensive liabilities of Trae Young.
