For much of the process leading up to the NBA Draft, the Hawks were expected to take Alex Sarr with their top pick.
However, shortly before the draft, reports surfaced that suggested the Frenchman didn’t want to play in Atlanta. The decision for Landry Fields was seemingly down to Zaccharie Risacher, Donovan Clingan, and Sarr. It ended up being Risacher, and the Hawks may have dodged a bullet.
Let me preface this by saying you should never declare a prospect a bust because of the Summer League, let alone one game. With that being said, the No. 2 overall pick made a lot of Hawks fans happy with his performance on Tuesday.
Sarr went an unsightly 0-for-15 from the field, including 0-for-7 from 3-point range against the Blazers, finishing the contest with 0 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, and two blocks.
The 7-foot French big missed under the basket, in the paint, from deep, and in the corner. He was quite diverse in his offensive attack, but it never materialized. Meanwhile, Clingan, who the Blazers selected No. 7 overall, got the best of Sarr, delivering 8 points, 13 rebounds, 5 blocks, and two assists.
In three Las Vegas Summer League games, Alex Sarr is averaging under 7 points and 7 rebounds per game, while doing it on extremely inefficient numbers. Sarr has shot below 35% in all three of his games in Vegas and is shooting 19.5% from the field overall.
He is impacting the game defensively, averaging 3 blocks, but it’s making the Hawks look like they might’ve made the correct decision to go with Risacher. Granted, we saw Trae Young put up some god awful Summer League performances, so it’s disingenuous to declare Alex Sarr a bust at this point. But if trends continue, it’s a conversation worth having.
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Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire
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