The Hawks are weeks away from the NBA Draft, and the consensus among pundits is that there is no consensus.
Nobody seems to have any indication as to what Quin Snyder, Landry Fields, and the rest of the organization want to do at this point in the process. The rumor mill will pick up, though.
As of right now, the betting markets believe it’ll be Alex Sarr. Kevin O’Connor believes it’ll be Zaccharie Risacher.
“Risacher seems like the most likely choice at this point for the Hawks,” The Ringer insider wrote.
There’s another prospect that is beginning to gain more traction among these insiders too. Adrian Wojnarowski reported a few weeks ago that Donovan Clingan is certainly in play for the Hawks at the No. 1 overall pick.
Since then, Woj’s ESPN colleague Jonathan Givony has doubled down on the report.
“There is some chatter, however, that Clingan has fans among the Hawks’ constituency at No. 1, meaning there’s a lot left to be played out between now and June 26,” he said.
More recently, Givony reiterated on Zach Lowe’s podcast The Lowe Post that Atlanta likes Clingain, adding that the club’s head coach Quin Snyder especially likes him.
“I’ve heard that Atlanta likes Donovan Clingan. Quin Snyder especially likes Donovan Clingan. Atlanta had, I think one of the worst defenses in the NBA the past few years. One great way to fix that is to draft a guy with a 9-foot-7 standing reach who is the best shot blocker in this draft,” Givony said.
Donovan Clingan is a legit 7-foot-2 center who is already 280 pounds and can hang with the biggest that the Association has to offer. Despite the freakish size, he’s a fluid athlete that can immediately be an impact defender for Atlanta.
However, the Hawks would get virtually nothing offensively, other than feeding Clingan at the basket. The hope would be that he can develop his game on that end of the court if he’s taken #1.
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Photo: Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire
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