Many draftniks believe the 2019 NBA Draft is not replete with a lot of ready-made ballers beyond Zion Williamson and Ja Morant. However, the Atlanta Hawks traded away Taurean Prince to the Brooklyn Nets in order to obtain the 17th overall pick as well as a lottery-protected 2020 draft pick and shooting guard Alan Crabbe.
It is unknown at this point whether Crabbe will be a part of the team going forward. Anthony Puccino of Nets Daily tweeted a photo of Allen Crabbe’s Instagram story, that insinuated the player is not happy about being traded.
Meanwhile, Prince was the 12th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. In his time with the Hawks, the 25-year-old forward developed into a nice swingman and competent defensive player. Last season, he averaged 13.5 points, 3.6 assists, 2.1 rebounds and one steal through 55 games. He also hit 2.2 3-pointers per game on 5.7 attempts.
Currently, the Hawks are heavily evaluating Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver. He could be a trade possibility. In a draft where Atlanta does not need another one-position point guard, Culver has an extremely high upside. He can create his own shot (averaged 18,5 points on 46.1% shooting, 6.4 total rebounds and 3.7 assists), understands the value of playing defense due to his time in the Red Raiders system where on-ball defending was required and his size (6’5″, 195) would prove to be the ultimate compliment to Trae Young in due time.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns are reportedly interested in Culver as well.
The Hawks are also looking for another player that can compliment John Collins in the post. Names to watch out for during the evaluation period are Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura and Oregon’s Bol Bol, son of Manute Bol.
As possible backup point guards, the Hawks are evaluating North Carolina’s Nassir Little and Tennessee’s Grant Williams.
