Why Luka Doncic Thinking About Staying With Real Madrid Should Make Marvin Bagley The Top Choice For The Hawks In The NBA Draft
After declaring that there’s a possibility that he could stay with his Real Madrid club, the Hawks should be skeptical about selecting Luka Doncic with the third overall pick in the NBA Draft.
Luka Doncic has made it known that there is a possibility that he could stay in Spain with his Real Madrid team for another year before joining the team that drafts him. For the Hawks at the second overall pick, this comes with huge implications.
It looks like the Suns will take the hometown favorite DeAndre Ayton and depending on who the Kings choose between Doncic and Marvin Bagley, Atlanta will choose who’s left. There is the scenario where Bagley could be chosen by Sacramento with the second pick but the consensus is that Doncic will be heading there so Bagley should be the priority for Atlanta.
The Hawks will have a renovated Philips Arena in 2018 and there has to be excitement made available from the jump. Atlanta has been looking for a face of the franchise for years now and it could be either Luka Doncic or Marvin Bagley who takes the city over. Doncic deciding to stay a year or longer in Spain would possibly lead to another 24-win season. Getting a dominant big man like Bagley who’s a force in the paint along with an expanding midrange game will get Hawks fans out of their seats. Bagley pairing up with John Collins would also bring the electricity to Philips Arena as both have the same skillset, can dominate in the paint, and finish beautifully on fast breaks.
Doncic is only 19-years-old so it would not surprise me to see him stay to develop more but the Hawks’ goal this past season was to lock up a top-five draft pick. Seeing it go to waste with Doncic staying home would be frustrating. The Timberwolves saw the same situation happen with Ricky Rubio in 2009 when he was drafted fifth overall and decided to stay with FC Barcelona for two more seasons.
Seeing a twin towers force with Collins and Bagley would also play a huge role in helping the Hawks become the defensive-minded team that new Head Coach Lloyd Pierce preached about in his introductory press conference. The Hawks have plenty of shooters in Dennis Schroder, Taurean Prince, and Kent Bazemore but having a solid defense has been a concern of the Hawks’ since Mike Budenholzer’s head coaching tenure in Atlanta.
Yes, Doncic’s ceiling is high and can become the latest European player to succeed in the NBA since Kristaps Porzingis but Hawks fans in Atlanta have been waiting for a superstar to rise up in the city for far too long. Even if they don’t select Doncic, their future is still bright with Marvin Bagley as the face of the franchise.