Chad Ford projects James Young to Atlanta Hawks in 2014 NBA Draft

After the NBA Draft Lottery, ESPN’s Chad Ford put up his latest mock draft, where he projected the Atlanta Hawks to select Kentucky guard/forward James Young:

"The Hawks have been looking for another wing, and Young has tremendous upside here. If he had shot the ball more consistently as a freshman, he would have been selected six to eight spots higher. Still scouts are convinced there’s nothing wrong with his stroke and given a little more time, he could be a very effective defense stretcher."

The Hawks lived and died by the 3-pointer this past season (and especially in the final round of the NBA playoffs) and it seems that Young could be another player to help out shooting behind the 3-point line.

NBADraft.net compared Young to Arron Afflalo and Daequan Cook, but also said that Young didn’t have one true stand-out skill:

"Overall: Young has the foundation of skills to be a big time scorer down the line. His combination of youth, length, shooting and body control gives him a lot of potential. However, he’s still learning to pick his spots and will likely need to be given time to develop. Would be best suited going to a team with a veteran shooting guard to mentor him for a year or two."