Hawks Go International With Both Second Round Picks
By John Buhler
In the second round of the 2015 NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks used both of the team’s picks on players playing over in Europe. Atlanta selected Shooting Guard Markus Eriksson 50th overall out of Sweden who last played for FC Barcelona in Spain. With their 59th overall selection, the Hawks went big drafting Power Forward Dimitrios Agravanis of Greece who last played for Olympiacos Pireaus.
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It comes as no surprise that the Hawks would select promising young prospects who play overseas in the second round. While many teams do like to draft and store future NBA players internationally, the Atlanta Hawks organization come from the same cloth belonging to the San Antonio Spurs. Both teams love to scout and draft basketball players who did not play collegiately in the United States.
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Atlanta is getting a tall and lanky 21-year old shooting guard in Markus Eriksson. At 6’7″, you would like his length as both an outside shooter and as a defensive player with favorable range. But at only 190 lbs., Eriksson will need to put on some weight before he eventually comes stateside as he could potentially get pushed around in the NBA.
FC Barcelona is one of the more decorated teams in European basketball. I believe that this is the club that Minnesota Timberwolves Point Guard Ricky Rubio starred for as a teenager before coming the Land of 10,000 Lakes. I believe that by playing for a top club like FC Barcelona, Markus Eriksson will get the professional experience he needs before the Atlanta Hawks choose to bring him across the Atlantic Ocean and into the Southeastern United States.
Agravanis looks to become another stretch four type of player for the Atlanta Hawks. At 6’10”, 235 lbs., Dimitrios can play both power forward and center. To me, Agravanis is the type of player that Head Coach Mike Budenholzer and his staff can’t help themselves over drafting: tall guys that can play multiple positions and shoot three-pointers.
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I look at Agravanis as a slightly smaller version of Mike Muscala. Playing for Olympiacos also bodes very well for a player wanting to transition to the NBA. In fact, Olympiacos is the team that former Atlanta Hawk Josh Childress signed that massive contract to play over in Greece. Being that I’ve heard of both FC Barcelona and Olympiacos before in a positive light says a lot about these clubs our second round picks are coming from.
Are both Eriksson and Agravanis joining the Hawks in 2015-16? Unlikely, but don’t be surprised if either of these guys plays for the Hawks in the not so distant future. This was an extremely weird draft for the Hawks. But then again pundits often say the same sort of things with San Antonio Spurs’ drafts and that organization has 5 NBA Championships. Perhaps Coach Bud and GM Wes Wilcox found that next great international player in either Markus Eriksson or Dimitrios Agravanis.
Next: Atlanta Hawks Trade 19th Pick in NBA Draft for Tim Hardaway, Jr.
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