Five Reasons the NBA Should Want the Atlanta Hawks Picking First

The Atlanta Hawks Future With Zion

John Collins he is another budding young superstar for the Atlanta Hawks. He broke out this past season, averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds in just his second NBA season. He is a spectacular player and one of the NBA’s most exciting and effective finishers. Imagine Zion Williamson and Trae Young running the pick and roll, with John Collins roaming the baseline and making teams pay for helping. The thought is just as captivating with Collins as the role man and Zion patrolling the baseline. Shooters like Kevin Huerter and Taurean Prince will be around, to deter teams from collapsing their defenses inside.

The scary thing for the rest of the NBA, is the Atlanta Hawks also have a high probability of getting the number nine pick from the Dallas Mavericks. Should the Hawks land Zion, the club could go in a variety of directions with the ninth pick. They could choose to add another wing player like Kevin Porter, Coby White or Cam Reddish, Williamson’s teammate at Duke. However the Hawks have a glutton of wings including Kevin Huerter, Taurean Prince, Deandre Bembry, Justin Anderson and Kent Bazemore.

Adding another true center is the Atlanta Hawks greatest need and if his medical records check out fine, the 7’3 Bol Bol is the best way to address that need. Bol is the son of the late Manute Bol, who is second all time in NBA blocked shots per game. Having a tall, multi talented center who can rebound and post up, as well put the ball on the floor and shoot from the outside to space the floor, would the perfect fit with Zion Williamson. This would allow Atlanta to use a huge lineup of Bol, Collins and Williamson up front, with Young and Huerter or Prince in the backcourt, that few teams could match up with.

This tweet from ESPN draft analyst Mike Schmitz gives us a glimpse as the rare skill set of Bol Bol:

The Atlanta Hawks could also go small in this scenario with Zion Williamson at center, while still being able to protect the rim. Zion averaged 1.8 blocks per game and 2.8 blocks per 40 minutes. He is a terrific rim protector for his height. Most importantly Bol Bol also protects the rim without fouling, averaging 2.7 blocks per game and only 1.1 fouls during his time at Oregon. The possible lineups that the Atlanta Hawks could deploy to make it difficult for opponents are endless. They would have a stable of first round picks that few teams could boast with Young, Collins, Williamson, Bol, Huerter, Prince, Bembry, Spellman and Alex Len, who was once a top five pick of the Phoenix Suns. The end result of a super team developing would highly probable and an NBA Championship in the near future would be very possible.

A bonus feature of Zion Williamson joining Atlanta, is the Vince Carter retirement tour could also be taking place with the Hawks next season. This would bring even more attention and more of the spotlight to one of the NBA’s hottest young teams. So the Atlanta Hawks winning the NBA Draft Lottery would be in the best interest of the NBA and Zion Williamson. It is time for the Atlanta Hawks to finally get that elusive number one overall pick. The city of Atlanta will be rooting for it and the NBA should be too.