Atlanta Hawks: NBA Free Agency, mid-level exception targets, and 2025 NBA Draft with Andrew Kelly

Atlanta Hawks: NBA Free Agency, mid-level exception targets, and 2025 NBA Draft with Andrew Kelly

On today’s show, I am joined once again by Andrew Kelly. And this time, we’re digging into free agency, the middle-le exception, and the NBA draft. And it’s coming up right now. You are Locked on Hawks, your daily Atlanta Hawks podcast, part of the Locked Onet, your team every day. Hello friends, welcome to episode 1990 of the Loftton on Hawks podcast. I am your host Brad Rolling coming to you deep into the night here on a Thursday evening into Friday. And today’s podcast is brought to you by the folks at FanDuel Sportsbook. And right now if you’re a new customer, get $200 in bonus bets. If your first $5 bet wins at FanDuel, I also want to tell you at the top of the show, as I always do, to make sure your first listen each and every day here at One Hawks, check us out and subscribe to the show anywhere you find your podcast. That includes places like YouTube or Apple, Spotify, Overcast, etc. Listen there, watch there, tell your friends, and I appreciate you being here. As always, this is kind of a part two of two with myself and Andrew Kelly. If you missed it, I posted a new episode. It was episode 1989 on Thursday, kind of in the midday lunchtime hour. And that was an early release to some degree, but we talked about all kinds of team building stuff for the Hawks, like trade stuff around Trey Young and what they should be doing in free agency, overall vibes for the organization, etc., etc. And this discussion that you’re about to hear right now is about free agency when it comes to the mid-level exception in particular, potential targets there, and then also the NBA draft, some of Andrew’s favorites and preferences in this class. So, without any further delay, we’ll dive back in now. Hope you enjoy your Friday into the weekend. And uh here we go with myself and Andrew Kelly. Andrew, I do want to ask you about one more thing uh before we get to some draft talk. And that is we alluded to it already with Caris, but the mid-level exception is kind of out there and that’s the biggest tool in free agency. Yes, there are signin trades before anybody. I I understand that, but as far as like just signing a player, the Hawks have the biggest tool they have is the mid-level exception. And they haven’t been using it. We poke fun, we both poke fun at that at various times. There is a world as as I laid out on the show actually last week where you can sign Caris Levert to a market contract and then also turn around and use the full mid level while still being under the tax. And that that under the tax for music ownership’s ears, I’m sure I think they probably should just if not use the entire mid level, they could they should be able to use a good chunk of it to add a real player. Maybe it’s a backup center, backup point guard, another wing, however you want to do that. up to you. But uh number one, does that make sense? And number two, are you dreaming about certain players as mid-level targets for this team? Yeah, I think your framing is right. Basically, the ideal situation for me is you keep Caris Lever and you also use, not one or the other. That’s how you end up with the best rotation possible in my view. So for me, you know, I’ve looked at it some. There’s really a few guys that that make sense as targets for me. The first is going to be Nikuel Alexander Walker. He’s the guy where I think like, yeah, this is an MOE guy. He had an impressive playoffs. Yeah, he’s a very versatile, good defender, can sued well enough. To me, he’s a guy I think you definitely want to pursue if you’re able to um convince them of taking this role. I think there is some kind of like questions about overlap with both Lever and Terrence man who they just acquired on a pretty sizable contract. You also have Buffkin, maybe you have some other guys that factor in. So from a pure, you know, projected standpoint, I’m I’m not sure that they’ll be as interested in him just because they might feel that they’re already filling that role elsewhere, but just he is the guy to me that I think is like the most like, yeah, you can go full MLE on on NAW. Outside of him, the other two guys that I think at least for a portion of the MLE, maybe not full, but getting there, I think would be Tai Jerome and Luke Cornet. I mean, Jerome did not have a great playoff run for the Cavaliers, but he did have a very impressive regular season. And this is something we talked about again privately, but they really need to elevate their guard play. They they are a little bit too reliant on Trey. They need more creation. They need more shooting. So, Jerome, I think, is a pretty natural fit for Atlanta for that reason. That’s something, you know, they could address this by trade. I’ve done guys like Jose Alvarado could potentially be a target. they can maybe draft a point guard like a Jace Richardson or a Walter Clayton, someone like that or Kobe Buffin that can fill that role. But I think Jerome is somebody that’s a pretty natural target. Also, Luke Cornette Boston. I I want to say that he could be an interesting guy. He was pretty impressive to me overall. He’s not like a sexy player, but they’re going to have to get another big. Like that’s I think that’s pretty obvious. Even if they bring back Larry Nance, I’d still want some more size there. Um, if you draft somebody, maybe minutes start to get pretty thin, especially if you factor in maybe gay play and some at the five, but I do think I would look at him as well. I wouldn’t go fully on him, but just a quality backup center is something that makes a lot of sense for them. Yeah, I I love the cornet idea. He’s been on my radar, too. Again, I don’t know if you go full mill level or or if you have to. I kind of thought he was gonna go back to Boston until and by the way, he still might. But now that Boston doesn’t have the like we are a title contender for sure thing going into next season. Maybe he doesn’t take a discount to stay like like he might have. Um he’s on my radar. I know people are dreaming about Stephen Adams. I am too. I think he’s not going to leave and if he does Atlanta. I should have mentioned him too and I thought about it. I just don’t think he’s going to leave. I I think he wants to play for a contender. I I do too. Maybe you can out bid on him and I I don’t know what his market’s going to be like but he’s he’s really good. Uh there’s kind of different ways to use the mid-level and I don’t think it’s going to have to be one thing. I know it’s kind of similar to the draft conversation that we might have uh in a minute, but I have of the mind where you don’t have to do a specific position in the draft. I know there’s this thought that the Hawks have to draft a center or they have to draft a guard. And I don’t I don’t believe that. But in conjunction the draft and free agency, um they do have to come away with a backup center. And for me, you know, back up, drafting a drafting a center and then expecting that guy to be a rotation level player on a good team in year one is risky to me, but it does. Obviously, if you use a top 20 pick or whatever on a on a center, you probably don’t want to then also turn around and spend eight figures on a backup center. I kind of get that combination is a little bit tough. So, if you draft with 13th a number 13, especially if you draft somebody there that’s a big, you probably don’t want to turn around and sign the cornet. I get that. But they do have to come away with some plugs of these holes and backup center is one of them. I um I’m open to either pathway whether it’s gonna be a draft guy or a free agent. Um there are other I mean honestly this isn’t going to happen but uh I would I would call out Lorford honestly. Yeah. I I don’t think he’s going to be interested. It’s not it’s not gonna it’s not going to happen but I’m just saying like that kind of there’s a long list. I mean, Brook Lopez is like another, but it’s just when you think about these guys that have like massive career earnings, are they gonna, you know, is getting a little bit overpaid for one more year for a team that doesn’t project to be, you know, a D playoff team? Is that something that you want to do at this point? I’m not totally convinced. I mean, if you can, that’s that’s great. Like, that would actually be ideal. But uh I mean there’s some older centers too that can maybe be a available around pick 22 where you know like a Calbrer or someone like that you could look at as this guy could might be able to give us NBA rotation minutes pretty early on. If not then we maybe you know misuse that pick to begin with. But there are some options in the draft where I think you could project a role for them. Not necessarily some of like the younger centers, but some of the older ones I think have a chance to like be pretty useful relatively early. But yeah, backup center is such a glaring need and it’s also something they can address by trade and they might be better served doing it that way as well, right? And I was gonna say trade options like someone like Dron Sharp I I’d be interested in like he’s restricted maybe in Brooklyn but he might not be restricted in Brooklyn. We don’t know how they’re going to use their space. Like there’s a lot of names. We won’t talk about all of them but that’s an option. And you’re right. I think Colt Runner would not be like the best overall value that I would love at 22, but he is someone who does project to be able to help you a little bit more as a rookie than some others might, etc. The same thing is the case at point guard. We talked about this a little bit already, but um there’s some sub midlevel like sub full mid-level targets like I personally would be interested in Trey Jones. I don’t know what you think about Trey Jones. I like Trey Jones. Not Taius Jones. Trey Jones. Not a great season this year, but yeah, I’m I’m with you on that that he he could make sense. I mean, I really tried to like poured through that point guards list and there wasn’t a lot of guys that just jumped out as like, oh yeah, this guy can be like a clear value ad besides uh they’re cheaper. I mean, Malcolm Malcolm Brogden like as a liked he can’t stay healthy anymore, but I mean he’s from here. Uh he wouldn’t be as expensive. You wouldn’t think like factor in this could be like a 15-minute kind of role and I know you’re about to say, but yeah. Who who am I going to say? The Anthony Milton. Yeah. Yeah. I knew that was I knew that one was coming. I worry about the injuries, man. But uh yeah, he’s someone you can look at. I think my old friend is also a uh available. He’s perennially available in free agency. So there’s there’s some cheaper options they could they could look at. But I think it makes sense too to like look for to price that role up a little bit more like through trade like try to get like a quality backup. Even if it’s like, you know, a 16 minute per game type role. They just they’ve really languished in some of these non-trade minutes. I think it makes sense to try to get the best possible um option they can get. Yeah, if they if they don’t spend bigger, I’m with you. Um there is a middle ground. If you want to go cheaper in that role, there are guys um there are trades like you said, Alvarado would be a great idea if they could pull that off for a reasonable price, etc. So, like it’s it’s all it’s very wide ranging. And again, I I also and I know this is not necessarily like clicking for everybody when I bring it up. if they want to use the mid-level and they can get a guy who they think is going to be a like really solid rotational wingforward. I know it’s not a need, but like I’m okay doing that. If there’s a guy they like, if it’s like Jake Larabia or something like that, I would be interested in that. Like I don’t they don’t need that guy, but like you can you you can never have too many competent wings and forwards. Yeah, he would he would be an interesting guy. I like that call as well. And NAW, I think, is just like as you know, he’s playoff proven at this point. I just don’t know that they’ll be able to get over the top for him. But yeah, you you look at just the best available uh ads. It doesn’t necessarily have to be like a clear pressing need like the wing or something. You’re always looking for that like you said. We’re in agreement there. Um and then of course you still have the option to bring Larry Jr. back. I think there’s some interest there on both sides. I think Capel is going to move on, but there are uh names to monitor for sure. Today is sponsored by FanDuel Sportsbook. The NBA playoffs are in full swing. Of course, the battle is happening right now in OKC in Indiana. And every night delivers highlight worthy performances, major momentum shifts, and can’t miss moments in the NBA, whether it’s gamewinning shots or a player having a true breakout this summer. There’s never been a better time to get on the action than with FanDuel Sportsbook. And they make it easy there at FanDuel to stay in the game both before tip off and live when the game is going on. They have player props, performance trends, parlays, and more. And fans have the really every single way possible to get back into the game to play smart and to win big. 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All right, Andrew, I want to make sure before we get out of here to ask you about some draft draft stuff because I know you’re following the draft. You’re sharing video the way that uh you do and I’m interested in all of what’s going on. Um, we’ve referenced some of our behind behind the scenes conversations already. One that I know you were talking about on Twitter and we’ve talked about is like the shifting of that late lottery range. It seems like some guys that we were kind of dreaming on a month ago are probably not going to be there for the Hawks anymore. And I wonder like as of early June, what you’re like thinking would be a good pathway. I mean, even guys you like generally speaking, we don’t have to talk about like exactly who’s going to go where, but uh priorities for you landscape like how are you thinking about 13 and 22? Yeah, I think you are right about the shifting landscape that we’ve seen. It was really just like it seems like a month ago like Sam Bassini was mocking uh Jeremiah Fierce at 13 and now that seems very unlikely. It seems like he’s going to be a top half of the lottery guy. I mean, Noah Singway, he was somebody that was frequently mocked, like mid to late teens. I I think he doesn’t make it to 13. Carter Bryant seems like a lot to go lottery at this point, and I think more likely to go to the top 10 than to make it to 13. So, some of these like forwards that have been interesting have subsequently risen. So, it’s starting to thin out a little bit more now. But, it also works both ways. Like where some guys uh that I didn’t think available might be available now. like Derek Queen, Maryland center. He’s somebody that seems uh more likely to make it to the back end of the lottery, perhaps further than he did a few weeks ago. It seems like he didn’t have the best combine showing a little bit out of shape. Didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, but he’s somebody that could potentially make it to there. Jace Richardson, another guy that earlier in the process I would have really liked at at 13. I still like him a good bit, but I mean he measured the same height as Trey Young without shoes. He’s quite small. I mean, he does have like a 66 wingspan. He and he’s a good defender, too. So, he’s not just like Trey Trey Young as far as like comp, but he’s somebody now where I would be more interested in him at 22 than I was at 13. But when I think about 13, I mean, you’re still you’re very much thinking best available player. Like, you’re not really trying to fill a particular need. When you get to the late lottery, you still have a lot of talent available, but I think I really want to emphasize when you get there, all these guys are going to have real flaws. you know, that that that should be baked into their price. There’s a reason they’re not going higher. So, you have to kind of look at it from the standpoint of let’s try to be more in on this guy than out with full acknowledgement that they’re going to have some some real flaws that could prevent them from being a good NBA player. Um, there’s really a few guys that I’ve kind of had circled um as I’m reflecting on what I think is, you know, the consensus big board, how things seem to be shaping out. And a few of these guys are Cedric Coward I think is a really interesting player. Thomas Sorber, the big from Georgetown, and the aforementioned Derek Queen. Those are three guys I I I really like at 13. Coward, I think, is one of the most like polarizing evals of this class. I mean, if you’re listening to this, I mean, I assume that you’re paying, you know, pretty close attention to Brad’s pods, but you might pull up a consensus big board and see him at like 32 and be like, “What’s this guy talking about?” But, right, I know for a fact that his range does start in the lottery. He’s 66. He has a massive wingspan, great defender, great size. He played more like a lot more postcoring at Washington Stadium. He only played six games before being felled by an injury, but so many times when you’re watching him, man, I just think that like this is a pro move. Like when you pull up his highlights and it’s not too hard to watch a lot of coward because he only played so few games. Again and again, you’re just asking yourself like, man, this this this looks like a pro move. Like everything about this is confident. His shot looks incredible. I mean, he shot the rubber off the ball uh in scrimmages, the combine, and uh his pre-draft work. I think his shot is one of the more projectable skills in this class, and I know the sample size wasn’t big this year. I mean, when you stretch back further to his prior stops, I mean, you you you can I think make a pretty good guess about how his shoot’s going to his shots going to translate to the NBA, but I really do buy his shot. I don’t think he’ll do as much postcoring as he did at Washington State in the NBA, but I like that he can do it. And just the all-around physical profile I I think is really compelling. So, I think he’s somebody that is a really interesting bet when you start to get late into the lottery. What do you think about him? No, I like him, too. You’re 100% right. The the gap is very very wide on Cedric Coward. I think that is an upside swing with some downside and that’s fine in the range. Like I you said it perfectly about the all these guys have fluffs and I have been really pushing back and I don’t mean to be belligerent about it because like I’m actually pretty open in this class. my my opinions I have opinions on guys that are strong but it’s not a situation where I’m gonna be really critical of any particular pick probably or really really excited about it like I think it’s fairly flat but what I will say I’m with you there’s maybe like two or three guys where I think like oh yeah that might be a bad pick but I I we agree I have I have my preferences and there a couple guys I would not love but it’s like what what I would say is that there’s not a I don’t know I have a hard time with anything that’s like the Hawks have to do exactly this Like I I I always feel that way, but especially we’re talking about the middle of the first round. Like yeah, if you’re picking at one, two, or three and you have super strong, I get it because that you know is going to be available by all accounts. At 13, you have no clue who’s going to be available. Somebody generally there’ll probably be a surprise follower. Maybe it is Derek Queen and we already and we already kind of see it coming, but like there’ll be somebody that falls. It’s somebody’s going to be there that we don’t think is going to be there and then you’ll get a trade up or something like that and your whole board will be messed up and all those things. So, like I’m I’m trying to keep a very open mind on this. And also, positionally, I know there’s the you have to draft a center faction. I don’t believe that. Now, can they draft a center? Of course they can. There are guys that I would be totally fine with them drafting. I like Thomas Orver. If Malawak some somehow fell, sure, sign me up. Queen is more complicated, but certainly he’d be a reasonable pick at 13. Like a very, very valuable player. Um, even down the board at 22, like you want you want to draft Baron Jay, fine. Like they’re Kulkr Brener even, sure. But it’s just a um it’s best player available. It’s not to me it’s not gonna have to be a position. It’s not gonna have to be even a skill set. Like yeah, it would be great to have shooting. Like the Hawks need some more shooting. We all we probably understand that at this point. But you know, Color Boils I like and he can’t shoot. So at least he might not be able to shoot. He’s an interesting eval too. He he’s someone I honestly I think I like more in a vacuum than for the Hawks specifically. It’s one of those things too where you always kind of want to take the best available player. We just don’t know how things are going to play out. But his shot format, I really do worry about. I love his defense. I love his handle. Like how many guys he was just able to beat just off the dribble using his handle. Like that’s something that’s really compelling. His free throw rate, his physicality. Like these are all qualities that you look for. And I I honestly again I don’t think he makes it even to 13. But I I do wonder a little bit about the team context because the Hawks can build so many lineups that struggle with shooting and how that how he might fit into that. But I still think he’d be a good pick at 13. But um a couple other guys like I mentioned, Sorber, the Georgetown big, I think is really interesting. His defense just really stands out for me. And he’s like very much a trash talker, too. Like you can always hear him talking after plays. Great uh great shot blocker. I really like his interior passing as well. Like when you look at playoffs basketball, having a big that can make those tight close quarters passes accurately without turning it over, I think is important. I I think he’s his all-around analytical profile, I think, is strong. He did have that foot injury that uh kind of ended his season. I think he missed about 10 games or so towards the end, but I think he’s a really interesting guy. Derek Queen to me. Um I would probably have him close to like a top five guy in this class. I don’t know where you have him, but I just think he’s a really unique type of driver. Like it’s very rare that you see a big that can put the ball on the floor and finish at the rim with either hand like he can. Um, Will Morris, another draft Twitter account, he had a a good video in Queen today, and uh, he had 89 uninsisted rim bakes. Like, how often do you ever see a stat like that on a center and 89 unassisted rim rates? Like, you just rarely see that. I know there’s, you know, some questions about how this translates to the NBA. Um, you see that sometime like he I’m not comparing him to like Alber Shen, but that was another guy that had a really strong analytical profile that had questions about like how is this going to translate? And ultimately, you know, his talent won out. And I think that is also the case with Queen. I mean, you look at him, he was the best player as a freshman on a four seed in the Big 10 that went to the Sweet 16. Like, that’s he has a really impressive all-around profile. I think just when you think about how his offense could develop. I mean, he he had more turnovers than assists, I believe. But his passing, I think, is really impressive. Some of the skip passes he can throw. when you think about uh Zachary Reese as an off ball mover, how he could relocate queen, somebody that could seek to fight him behind the arc for threes, like there’s a lot of different ways you could use him. So, for me, I think if he were to slip all the way to 13, he would be a pretty easy pick by me. Even though I do like some of these other guys in that range. Yeah, I would take him. Uh I think I mean I won’t say for sure but I think I would I would like that if the Hawks drafted Derrick Queen in three weeks uh at without trading up I would be uh positive about that selection for sure. Uh even with some of the questions that I have about him and the fit and all those things like I think it’s a best player available swing at that point in time. I do want to ask you, not that I ask everybody this on purpose because I want to get everybody’s opinion. Uh, where are you on the on the on everyone’s favorite trade-up scenario? Because I I’ve shared my thoughts extensively, but are you are you in on the the Hawks have to draft uh someone higher on the board, package 13 and 22, or would you be more on the stay put and take both guys and take two swings? You think Dallas would take 13 and 22 for one? I don’t know if they uh I I don’t know. Uh no, I’m kidding. I actually was funny. Uh did you see this is off the off the beaten path, but did you see the fake trade of like the uh the Spurs trying to go from two to one with Dallas that was making the rounds that was like No, I didn’t. It was one of those like uh it was two and 14 and like two more unprotected firsts. And I was like actually that’s actually not an insane hypothesis. Anyway, but uh no, it’s look, I did a whole set of shows with this with with Rucker about trade-up stuff. Everyone knows that I don’t I don’t love the idea, but I’m also not someone who’s going to like go crazy about I don’t think it’s like totally unreasonable if you love a guy. You have to love a guy, but are you on the trade-off bandwag? No, I’m not. I It’s just so flat, man. I mean, you have like Flag at one, you have Harper at two, after that. There’s some guys I like, but it’s definitely more eye the beholder. Like, it’s really interesting when you see boards this year how much variance there is between guys. like you’ll see players that might be a consensus number seven guy that is, you know, number 28 on someone’s board and it’s not even an uncommon thing. So, for me, I’m just not looking to pack it. I would want to use both picks. I mean, we don’t know, you and I, we don’t know anything on like the interview side and all of that. Like maybe there’s some guy that makes a really compelling uh, you know, case for the Hawks for why you should trade up and go get him. And maybe their analysis is really strong and they’d really trust that. If they have a really good process for that, I guess I wouldn’t kill them for it. But I think you are better off using both these picks and I think that their picks fall in a pretty good range. Like I I I quite like the middle of the draft. I mean we’ve seen some guys pull out towards the end like file on and go back to school. So you know it’s thinner phylon quite a bit and you know roll tide. I like that for him. But for the Hawk standpoint I mean it does thin out uh after like 25 or 26. So they got pretty lucky that Lakers pick ended up uh rising in that. But I do like that range. I mean, we talked about the three guys I mentioned, Sorber, Queen, and Coward. I mean, Rashir Fleming, I know you’re a fan of him. Like, he honestly reminds me like a little bit of like old Jeremy Grant, you know, like the small ball five, like being a good like rim finisher and that kind of thing. Limited skill, like doesn’t have really a handle. But the athleticism, I think, is really interesting. I think he could be a good pick. I actually do like Baron J. I’m glad you mentioned him. I mean, I know everybody’s doing like, oh, this is the Javon Plant guy. Like, this is a guy that’s rising that probably shouldn’t. No, but he’s he’s not just that’s not him. I mean, maybe, but no, he’s he’s a real guy. I think like I mean, you’re old enough to remember, but like prospect Clint Capella like 2014 uh Draft Express videos, this is what he looked like. Bayon Jay is incredibly fast in a straight line for a center. Excellent leaper, really good hands. Like he’s going to be able to catch lobs from Trey and Jaylen and finish them. Like when you talk about fit, like Sorber, I like his defense a lot. He’s a below the rim finisher. He didn’t finish great in pick and roll. So that’s something you wonder a little bit about Trey. Queen has a lot of defense questions. He operates sometimes similarly uh in spots to Jaylen Johnson. So he might have some overlap there. But Baron Jay, I think is the simplest fit. You know, he’s somebody that’s going to screen and he’s going to roll. He moves his feet really well. So I think you could project him to even be like a decent perimeter defender. I’m not quite sure how tall he is. Like he looks almost like more like 610 to me, but I I’ve seen reports that he’s 6’11 without shoes. He didn’t get a combine measurement because he plays overseas, but he’s someone that I think I mean I think the top of his range will probably start at the end of the lottery. So I wouldn’t kill them if they took him at 13, but 22 I do think he’s interesting guy. So there’s really a few centers in this draft that I do think have legit starting equity with potential for more and in Beer and Sorber and Queen. So you know, as I was looking at their board, it really does seem like they’re in a good spot to take a center. And it doesn’t have to be like a seven foot guy. You know, none of these guys offer that we’ve just talked about like they’re all like queen 610 in shoes. Sorber 6’10, Beer maybe 610. So, it’s not like the true sevenfooter types unless you get later in the draft like some of the other prospects that are like fringy first round guys are taller, but I do. Yeah, he’s he’s an interesting guy, too. I mean, I don’t have like profound thoughts on him. He’s like a fifth year big, but he’s a good athlete. His shot like looks okay. I mean, I think he only shot like 1.4. four threes per game or something like that. Didn’t have a great free throw percentage, but he is somebody that I could see giving you center minutes early. Uh so there are some good options there. Jace Richardson’s another guy I like at uh 22 along with Walter Clayton. Richardson, we talked about him a little bit. I mean, he does have the size questions, but I I believe he led the Big 10 this year in BPM, box plus minus, which is really impressive for Tom Mizo, freshman. I mean, the shooting jumps out at you. Um still have some questions about how he could scale up. I mean to like a lead ball handler role and he probably has to play point guard, you know, would you say like he’s like 6’2 at a six, you know, it’s hard to be a combo guard at 6’2 or at least be next to next to a bigger Yeah. Yeah. Next to Trey, I think it’s more questionable, but his all-around profile I think is really strong. He’s a good selection at 22. Washer Clayton, an older guard, but I really like the shooting. Pretty good athlete overall. defense is, you know, questionable, but he’s somebody that when you think about like, you know, somebody who could provide minutes early on, I think that could be a guy like if you if you want to go with a different path from Tai Jerome with ane and, you know, sign like a big or someone like that. Um, Clayton’s a guy that I think you could project for actual NBA minutes next year. And I I think if you don’t project that, then you might have like misvaluated him a little bit because he should be able to do that with his age. But yeah, I I do like some of the options there at 22. Yeah, he’s the uh of the guards. He is the one and I I I loathe to talk about guards playing and playing well early because it just doesn’t happen very much. He is probably the best bet of the Hawks range guard prospects that could actually maybe help you quickly like be a role an actual role player in year one. Um because he is older and he’s the shooting and all those things. Um, and by the way, Baron Jay is probably the uh trivia trivia answer to the question of the guy if they draft him most likely to play a lot in the G-League as a rookie, which is there’s nothing wrong with that, by the way. Um, that’s totally fine. With a lot of like even like a sing I think would play a lot in like the G the G- League if he were to land there. Like there’s I think a lot of these guys project to play they’re both very young. Yeah. Yeah. A sing and Ver are both 18 years old. Um, obviously it’s different if you draft them at 13. like it’s just kind of a it shouldn’t be this way, but it is kind of a harder PR cell to every 13th pick in the in the G- League a lot. Not for me. I wouldn’t bother me at all, but I think Baron Jay particularly because of the I don’t think that he’s going to be able to be an NBA backup center as a rookie. That’s that’d be what I would say about Baron Jay, even though I like him. I I I would like I’d love him at 22. Sign me up. And that’s definitely a future facing pick. And again, I say this all the time, all of these guys should be viewed for what they’re going to be in year three, four, even especially at least year two. Like year one is not the point. Uh, would it help for some of these guys? Like, yeah, if you’re drafting Ryan Kulkriner, part of the reason to do that would be that he could help you pretty quickly. I get that. Even with Clayton, you could say that as well, but like that’s not the reason you take someone to like fill a role on your team in 2526 specifically. Yeah, I I agree with that. And again, I I really just like the idea of using both picks. Like, I’m I’m really not a a tradeup guy this year. Again, if they have some compelling case for why they should draft somebody, I I get it. But I I do like the talent in that like 13 to 22 kind of area. Like there’s there’s going to be a follower that makes it to them at 13. Whether they’ll take them as, you know, a debate, but they’ll have an opportunity to get a follower there. And 2020 uh 22 it just has so many different like role player options that I think that you could do well on. Yeah, maybe you could get it. Honestly, I’ve been on this train recently and it may not be super uh likely to happen, but if someone wanted to trade up to you, I’d be willing to go down, particularly from 22. Yeah, sliding back usually makes more sense than trading up. Yeah. I mean, I’m not saying you’re going to get you’re still get like two first round picks or whatever, but like I got a question the other day like what if what if Brooklyn offered you 26 and a future pick and a future pick? Like, yeah, I’d probably do that. Um same with Oklahoma City has 24. Could they get 24 and a future pick or 24 and you know, a high second rounder? like, yeah, that might be interesting. So, anyway, hypotheticals, but um make the picks. We are on the same page there. Andrew, is there anything else that you want to add? We covered a lot of ground here on purpose. You and I move fast. That’s that was part of the nature of this conversation because I want to cover a lot of different uh things. But, uh if you have any more takes or insights you’d like to share, feel free now. And if not, people can find you where on social media if they want to find you. I don’t think I have anything big to add. Is is there anybody that you just would dislike if they took at 13? At 13, uh, my least favorite pick of the what what I would describe as the conceivable options is probably Aigor Damon. I would not like that pick. Um, I’m not saying he has talent. Uh, I’m like, he’s still he’s a first round pick for me, but at 13 with the Hawks in particular, a guy that really does nothing well other than pass is not what they really need right now. And not even that, right now, like even with this core of players, um, I get the talent. I’m not saying that he’s like undraftable and I wouldn’t throw a fit the draft in 13, but like I’m looking at the at the consensus board right now of the top uh 20 on this board, he would be my least favorite pick. I think a 13 e honestly him or Jace Richardson and I like Jace, but just because of the fit stuff, I would not like that. He is a tough to fit. And my other my other guy is going to surprise everybody. I I I I am not a Danny Wolf believer despite my Michigan Wolverine allegiances. I’ve kind of gleaned that from you. you’ve seen like he’s you don’t really buy the shooting and the defense. Look at at at 22 at 22 I would be fine with it. At 13 I wouldn’t like it. I think I think we’re on the same page on that. 13 I think is is too early to take him because I think he’s like more likely like a curiosity than possibly an effective NBA player. But yeah, seven clutter with that skill is still pretty No, exactly. Like he’s still a top 20 like top 25 guy for me, top 30 guy. Like he’s a first round pick for me, but it’s just kind of a so many things have to go right. I mean, uh, not not going down the rabbit hole too much, but there are just reasons why like with Demen, I just don’t so many things have to go well. Either has to shoot it better or defend better or all kinds of things. with Wolf. I’d love it if if he if he could defend more or shoot more, I would I would probably like to be in I think Demons like I’m I’m kind of like neutral on him because like you said, I’m not the scoring how that projects NBA is like really scary, but he’s 69 69 guard that is arguably the best passer in the draft. I think is interesting. It seems like he’s shot well in workouts and you know, teams can get fooled by that, but you do get to see things up close, but I like I like him more. He would be lower. He would be lower for me too at 13. I think I the Georgia kid, Asa Newell, he’d probably be like my least favorite. I would say at 13 just because I I just think the archetype is not really something they should be swinging for. But there’s not a ton of picks that I think I would just outright hate and that’s not always the case. Like, you know, there’s there’s definitely years where I have stronger opinions on guys, whereas this year I can at least, you know, see Glass half full case for a lot of these kids. Yeah, I could I could certainly make the coherent argument for anybody in with within reason. Um, and you’re right. I mean, even with Deon, like again, if it was some I’d like him more for other teams than for the Hawks in that range. Like, I think he’s perfectly reasonable as a as a top 20 pick. I just don’t like the way his skill set and flaws fits in this in Atlanta. Like, I just don’t It’d be kind of funny if the Bulls took him too, like after like Giddy and then, you know, drafting like another Josh Giddy. But, but no, you’re right. I think we agree. Um, it’s it’s probably bad podcasting to say that like I kind of like a lot of these guys in the similar range, but it’s true. I’m not gonna lie to my audience ever. It’s like I kind of have a pretty flat board here and that can be good honestly, especially when you have two swings. And I’m also a believer overall, and we’ll get out of here. I promise. But, um, what do you think of my overall thought that like no one including me is as smart as as I think they are about the draft? Like people just there’s so much more certainty in what I see and takes than there actually should be. And by the way, again, that’s including me. Like, everyone’s wrong all the time about the draft. Yeah, we should all be less certain. There’s so many times, too, where guys just completely change in the NBA in unforeseen ways. Like, guys are defenders in college that aren’t defenders in the NBA. Guys that cannot shoot in college, but that become shooters in the NBA. Guys that can’t create in college that become creators in the NBA. Like, there’s so many different ways that you can get humbled doing doing this that I think it’s important to consider. So that that’s why I think it’s you want to have like a a glass half full take for the most part. Uh and I think that you want to try to look at this from as different as many different lenses as possible like how old they are, what kind of production they have, what sort of talent and traits they have. Like there’s just so many different ways that they can surprise you that yeah, I’m I’m with you that um nobody should be as confident as they are on on outcomes as what I see thrown around. Yeah, that includes me. Again, I’m not that that I’m I’m wrong a lot. We’re all going to be wrong. Uh, Andrew, I know you’re not a huge content creator, but if people want to follow you and your and your musings, uh, they can do that where? Always on Twitter. Uh, an ND lol. Uh, you know, I’ll do like a few tweets per week, sometimes more. I’ll have more actually for the draft and and the offseason. But I appreciate uh the engagement and everybody hanging out with me there. It’s a it’s a good follow for sure. I appreciate you taking the time to be on this show. This is not what you do for work or anything else. So, I appreciate you taking the time. Uh, you’re not from Georgia, so you could take the shot at Ace Newell at the end of the podcast and have to worry about getting called like in your when you’re at home walking down the street. Hey, why do you hate Ace Newell like you might if you’re me? But hey, I just mean still take him now, too. And it’s funny when you watch highlights because they played, you know, at State Farm, too. So, you see like that Hawks logo. Maybe a little bit of foreshadowing, but we’ll see. It certainly could happen. Uh, all right, Andrew. Well, I appreciate you doing this, man. As for everybody else, please subscribe to Loft on Hawks anywhere you get your podcasts, Apple, Spotify, YouTube. Tell your friends, tell your colleagues, etc. We’ll have more later on and we’ll see you all next time.

Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) hosts Episode 1990 of the Locked on Hawks podcast, and he is joined by Andrew Kelly to discuss free agency and the draft through the lens of the Atlanta Hawks. Topics include the potential of the Hawks using the mid-level exception, possible targets in free agency, Andrew’s favorite 2025 NBA Draft prospects in Atlanta’s range, and much more.

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