Atlanta Hawks: 2025 NBA Draft week is here, Collin Murray-Boyles, Cedric Coward, and more

Atlanta Hawks: 2025 NBA Draft week is here, Collin Murray-Boyles, Cedric Coward, and more

on today’s show it is now NBA Draft Week and I’m joined by Tyler Jones good friend of the podcast for a wide-ranging chat about the Hawks and the draft it’s coming up right now you are Locked On Hawks your daily Atlanta Hawks podcast part of the Locked On podcast network your team every day hello friends welcome to episode 20003 of the Lock on Hawks podcast i am your host Brad Rollman coming to you on a Sunday in fact it’s NBA Finals game seven Sunday i’m recording this before the game actually happened so I don’t know what happened but it’s also NBA draft week and there’s plenty to discuss first of all I should tell you this episode is brought to us folks at Monarch Money take control of your finances right now with Monarch Money and use code locked on NBA at monarchmoney.com for half off your first year i also want to encourage you at the top of the show as I always do to make a locked on hawks your first listen each and every day check us out and subscribe to the podcast anywhere you find your podcasts Apple Spotify etc we’re also on YouTube but please tell your friends about the show as well again it’s a big day in the NBA the finals game seven happening now by the time you listen to this podcast you already know the champion before I do also it’s NBA draft week the draft is later this week Wednesday and Thursday two-day event and I’m joined on today’s podcast by my friend Tyler Jones of ATL129 this is gonna be part one of two with Tyler so stay tuned for part two when this one’s done the towers on the on the podcast regularly we have a lot to talk about with the draft and the entire offseason honestly for a busy time for the Hawks without any more delay we’ll dive in now stay tuned for after with part two available in this same podcast feed and here we go with Tyler Jones i am joined now a good friend of the podcast he hasn’t been on in a while that was on purpose gotta keep him wanting more tyler how are you how are the Braves is the real question like we’re not Kurt Cousin kurt Cousins or what are we gonna do here that was gonna So um when will baseball players learn that hustling is stupid shout out to Chris Sale who just ruined his season because he had to do a complete game yeah I’m sure it was great in the moment and now he’s out for what two months with a Oh my god baseball players bro they don’t get it they don’t get it the smart ones the smart ones like Monoto understand don’t hustle you never get hurt uh hustling is overrated i will give you that um if Akuna if Akuna would simply stop trying so hard he would have blown his knee out twice yeah i mean people but but but people don’t people don’t want to hear that they they want they want guys to play hard as hard as they can because every game matters charlie Hustle man uh all right we’re with that out of the way i thought for sure because I’m wearing a Falcons t-shirt you might go uh Kurt Cousins mini camp or something but we’re not gonna do that today we’re gonna save that for later it it’s too I mean Kirk uh it’s fine he’s on the team um is Kirk gonna stay on the team like what he’s He’s on the team now on June 22nd so what what are you gonna do um all right let’s let’s talk about the Hawks uh I already introed before I brought you in i’m posting this after game seven in the finals but we’re recording it before game seven in the finals which is interesting so we’ll have a champion by the time people hear this i don’t know who it’s going to be but that that’s happening today it’s also the first day of draft week officially sunday is the first day of the week draft week draft week’s it’s Wednesday i wanted to have you as close to the draft as possible which is why we’re doing it now um we’ll talk about prospects obviously but uh because I have you and someone who watches the Hawks closely uh how are you feeling about things generally because it’s it’s been two months since you and I talked in this forum they haven’t I mean they they they have a GM that was there was a GM who they we talked about last time but now he’s like seems to be fully entrenched as a GM with nobody above him they made they made other hires nothing else has happened there’s been some rumors but like not even really huge rumors like we haven’t even gotten a big rumor yet how are you feeling that that’s the thing we got we got nothing to work with Brad like I know it’s it’s been all quiet on on the on the Western front here in Atlanta and like I I don’t know what they want to do with 13 or 22 you know it’s it’s a lot of speculation because the Hawks only have one center on the roster currently so people are just speculating that the Hawks going to draft a big or move up trade up for a big um I mean they’re in a position the the thing is with with with how this team is constructed right now they are in a position of strength because they don’t really have a major weakness at the moment u outside of I mean they have weaknesses of course and they want to build but like they don’t have like a glaring flaw that they desperately have to fill at least in the draft and I don’t see that type of player being available at 13 or 22 Cooper Flag’s not dropping to 13 so it’s just one of those things where it’s like well I mean Cooper would help but everybody else is kind of the eye of the beholder type draft unfortunately like it’s a lot of good players in in particular roles that would help though there are some gyms that we’re going to talk to we’re going to talk about in a second yeah I I agree it’s definitely I beholder not in a bad way i mean I had Ben Fiper on the other day and I think he echoed what I thought like it’s a good draft to have 13 it really is like there’s a lot of guys I like that will be in that range um but trying to get a consensus is kind of tough especially you know in that range like you got guys that with big ranges like we’ll get to some of these guys but like Cedric Caller has a huge range of people like how they people feel about him agore Demons same thing huge range colin Bole’s huge range based on what you think about him i’m looking at other guy like you know uh Baron Jay has a huge range like all these guys have like 15 spot ranges and it’s like okay that’s kind of where the Hawks are in this thing um you and I agree we don’t have to relitigate this whole thing about not having a glaring weakness there are people that believe and I I think some of the not like the reporting is not really doing this but you mentioned that no one no one knows what’s going on um I agree with that the Hawks have been very intentional it seems like this new front office structure of not leaking a single thing um which I find interesting like all all the reporting and I’m using quotation marks if you’re not watching on YouTube uh that’s been out there has been sourced from rival teams or rival executives nobody’s got intel on the Hawks right now it seems like I wish I did it’d be great if I did but I don’t and I think that’s on purpose we’re going back you remember this very fondly 10 years ago the Hawks were known for not leaking anything you woge would have every pick in the draft and he get to the Hawks and he wouldn’t have it because they just didn’t leak anything this is a full decade ago now but it happened maybe maybe we’re going back to that we’ll see and again we’re talking on Sunday auntie is going to speak to the media for the first time on Monday he’ll probably say nothing if I had to guess but he’s going to talk um but even look I have sources that are with agencies or other team and everybody’s kind of guessing on the Hawks and to me I if I’m a fan I like that not for content purposes but for like trusting the organization purposes i’d rather you not leak honestly for me as a person covering the team I’d love I’d love a leak like sure tell me what’s going on um but there is a little bit for instance somebody asked me this today i wonder what you think about this somebody asked me this today like hey who is like who is the most likely not like guy you would like who’s the most likely guy for the Hawks to draft at 13 and I was like I genuinely have no idea i I think I think my guess I was like if you make me guess I might go with like one of the centers like if they stay at 13 maybe like maybe maybe like Thomas Sorber like something like that because I do think there’s a little bit of smoke about center i don’t know how much of that just like projection from other people and maybe people that are lower out of Kongwood than you and I are like they have to get a center no they don’t but maybe it’s a center but like if you’re telling me you can’t trade up and say “Hey you’re picking at 13 and 13 only.” The most likely pick I I really don’t know who it is and that’s kind of it’s interesting there’s always uncertainty but like there’s even more I feel like yeah um it’s it’s just like cuz like last year it was a lot easier right they they won the lottery you’re the number one overall pick we kind of knew who they were going to take basically like a week before the draft even though everybody was you know everybody was complaining because even back then yeah it was delayed longer than what people thought large part because you know it was a unclear who the number one guy was but um this year is a little different like I I think what what hurts the Hawks is we don’t know what the other 12 teams are going to do right pretty much ahead of them so we don’t know how the draft board’s going to look somebody who’s who’s not projected to be outside the top 10 or whatever is almost certainly going to fall out of the top 10 happens every year and so like that that’s where the Hawks are trying to uh keep their leverage and be like “Yeah we want teams guessing cuz you know um it it just helps us on on draft day like you know if teams are trying to play games with us like hey we we just took your guy are you going to deal with us give us 22?” We’re like that wasn’t our guy you know I mean right you know keep him like you know that that’s pretty much the position um because it it’s not I don’t I’m not sure if leaking or not leaking is is good or bad i I ju I just think overall like it just shows a cohesion within the Hawks front office that I I I think from an outsider perspective is probably pretty surprising considering they just fired Landry Fields a couple months ago basically this is brought to you by Ollipop lollipop is a new kind of soda that’s made people actually love classic taste of soda want something that actually supports their health as well with only two two to five grams of sugar and nine grams of prebotic fiber in every can lollipop is revaging soda in a way that’s better for your gut some sodas are actually loaded with sugar like 39 grams of sugar in a regular Coke or 44 grams in orange Fanta lollipop loads script with just a fraction of the sugar no artificial sweeteners and gut ingredients like Olly Smart which is a blend shown to support digestive and overall health it is soda tastes like the real thing actually does some good for your body as well and right now I’m really into the classic grape flavor lollipop as you can see if you’re watching on YouTube and it tastes even better when you actually know that it supports your gut health and with the Ali smart prebiotic blend and also from there they give you an about a third recommended fiber it tastes great at the same time with Lollipop and also get a free can of lollipop right now just buy any two cans in the store and they will reimburse you for one head to drink.com/lockedonba to claim your free can and find lollipop near you one more time that is drinkallipop.comlockednba i think there are a handful of players that we that I have like 98% or higher confidence will not fall to 13 flag Harper VJ Edgecomb Conpple Trey Johnson and I think Malawak might be in there too but that that’s five even if you want to stop the short of Malaw I think there’s five guys that I just named again Flag Harper Edgecomb Khan and Trey Johnson who I would be I’d fall on the floor if any of those guys fell to 13 barring some surprise thing like maybe somebody’s got a bad medical or something we don’t know about but those five guys and there’s like a couple more where I’ll be like still genuinely surprised i still think Ace Bailey will be gone by the time the Hawks pick but I don’t know malawatch I think is not going to get to 13 the Hawks could try to get him that’s possible to me um and then like there’s like guys like I think Jeremiah Fears is going to be going high and the Hawks won’t be that team anyway i don’t think so it’s like that’s eight that I think are probably not going to be sit at 13 and draft them guys that still leaves like 25 players I would say between 13 and 22 that could be Hawks guys if not more it might be 30 like and people every time I say that people get surprised and I’m like I’m not trying to be hyperbolic but there’s enough uncertainty and enough like flatness in this class and again not in a bad way but just uncertainty that like when you get to 22 in particular like you might have a guy that is at 40 on somebody’s board that the Hawks take at 22 and it might be okay like for instance to not we don’t talk about this guy right now a ton but I know Hawks fans I know I know you like him Hansen Yang right Yeah Hansen Yang is a Hawks darling right now not like the team I’m talking about fans he worked out for the Hawks that’s been out there that that happened he right now on the rookie scale consensus board that I’m looking at i believe he’s like Oh wait where is he um did he fall even further oh there he is um oh actually he went up a little bit now he’s 34 he was like 40 on the consensus board until like last week would I be surprised if he went 22 no and he’s in the mid-30s on contest sport i’m gonna give this board right now like Cam Jones is 36 wouldn’t shock me marquette Hawks need a guard relatively speaking need a guard like Adier from Arkansas is in the 30s in a lot of these boards certainly athletic weighing wouldn’t surprise me ryan Kulkrunner is 32 adult backup center 22 sure like I’m not I’m not I’m trying to lay out the point of like there’s so much uncertainty with these guys so I wish I knew more i bring all that back to say eight guys or so off the board outside of those eight anybody that you are like genuinely excited by like who is the let’s be reasonable for a second best case scenario without a trade up you maybe you want maybe you want to trade up but who’s like the guy at 13 where you’re like doing a dance on Wednesday colin Murray Bulls like uh Hawks draft CMBB you you just strengthen your bench in a way that hasn’t been like you your bench units haven’t been this strong with just CMBB alone considering what he can do on both ends of the floor they haven’t been that this strong since uh 2021 basically the Eastern Conference Finals run he is so he fills so many gaps that the Hawks have right now in terms of strength size play creation on offense play finishing and I understand he’s a weak shooter but if if I’m the Hawks that doesn’t bother me like what position is he a power forward is he a center like small ball center like who cares like I know for with how good he was defensively at South Carolina I feel comfortable with that that type of play our type of player playing 12 to 15 minutes a night like day one and I think he can he can get more depending on how well he plays but just like it’s tough to describe because we don’t have the film like you know I can’t show fans the film on the podcast but like if you just watch him on defense like my my biggest takeaway from him at South Carolina if you watch the full games like he wants to be the main character on defense he wants to be the guy he wants to take possessions away from teams he wants to bully guys out of position he wants to rip the ball out of guard’s hands he wants to push bigger players out of the way so he can get the rebound or his teammates get the rebound when the shot goes up like he does all the little things and then he does the big things as well as a as a playmaker on that side of the floor combined with offensively he can create offense for himself something no none of the young guys on the Hawks currently can do outside of maybe Dyson Daniels and his spin move and Jaylen Johnson but Jaylen Johnson’s more of a fullcourt player in the half court he’s kind of neutered due to his deficiencies we could talk about recon has a decent post game that maybe they should look to explore a little bit more but overall like they haven’t shown any trust in him offensively to be like a secondary guy to create offense for himself that’s All CMBB had to do it like that South Carolina team was so bad next around him and like it it we came to a head cuz he’s he wasn’t this type of player last year even but it it was just one point where was like we’re not going to be competitive unless I I’m the driver of the offense and he it that’s when he blew up the second half of the season SEC you know toughest you know toughest conference in basketball possibly in basketball history last year the SEC um and he was he was great uh average over 19 points a game like again he won’t be in that role in Atlanta next year but you know somebody who like at the end of the day you can’t switch a smaller player on he can take them under the rim and finish through contact like that’s just not a thing the Hawks have had pretty much since Gallinari stopped being a youthful NBA player so that that’s where I’m like he would fill a lot of gaps he could play with Jaylen he could play with Mo he could play with uh whoever the backup center might be like he he gives you a lot of life lineup versatility in ways that I don’t think anybody else in this draft class can i I have him firmly in in my top five in my in my board i don’t know who I I don’t have a complete board but like he’s comfortably one of the five best players in this draft class to me like if he falls to 13 because teams are don’t know what his position is I’m signing up if I’m the Hawks you you don’t you you don’t have a position of need outside of front court help it’s not necessarily center or like your center’s only 68 that’s the problem it’s the fact that for the last two years when Jaylen Johnson gets hurt you’re always playing guys who are not bigs you’re playing guys who are too small for the position or too unathletic for the position or don’t have the strength for the position cmbb has the size length strength mobility athleticism to play power forward and center for stretches for the Hawks next year if he’s at 13 sign me up yeah I’m obviously really high on him as well i I said this before with Ben I think but I got him at 22 in that locked on mock draft that’s not going to happen someone’s gonna take him um there is a split on him there is um because of what you alluded to a second ago like there are teams or maybe evaluators that are just like don’t get the offense and he’s he’s kind of a tweener and I get it like that’s fine but also that isn’t like for me it’s not a weakness for the Hawks he’s got plenty of size of the four like yeah if you if you think if you think he’s a center like I I get that you would have some works i don’t think he’s a center i think he’s a four that’s what he is um could could he play a small ball center maybe sure like honestly he’s gotten some of like aggressive defensive comparisons and I’m not even gonna use the one that’s like off limits it’s it’s it’s the Draymond one but like he’s not that I don’t think but like he’s got wingspan all these things i I want to I want to harp on this Draymond thing cuz why do people act like Draymond’s the only like archetype of this type of player that we can compare CB to i’ll be honest with you a lot of what he does remind me a lot what Jaylen does on defense if we’re being honest when Jaylen’s like locked in and motivated and he wants to all right yeah this team’s not scoring it’s just a he’s I think I think it’s a lot of it’s body type like I I think it’s because CB is not as like a he’s not long and he’s not long and thinish like Jaylen like he’s he’s 67 240 with a seven with a 71 wingspan like that archetype of player gets compared to Draymond like you’re right and no one should be compared to Draymond honestly because Draymond’s feel was just ridiculous and that’s what his outlier thing always was but I I do think that like for instance the Julius Randle thing’s been out there right with Murray Boils because they’re both left-handed similar body styles i get all that they kind of play similarly on offense at times randle was a better offensive prospect than CMBB for sure but defensively Randle was not this murray Boils is really like potentially special defensively and that’s why I like him so much like I brought up Paul Milsap multiple times like Hawks Paul Milsap like I see a lot I see a lot of Paul Milsap in there and obviously I’m not saying he’s gonna be a four-time all-star i’m not saying that but like if you the stuff that Paul used to do that we all the sickos loved like the the little things he done on defense the hands all this that’s that’s the stuff that I love about Murray Bo it it it’s it’s funny people are like because uh a lot of people say like Julius Randle was the better offensive player in college he actually wasn’t like if if you actually look at it like not production produced better like he was just a more efficient player the difference is that Julius Randle legitimately has two inches on him and 20 pounds like Julius is a complete tank and he’s one of the quickest players at his position we’ve ever seen and the the issue with Julius Randle is entirely in his head like he is his worst enemy and that that’s kind of what what’s holding held him back as a basketball player i don’t have that issue with CNB like you you don’t have to worry about shots not falling he’s not going to play hard he’s not going to get back on defense because he’s not getting the ball cb wants to win basketball games that’s that’s what that’s where I’m like yo you combine the talent that he has the physical capabilities that he has what he’s already shown on film plus his motor that the dude like Brad South Carolina was a nothing team they didn’t have any shot of making the tournament he hurts himself the game before like like he legitimately hurt his like quad or whatever hobbling the entire game in the tournament but he’s giving it everything he has he’s like you know at the last game of his year and he ends up fouling out because he can’t he literally couldn’t move that entire game but he was still the best player on the team best player on the floor on both ends um and like was giving it everything he had so I I’m I’m me i’m like okay I feel like we can teach him to shoot i I don’t think his shot is completely broken he has a He’s a good free throw shooter he’s shown a little bit in the mid-range honestly as a post iso scorer in ways where he would just take the the free throw jump jumper that teams gave him and he would nail him and so like to me I’m like okay he he might be able to develop something in time i I feel like he’s going to be a hard worker i you know I haven’t talked to the kid i don’t know that’s what that’s just it’s just one of those thing it’s one of those things where you watch him like this feels like somebody who would be a hard considering he was getting lottery buzz last year you know that it was somebody it was going to be like honestly if the Hawks would have had the 10th pick he’s somebody the Hawks might have taken with with the 10th overall pick last year he got better and now I’m hearing like folks like oh he might drop I understand this is a deeper draft but to me like a lot of these guys just aren’t better than him as basketball players like I understand his deficiencies um if if you don’t know what position he plays but I’m like Trey Een the Thompson twins Jaylen Johnson even even a Mo Gay like even a Mo Gay like where where you’re confused with their position at the end of the day you get them out there on the floor they they make winning plays because they’re so good defensively like that and and that’s where I’m like I’m if I’m the Hawks again he’s there at 13 i don’t ever have to worry about backup power for it again because I have him on my team so that’s why I’m like sign me up t is brought to you by Monarch Money we’ve all done this in the past I’m sure but at times I looked at my bank account wonder where actually all my money happened to go between dining out and online shopping and entertainment it’s easy to lose track sometimes that’s where Monarch Money comes in for you monarch Money is your personal CFO giving you full visibility control of your finances and at Monarch Money they’re not just a budgeting app it’s a complete financial command center 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but let’s say he’s off the board is there another guy that you like or is there like is it become more open i I I knew what you were going to say when I asked you that question not because we talked about I just knew because we talked about other things but if it’s not Murray Boles if he’s if he goes 10 or whatever which is very possible are you in a like more uncertain mode or is there like a clear guy that you’re looking for if it’s not my Boils I would take the risk on Cedric Coward uh I you know I I I put risk in quotations i at the end of the day I think regardless of how you you feel about his competition level that jump shot is is NBA ready like he it just is and so like he probably somebody I would be as a Hawks you know as a Hawks organization understanding that we have Dyson we have Reese Shay we have Jaylen we can take a risk quote unquote on somebody who who hasn’t shown at the highest levels you know at uh Eastern Washington based because you can only take do so much with six games at Washington State against you know media mediocre competition so like but we got two plus years of him you know at the lower at lower competition compared to what other guys do at D1 uh but him with elite touch like elite in the mid-range elite from three uh great around the rim not not like a high flyer but like a good athlete great wingspan great measurables strong frame and the thing that impressed me the most about him is honestly like he’s not going to do it as much as he did in college but his ability to just destroy smaller basketball players in the post like that look I I want people to understand how teams defend the Hawks like I I want to bring it back a little bit they always put their best perimeter defender on Trey period but they also try to hide their worst perimeter defenders on either Dyson Daniels or Zachary Reese two guys who don’t have the ability to a at least right now simply put a smaller player on their back and carry them to the front of the rim and just make the layup like it you know I think Dyson got a little bit better towards the end of the year Risha went once uh Capella was exercised from the team reese Shay started uh working the baseline a lot better and he started being able to use his size and length to finish over contact way better than what he did earlier in the season also while getting stronger however what Coward can do is you switch a guard onto him it’s over like he’s he’s going to post him up he’s going to seal him you’re going to give him the ball two dribbles fade like not even a fade away it’s going to be just he’s going to pull up for like a eight-footer cash money and because his touch is that good so it it’s just one of those things where I’m like offensively he’s a great fit next to what the Hawks are trying to do defensively I actually think he has work to do on that end he should have been a more impactful defender considering his measurables but like we’ve seen guys be taught how to defend at at the next level like become significantly better defensive players than what they were in the prep you know prep levels i I think probably the biggest example of that is Lou Dor honestly like I I don’t think people remember Lou Dor was a James Harden like at Arizona State and he fell in the draft because of it because he wasn’t James Harden like but he got to the NBA and day one he was he he figured out I got to hang my hat on defense uh you could say the same for Jaden McDaniels of uh the Timberwolves like he his prep career he went to Washington had a terrible season as a freshman came to the NBA they’re like “You got to defend bro or you’re never seen the floor because you’re not good enough offensively and he defends his butt off he’s he’s a all defense caliber player now.” And I and I think I think um Cedric Coward has a measurable one not necessarily get to those guys levels but I’m just saying to get better um um Nimhard as well for the Pacers like Nmith like we we’ve constantly seen guys who who are offensive first players at the lower levels figure out hey if I want to get on the floor it’s got to be with defense and if Cedric Howard gets drafted to the Hawks if he’s gonna have to defend in order to to justify even playing even though how how good his jump shot is how good his overall offensive process may be just considering the talent on the roster you know Quinn and how fact the Hawks aren’t playing around about defense like so that that’s one of those things where like a different a different role a different attitude could maybe unlock some stuff defensively that we haven’t seen from them on the film yeah it’s funny i didn’t know what you were gonna say i I knew you were gonna say CNB when I asked you that i’m really on Coward too like the more I’ve been watching you know he I’m very intrigued with Coward like I’ll just say that like I I would be very happy if I’m the Hawks if he failed to me at 13 and there’s a split on him too like you said it’s it’s the it’s the competition level it’s the age like he’ll be 22 in September which isn’t ancient but like he’s not 19 um but the shooting for me is like it’s real and you can’t fake that like the stroke it’s not just that he made it it’s that it looks the way it does the mechanics are great he’s apparently shooting the crap out of the ball in every workout from what I’ve heard which you know doesn’t matter that much but it’s just another like reinforcement of what he’s going to be and you’re right about the defense i think he’s from what I understand he’s going to buy in like another guy who I’ve heard nothing good good things about him makeup wise like he my friend Sam tells the story of the athletic about how he talked to him maybe a year ago and like was like hey why weren’t you like what happened why did you take this weird route that he took because he was a D3 and basically Cedric Cedric was like just very self-awaredly like I wasn’t very good when I was 18 I was like oh it’s not something you like always hear from guys who are in this range like you know they’re confident kids and they’ve been the best player than everywhere they’ve been their whole life and like for her to be like “Yeah I wasn’t that good.” It’s like “Oh okay i kind of like that.” It’s understanding and to your point about getting on the court in the NBA Yeah i think especially when you’re not a top five pick like guys that the Hawks were looking at it’s about getting on the court and that means you’re going to have to defend like if you’re not willing to defend you’re not going to play like Quinn’s not gonna play you uh and and unlike with Risha who honestly wasn’t a problem with him anymore because he plays really hard there was a baseline expectation a year ago that he was going to play no matter what he was the number one pick in the draft like there was no way he wasn’t going to play right that is not the same for 13 like they have pressure to win in this organization i don’t think that the 13 is going to be gifted playing time like that is not earned like maybe there’ll be some default to the 13th pick because you want the young guy to get but like if it’s not if if you’re not ready to go qu he’s not gonna keep playing so like you got to buy in i uh I do like I do like coward quite the shooting gonna play right away that to to back up your point about uh Reese like he was going to play but he wasn’t going to play that much he played more than he was he he played more than he was going to in large part because his defense was so good quinn was like I have to get 25 minutes out of this every night like so I’m starting him because I mean reality was like to his credit he was one of their better defenders him and Dyson like kind of really helped transform the Hawks defensively in ways that hadn’t been true in the Trey Young era so Quinn was like we got to go with this and and figure out the rest later so that’s that’s something where Cedric Coward you know if if he shows he can defend he Quinn will play him you know I I feel like Quinn will play you based on your your attention to detail on both ends of the floor and so like if Cedric is willing to do that and put in the work and put in the hours and show the coaching staff that he’s willing to put in the work in the hours I think Quinn will end up trusting him i I guess the concern like people are like if Cedric Coward is this good why aren’t why are t teams like why isn’t he top 10 on a lot of lot of mocks or whatever or teams you know he he might end up going top 10 we don’t know yet draft doesn’t happen he could definitely go eighth ninth and I would be surprised it’s it’s what I I allude to it’s because he’s he’s not 19 weird path like you know not to I don’t love this comparison but the Jaylen Williams one has been the one making the rounds for him because Jaylen Williams is a super late riser combine guy that like was at 25 in everybody’s board and two weeks later he was at 10 in everybody’s board and the Hawks were going to take him hawks loved him and he went and he went right before him because he just had so much and same thing they were both like 21 years old not not that young lower level competition it takes a a little while sometimes like he was going to go to Duke like everyone thought he was going to Duke six weeks ago he w he would have went to Duke and then they saw he had a 72 wingspan they’re like Yeah i mean Yeah exactly pretty much exactly that it was like “Hey he’s going to be a top 20 pick he can’t you can’t go to school now.” Um because because his measurables match what the tape showed where it’s like well he looks like he’s the biggest longest player on the floor but is it because he’s playing lower against lower guys weaker guys and they’re like 72 wingspan he’s going to do that in the NBA there’s just not that many There’s literally not that many wings with that with that with that advantage um I I think that the downside risk is that he his defense isn’t really good at all like it was you know at the lower level and he’s just Torian Prince right where it’s like Torian is somebody who looks the part but he it’s two factors with Tory one is his defense and two his offense outside of spot of three-point shooting just has never been good enough that’s where I think Cedric to his credit Cedric has a immense advantage because he just has more feel for the game on the offensive side of the floor like he has Yeah like he he just has better um he’s just a better basketball player in in the in between areas in the mid-range at and better way better touch at the rim um that than Torian has ever had in his career so that that’s where I’m like even if the defense is a show offensively like I’m I I think I made a comparison different type of players but like he could have a Malik Beasley type season where he makes 300 threes in a year just because of how projectable the jump shot is so that that’s where I’m like even if the defense never shows up I I think offensively he’s he should be a real weapon in the league all right that is all with myself and Tyra Jones for part one of this two-part chat as a reminder part two should be available in this same podcast feed right now so go ahead and listen to that one immediately apple Spotify Overcast YouTube it’ll be there so please tell your friends about the podcast as well subscribe to the show rate review all that fun stuff follow us on social media we are at Lockton Hawks on Twitter as well as I’m at BT Roland i’m also on Blue Skybt Roland and then also my nonpodcast can be found at patreon.com/btoland all right everybody part two available right now and we’ll see you all next time

Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) hosts Episode 2003 of the Locked on Hawks podcast, and he is joined by Tyler Jones (@Jonesy2x4) of ATL and 29 for Part 1 of a 2-part conversation. The discussion focuses on the Atlanta Hawks and their overall standing before the 2025 NBA Draft and a potentially busy offseason, with notes on prospects like Collin Murray-Boyles and Cedric Coward.

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