Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
With the 15th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks selected forward Kelly Oubre Jr. However, Atlanta won’t be keeping the pick, as the Hawks traded Oubre to the Washington Wizards for the No. 19 pick and two future second-round picks. The Hawks weren’t done. With the 19th pick, Atlanta selected guard Jerian Grant, but they’re sending him to the New York Knicks for shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr.
Atlanta has been quite busy on draft night, but things turned out to work in their favor. The Hawks could certainly use an upgrade at the shooting guard position, and Hardaway has the potential to be that for them. Kyle Korver is still there, but he’s getting older and is more of a shooter than a scorer.
With the risk of losing Paul Millsap or DeMarre Carroll, possibly even both to free agency, Atlanta may need another source of scoring in that lineup. Hardaway Jr. is far from a star, but he has shown some flashes of what he’s capable of.
He can definitely score the basketball, but his play has been pretty inconsistent in two seasons with the Knicks. In the 2014-15 season, Hardaway averaged 11.5 points, 1.8 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game. It should be noted that there was a total lack of talent on that Knicks roster. Hardaway will really need to get in the gym and work on polishing his game, but there’s no doubt that he has the skillset and he’s yet to realize his full potential.
Atlanta is hoping they can pull that potential out of Hardaway. If not, the Hawks just wasted a draft pick.
Brandon Austin is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @BMoreThanGreat, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
