2017 NBA Mock Draft: Josh Jackson to the Lakers

player. 125. The Atlanta Hawks find themselves in a rebuilding period after shedding Jeff Teague and Al Horford during the offseason, meaning they need to find a new injection of talent that can help make the franchise competitive in the Eastern Conference. It’s often difficult to find game-changing prospects in the middle of the first round, but the Hawks could do worse than finding a solid rotation option. <p>Indiana’s Thomas Bryant is an efficient scoring center who posting strong per 40 minutes numbers as a freshman, averaging 21.0 points and 10.2 rebounds while converting nearly 70 percent of his field goal attempts. Bryant is at his best offensively in the painted area, but he’s shown flashes of being able to step outside and knock down a jump shot.</p> <p>The biggest question marks for Bryant lie on the defensive end where his lack of athleticism limits the impact he can have on the game. Although he has excellent length, Bryant posted a block rate of just 4.1 percent as a freshman. He also struggled when asked to defend along the perimeter, becoming a target of opposing offenses in the pick-and-roll. Bryant will need to show that he’s developed on that end of the floor as a sophomore of he’ll likely see his draft stock fall off as NBA teams look for more agile big man for their defensive schemes.</p>. C. Indiana. Thomas Bryant. 18