2018 NBA Mock Draft: Promises, promises

Throughout this draft, teams are making their desires and needs clear. Who’s been targeted, who’s been promised, and how will the rest shake out? We chop it up in this week’s 2018 NBA mock draft.

For each pick, team needs are taken into consideration, as well as fit.

Despite the title of this week’s mock draft, this one actually has no semblance of a promise. Diallo is certainly not the caliber of player a talent-hungry team like Atlanta has any business promising a pick to. However, given his incredible athleticism and picture-perfect upside 3-and-D frame, he could be the most enticing player available when the Hawks pick at 30.

Other names you can expect to be in consideration when Adam Silver walks to the podium for his last announcement of the night: Rawle Alkins, Jalen Brunson, Moritz Wagner, Jevon Carter, Shake Milton and Khyri Thomas. It’s really going to be a matter of how the Hawks handle their first two second-rounders, as well as the types of players they target under the new regime of Travis Schlenk and Lloyd Pierce.

Considering the opportunity for playing time and the wide-open stylistic void left by Mike Budenholzer’s departure, Diallo could certainly come in and play himself into an impactful rotation piece. He joined the Wildcats during the spring of 2017 as one of the most interesting prospects in the country, and though he produced very little this season, remains the athletic freak he was at the outset of his college career.

The Hawks will likely get a big man at No. 3, but their strategy with this pick is likely to be dictated by their plans for the rest of the summer, as well as what they do at No. 19. That’s a great place to be for a rebuilding team.