2019 NBA Mock Draft: Could the Hawks jumpstart their rebuild in 2019?
F. North Carolina. Nassir Little. 5. player. 125.
After selecting De’Andre Hunter with their first pick in the lottery, here we have the Hawks doubling down on big, athletic forwards by nabbing Little. The problems continue to mount for Little at North Carolina as his team struggles to acclimate to life without Joel Berry and Theo Pinson. For teams looking to draft Little, his wildly tiny role and accordingly limited production could limit his options at the top of the draft. If anyone is going to fall on draft night in June, it will be Little unless he shows out in March.
However, the outline of a solid player is clear in Little. He is a willing 3-point shooter who can smack blocks away at the rim and finish inside. Little is making 57 percent of his 2-point attempts this year and blocking nearly 3 percent of opponent shots when he’s on the court.
Atlanta would prefer everyone on the court to be able to space the floor and while Little doesn’t quite check that box yet, his 3-point volume (3.8 attempts per 40 minutes) and decent free-throw percentage show he could grow into a floor-spacer in time under NBA coaching. Little plugs many other holes for Atlanta, however. He is capable of playing the four alongside the more offensive-minded John Collins or Omari Spellman and protecting the rim. He is also one of the younger players in his class, meaning he will add bulk and length moving forward for the Hawks, who are undersized at just about every position in.
Bringing in shooting is just one part of building the Hawks into Warriors East. Atlanta also needs to build a versatile defense, which Little would them do.