2019 NBA Mock Draft: Could the Hawks jumpstart their rebuild in 2019?

Before we get to Doumbouya, let’s talk about another player — a huge success story for the Nets’ coaching staff during the Kenny Atkinson era. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson came into the league as raw as they get, more an athlete than anything else with enough ball-handling ability to get some attention as a playmaker but which mostly manifested itself in dribbling slightly better than other guys his size. He was underwhelming.

When Atkinson arrived, he turned Hollis-Jefferson into a do-it-all small ball forward for the rebuilding Nets. Using admittedly random benchmarks for turnover creation and offensive efficiency, Hollis-Jefferson was in good company among other NBA Swiss Army knives. While he has never developed the shooting stroke that would really take him to the next level, Hollis-Jefferson worked on his game and became a helpful NBA role player.

The same could happen for Doumbouya, the youngest player in the 2019 NBA Draft class. He’s raw in the same ways Hollis-Jefferson was when he entered the league — you’ll talk about a lot of things he might do someday before you find one he’s great at. But the French playmaker makes you drool when he knocks down a pull-up jumper on the move at 6-foot-8 or puts his foot on the gas and finishes at the rim.

Brooklyn could be headed for an ahead-of-schedule playoff berth but needs to keep adding talent that fits together. Right now, they are light on wings — even Hollis-Jefferson is headed for restricted free agency this summer. Doumbouya would be a project, but one worth developing considering the Nets’ track record.