NBA Draft 2019: 5 targets for the Atlanta Hawks
By Ian Levy
3. Brandon Clarke
On paper, Clarke would be a tremendous fit for the Hawks and the versatile, high-skill, pace-and-space template they’re building around John Collins, Trae Young and Kevin Huerter. He’s a 6-foot-8 forward with an enormous wingspan, tremendous finishing touch and awareness and the passing acumen to grow into a serious weapon making 4-on-3 decisions on the short-roll when defenses get too aggressive with Young on the perimeter. He’s not much of an outside shooter right now but he’s an excellent rebounder and defender, both in space against smaller players and defending the rim.
The issue is that his future is probably at the 4 in the NBA and the Hawks already have John Collins at that position, dunking everything he can get his hands on. Atlanta is early enough in the process that it might be worth just taking Clarke and trusting that they’ll figure it out over the next two or three seasons before playoff matchups are something they really need to worry about. Maybe Collins’ defensive shortcomings means he’s destined for more of a bench role. Maybe Clarke’s wingspan and the continued small ball evolution of the NBA mean he can soak up a lot of center minutes and make a pairing with Collins viable. It would be nice if one of the two developed into an outside shooter but there are a lot of ways Clarke could provide value to the Hawks over the next few years.