Over at Sports Illustrated this week, Jeremy Woo added fuel to the fire of the “Atlanta wants Culver” rumors that originally sprouted when the Hawks acquired the 17th pick and Allen Crabbe to provide the Nets salary relief.
So we’re going ahead and executing the deal here and now. It’s the eighth and 10th picks going to Cleveland in exchange for No. 5, this one right here. Atlanta gets their man.
From Woo:
"“According to league sources, Atlanta has been angling to move up in the draft by packaging their various picks, and continue to explore possibilities there. Their primary target would seem to be Jarrett Culver, and they would likely have to get ahead of Phoenix to get him. After dealing with the Nets to add Allen Crabbe’s salary and acquire two first-round picks, Atlanta owns a league-high six selections in this draft, and is exploring all its options.”"
Woo further explains why Atlanta has to jump all the way to five to draft Culver:
"“According to league sources, the Suns are known to be extremely high on Jarrett Culver, and while this spot is his realistic floor, he may not make it (to No. 6).”"
Culver fits beautifully with Atlanta’s core as a tertiary playmaker opposite Kevin Huerter and Trae Young. He would relieve the pressure on those guys to defend top-level guards as well, injecting better balance into the Hawks’ young starting lineup.
Expect Atlanta to target defensive upside in this draft, and it doesn’t get much better than Culver.