Griffin, a five-star prospect from the Class of 2021, entered Durham as 247Sports’ 12th-ranked freshman. He helped guide the Blue Devils to the Final Four alongside Moore and No. 1 draft pick Paolo Banchero.
Griffin averaged 10.4 points and 3.9 rebounds during his only season with the Blue Devils, including a career-high 27 points during his first game against North Carolina.
Griffin has played 92 games across his two-year NBA career. He stood out as a rookie, averaging 8.9 points per game and making 39.0% of his 3-pointers with 12 starting appearances. The 2023-24 season was bumpier for the young Blue Devil, however. He only appeared in 20 games, averaging 2.4 points in 8.6 minutes per game and making just 25.6% of his threes.
ESPN Sources: The Atlanta Hawks are trading F AJ Griffin to the Houston Rockets for the 44th pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft. Griffin, 20, was a 2022 first-round pick out of Duke. pic.twitter.com/IhjHKnCxCd
With the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA draft, the Hawks selected Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher out of JL Bourg.
With the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA draft, the Atlanta Hawks selected Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher out of JL Bourg from the French League and EuroCup.
Risacher was named the 2024 EuroCup Rising Star after averaging 11.1 points and 3.9 rebounds on 38.7% shooting from 3-point range in 65 games in France. He joined Kristaps Porzingis and Jonas Valanciunas as recipients of the award.
The 19-year-old emerged as the front-runner for the top pick after the Hawks won the draft lottery last month. He visited the organization last week and likely established himself as its choice after a strong showing in his workout and interview.
Risacher is the Hawks’ first No. 1 pick since David Thompson in 1975. He is their highest-drafted player since Marvin Williams was selected with the fifth overall pick in 2005. It is the first time in history a player without college experience was chosen first in consecutive years.
Risacher projects to check many boxes for the Hawks at the next level. He is highly touted for his passing, playmaking on offense and shooting ability. He also brings defensive versatility, given his size and ability to guard multiple positions.
Stop me if you’ve heard this about this draft before, but there’s not really a consensus No. 1 prospect out there like we’ve had in years past. No Victor Wembanyama or Zion Williamson stands alone as the unquestioned best player in this draft.
That makes things more interesting for Atlanta at the top of the draft. The Hawks have plenty of options in who they could take, but the pendulum hasn’t swung one way or another at this point.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the five best options Atlanta has at the top of this draft class.
1. Alex Sarr
(Photo by COLIN MURTY/AFP via Getty Images)
Sarr is probably the closest thing you’ll get to a lock in this draft class. He’s a multi-faceted talent as a frontcourt player who looks like he could transition to playing the wing in some jumbo-sized lineups with how well he handles the ball at center.
He’d regularly be a no-brainer for Atlanta here at No. 1, but Sarr has reportedly been avoiding working out for the Hawks, according to the latest from ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
If I’m the Hawks, though, I call his bluff and take him anyway. He’s that talented.
2. Zaccharie Risacher
(Photo by IAN LANGSDON/AFP via Getty Images)
Zaccharie Risacher looks like he’ll be the pick for Atlanta in the most likely scenario.
Don’t get it twisted — he wouldn’t be a consolation prize. Risacher is a good player. At 6-foot-10, he boasts incredible shooting ability which is unique at his size. He’s also a skilled defender who should, at the very least, profile as a solid 3-and-D threat for Atlanta.
3. Donovan Clingan
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Donovan Clingan would be an interesting move at No. 1 for the Hawks.
This is a team that is going to be looking for frontcourt depth with Atlanta reportedly focused on finding a new home for Clint Capela this offseason. When that happens, Clingan could easily slide into that starting center role and be a boon defensively for Atlanta.
Maybe he wouldn’t traditionally be a No. 1 overall pick in any other draft. Maybe Atlanta might do better to trade down if it’s going to take Clingan. But, regardless, he’d be a solid fit moving forward for Atlanta.
4. Reed Sheppard
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Okay, this one might be a bit controversial. I get it — Atlanta taking another guard feels pretty ridiculous when you’ve already got Trae Young on your roster and you still have Dejounte Murray next to him.
But Atlanta needs all the help it can get defensively. Sheppard might legitimately be the best defender in this class.
He’s not built like it — being a 6-foot-1 guard with a 6-foot-3 wingspan is not what you’d typically think of as an elite defender. But every metric tracking Sheppard’s defense is through the roof. He’s also an elite shooter who scorches the net both off the bounce and in spot-up situations.
I’m not sure Sheppard would be anyone’s first pick, but he might be the right one.
5. Ron Holland
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Ron Holland is being slept on in this draft. He started the season as the consensus No. 1 overall pick before everything fell apart with the NBA’s G-League Ignite program.
The numbers don’t look great — Holland was an awful shooter, shooting 23 percent from deep on the season. He also had more turnovers per game (3.5) than assists (2.8).
But Holland’s talent is there. He might have the best motor out of anyone in this draft class. He can handle the ball, has length and has showcased solid scoring ability on a team that didn’t work well together. He wouldn’t be Atlanta’s primary creator and could settle into a secondary playmaking role as a connector rather than a main star.
I think Atlanta would be a fantastic fit for Holland. The team desperately needs help on the wing.
Hawks general manager Landry Fields confirmed that Alex Sarr declined to conduct a workout with the organization ahead of the draft.
Atlanta Hawks general manager Landry Fields confirmed that Frenchman Alexandre Sarr declined to conduct a workout with the organization ahead of the 2024 NBA draft.
Sarr is in the conversation to be the No. 1 pick by the Hawks on Wednesday, along with fellow countryman Zaccharie Risacher and UConn center Donovan Clingan. The team had Risacher and Clingan in for workouts but couldn’t secure one with Sarr.
The 7-footer was viewed as the front-runner to be the top pick after a productive year in the NBL with the Perth Wildcats. However, he dropped on most mock drafts to No. 2 to Washington after the Hawks won the draft lottery last month.
Sarr addressed the statement by Fields at the draft in New York.
I have a great team around me. Bill Duffy and WME (Sports) have already been through all of this and I trust them. I’m not going to get into the specifics of where I worked out or where I didn’t, but I’ve been doing my best in my workouts and that is all I can control.
Fields said in the interview that Sarr was the only prospect to decline a workout invitation by the team. He said the organization has finalized its draft board and has a strong idea about who it will draft with the first pick on Wednesday, barring a trade.
The comments by Fields and Sarr appear to be posturing tactics by both sides, which is typical ahead of the draft. It is unclear if it ensures that Risacher will now be the pick by the Hawks but he is currently the favorite to be the top pick by most sportsbooks.
Sarr averaged 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks on 52% shooting from the field last season with the Wildcats. He scored in double figures 14 times, including a season-high 18 points, five blocks and two rebounds on Jan. 26 against the S.E. Melbourne Phoenix.
The 19-year-old is highly touted for his ability to protect the paint and block shots with his 7-foot, 4 1/4-inch wingspan. He has an evolving offensive game and has drawn some comparisons to Giannis Antetokounmpo with his size, skill set and ability in the open court.
Is Dejounte Murray the backcourt upgrade the Lakers need in order to become contenders?
Now that the Los Angeles Lakers have finally hired JJ Redick to be their head coach, they can soon move on to the business of upgrading their roster.
Their current roster was good enough to win them 47 games and 23 of their last 33 this season. But it isn’t a championship-caliber one, and as long as LeBron James sticks around, it will be “championship or bust” for the Purple and Gold.
The team did make a run at Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray prior to the trade deadline, but those talks hit a roadblock. NBA insider Shams Charania believes they will once again have talks about acquiring the former All-Star (h/t Lakers Daily).
"The pressure is on the Lakers front office to make changes to this roster..
Murray is coming off arguably his best statistical season ever. He averaged a career-high 22.5 points a game while improving his 3-point accuracy to 36.3%. He played very well late in the year when Trae Young was out with an injury and almost single-handedly kept Atlanta afloat, allowing it to reach the play-in tournament.
He has the type of speed, quickness and defensive ability the Lakers both need and want in a lead guard. In addition, he has the ability to facilitate and hit the open man, which would allow them to preserve LeBron James.
Reportedly, some of Redick’s goals are to reduce James’ ballhandling duties, utilize him off the ball more and keep him fresh for the playoffs.
Murray will make $25.5 million next season, which would make him a less expensive target than Young or Donovan Mitchell, two other stars L.A. has been rumored to have interest in.
The 49ers have a new major box to check before training camp.
Brandon Aiyuk’s contract remains the biggest unchecked box on the 49ers’ offseason to-do list. However, they added a new one Thursday when NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reported 49ers head of player health and performance Ben Peterson is taking a job with the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks as their new VP of player health and performance.
Peterson was part of an overhaul of the 49ers’ health and performance staffs after the 2019 season. They put their training staff and player performance staffs under one umbrella following some terrible injury luck during head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch’s first few seasons.
Prior to joining the 49ers, Peterson was with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. That makes the NBA his third major US sports league.
Health is a key component to making a deep playoff run. It’s even more important for the team to stay on top of player health and performance with so many veterans on the club. Finding a replacement for Peterson has to be one of the 49ers’ top priorities with a little over a month left until training camp starts. Their hire to replace Peterson could play a major role in whether they’re able to return to the Super Bowl, making this one of the key items for them to figure out before camp.
In our latest NBA mock from Bryan Kalbrosky, he’s at No. 7 to the Portland Trail Blazers. But in the latest from The Athletic, Sam Vecenie has him going as the top pick to the Hawks, who may want the best player available in what’s looking like a weak draft class.
Why would the UConn big man go at that point? Here’s what Vecenie had to say about it:
Clingan is the name I have heard linked with the Hawks most often over this past week. He wouldn’t be the sexiest pick, but would fill a few objectives for Atlanta. Firstly, the organization has not yet shown any indication of rebuilding, so it might prefer to select a player who can fit with its roster sooner rather than later. Secondly, coach Quin Snyder had success in Utah building around an elite big man screener and rim protector in Rudy Gobert. Clingan, who impressed in a recent workout for Atlanta, would provide the Hawks a potentially dominant interior presence and high-character big locked up for the near term.
Risacher was named the 2024 EuroCup Rising Star after averaging 11.1 points and 3.9 rebounds on 38.7% shooting from 3-point range in 65 games with JL Bourg in France. He joined Kristaps Porzingis and Jonas Valanciunas as recipients of the award.
The 6-foot-10 standout projects to check many boxes for teams at the next level. He is highly touted for his passing, playmaking on offense and shooting ability. He also brings defensive versatility, given his size and ability to guard multiple positions.
While it appears the Hawks are far from making final decisions, many teams say their intel indicates Risacher remains the favorite at No. 1, partially because of the dual-track flexibility he offers of either remaining competitive next season or tapping into his upside as the type of big, versatile wing that is difficult to acquire outside the draft.
Risacher was scheduled to visit the Hawks on Wednesday, his first known workout of the predraft process. He will reportedly also visit the San Antonio Spurs on Friday and could add other teams with picks in the top five ahead of the draft on June 26-27.
With one week to go until the big night, the top of the draft board figures to remain fluid as the Hawks and other teams finalize their plans. In other words: There is much to be decided.
Their most recent exchange was the swap that sent former Spurs guard Dejounte Murray to the Hawks.
Could the San Antonio Spurs and Atlanta Hawks make another trade this 2024 NBA offseason? Their most recent exchange was the swap that sent former Spurs guard Dejounte Murray to the Hawks, but as we have all seen, the fit there has not been very good.
And as a result of that ill fit, there has been renewed chatter about San Antonio and Atlanta reversing that deal with Murray — or perhaps sending his backcourt counterpart Trae Young to the Spurs instead. Throw in the fact that the Hawks landed the top overall pick of the 2024 NBA draft, and things get even more interesting with the possibilities that could open up.
The folks behind the “TSR Sports” YouTube channel recently put together a clip of a debate with the host of the Hawks-centric pod “The Dixon Way” to talk over the possibilities.
Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear their chat.
Risacher and Sarr are widely viewed as the favorites for the No. 1 spot in this class, though in our first 2024 NBA mock draft after the lottery, we had Sarr as the first player off the board.
“Has the scoring ability, size, length, quickness and athleticism teams are seeking in today’s NBA. Quick release on catch-and-shoots, is able to create off the dribble and runs the court well.”
We still have a few weeks until Atlanta has to make a decision, and perhaps they could even trade the pick before it is all said and done.
Risacher, however, could give the Hawks a new identity if they choose to rebuild their roster or a fun complementary if they opt for building around Trae Young.
