Donovan Clingan or Alexander Sarr: Battle of 1st overall pick

[Atlantaholic]

I've warmed up to Sarr, really not interested in Rirscach.  Clingan fills our biggest need (Center) but not sure he is worth a #1 pick. I think Sarr really isn't a Center, at least not any time soon, but I would be good with either him or Clingan at #1. Sarr has the more interesting upside and Clingan would have an immediate impact and eventually could become a borderline All-Star defensive type player. If we want to play a fast paced up and down heavy transition offense than Sarr is the better fit for that. 

[KB21]

FWIW, wing is our biggest need.  We lost games because of our lack of wing depth and our lack of perimeter defense.  

[KB21]

2024 NBA Mock Draft: UConn's Donovan Clingan goes No. 2; Nikola Topic plummets after knee injury - CBSSports.com

Round 1 - Pick 1

 

 

Alex Sarr C

FRANCE • 7'1" / 217 LBS

PROJECTED TEAM Atlanta

PROSPECT RNK 1st

POSITION RNK 1st

PPG 9.6

RPG 4.5

APG 1.0

BPG 1.5

I've gone back and forth on whether Atlanta will select Sarr or Risacher in recent weeks, which I believe is an appropriate reflection of some of the indecision happening in Atlanta. Sources also say Clingan not only worked out, but made an impression while doing so, fueling rumors of a potential trade down where they could target the big man and add another draft asset.

Damn that posted weird

[KB21]

2024 NBA Extended Mock Draft: 5.0 - NBADraft.net

1. *Atlanta Zaccharie Risacher 6-10 Ht, 6-10 Ws, 195 lbs, SF/PF France Intl.

Risacher actually made a late push at the very end of the year with three 20 point games in his last four.  It is not a draft with a great deal of talent at the top so teams and their fan bases like Atlanta’s will have to go into next season with realistic expectations. Risacher has one of the most effortless strokes you will find. He reminds some of a bigger version of Klay Thompson with his pure shooting ability. While he’s had some ups and downs over the past 12 months, he’s been on the radar for some time as a top prospect for the 2024 draft, due to his shooting, mobility and excellent size. He has basketball bloodlines with a father that played, and has shown steady improvement following the move to Bourg-en-Bresse. He put up 10 points per game on efficient shooting numbers for much of the season and won player of the month early on, following a number of big performances. Detractors contest that he lacks the ability to self create. They also worry that he lacks toughness and shies away from contact. He struggled to shine at the 2023 Hoop Summit game in Portland, but scouts commented that they loved the talent during the week of practices. He rebounded nicely as the season progressed, showing ability as both a shooter and shot blocker. Gaining strength and finding a good situation will be key, as there are plenty of indications that he may struggle initially at the NBA level.

Why the Hawks select Zaccharie Risacher: The Spurs moving up with picks 4 and 8 for Risacher is apparently still an outside possibility. Atlanta has gone background on a number of targets in case they were to make the move, Cody Williams being one of them. Risacher is not a savior type pick but offers what many feel is the best combination of floor and ceiling in the draft and made a strong push late in the season. Sarr is still being considered but at the moment the word is it’s Risacher.

NBA Comparison: Rashard Lewis

 

[KB21]

 

[KB21]

If the Hawks take Risacher, then that is probably a sign that they are going to commit to Onyeka Okongwu as the center going forward.  

[Jody23]

21 minutes ago, KB21 said:

 

I could be wrong, but I think there's alot of leveraging going on.  The Hawks take Risacher and that means the Spurs couldn't get him without an acceptable trade.  It would also kill the Pelicans chances of getting Murray (and perhaps OO) because the Hawks would have no room to add Brandon Ingram.

[KB21]

4 minutes ago, Jody23 said:

I could be wrong, but I think there's alot of leveraging going on.  The Hawks take Risacher and that means the Spurs couldn't get him without an acceptable trade.  It would also kill the Pelicans chances of getting Murray (and perhaps OO) because the Hawks would have no room to add Brandon Ingram.

I don't know how much I trust nbadraf.net and their "sources", but I find it interesting that they mention Cody Williams as a player the Hawks have extensively scouted.  I had Cody Williams as a very likely target had we stayed at 10.  They are the only source that is linking the two right now.  If the Hawks were able to get 4 and 8, I do wonder if they would take Williams at 8.  If so, then it's very clear they agree with me that wing is a major need.  

[AtLaS]

9 minutes ago, Jody23 said:

I could be wrong, but I think there's alot of leveraging going on.  The Hawks take Risacher and that means the Spurs couldn't get him without an acceptable trade.  It would also kill the Pelicans chances of getting Murray (and perhaps OO) because the Hawks would have no room to add Brandon Ingram.

Pretty risky bet here.  Sarr goes #2, then Clingan probably goes #3, meaning the Hawks are stuck with Risacher at #1, or whomever is left over #4.  

Risacher is my least favorite of the top prospects so I don't like this scenario at all.

[RedDawg#8]

53 minutes ago, KB21 said:

FWIW, wing is our biggest need.  We lost games because of our lack of wing depth and our lack of perimeter defense.  

I believe we lost more games due to lack of frontcourt size/depth highlighted by JJ, OO, and Bey’s extended absences and CC’s annual half a season conditioning ramp up.

We had a roster full of “wings”, though I agree perimeter defense was sub par. But what made it worse was lack of backline size to finish defensive possessions with contests and defensive rebounds.

We know we need to improve the SG position next to Trae. Im not certain that Richser does that. He seems more like a replacement for Hunter if anything.

[Jody23]

3 minutes ago, KB21 said:

I don't know how much I trust nbadraf.net and their "sources", but I find it interesting that they mention Cody Williams as a player the Hawks have extensively scouted.  I had Cody Williams as a very likely target had we stayed at 10.  They are the only source that is linking the two right now.  If the Hawks were able to get 4 and 8, I do wonder if they would take Williams at 8.  If so, then it's very clear they agree with me that wing is a major need.  

Agreed that wing is a major need which is why the threat of taking Risacher appears very real (or at least what the Hawks want teams to think).

[Jody23]

2 minutes ago, AtLaS said:

Pretty risky bet here.  Sarr goes #2, then Clingan probably goes #3, meaning the Hawks are stuck with Risacher at #1, or whomever is left over #4.  

Risacher is my least favorite of the top prospects so I don't like this scenario at all.

Excellent point, which is why the Hawks had better be certain about their intel concerning Washington and Houston.  The Spurs, I would think, also have incentive to keep Wemby happy.  Getting Risacher would do that it seems.

[theheroatl]

Just like the Jabari and Paolo mock juggling, I think the Hawks take Sarr.. it’s just a bunch of media posturing because they have no real information.

[BangHolman]

12 minutes ago, RedDawg#8 said:

We had a roster full of “wings”, though I agree perimeter defense was sub par. But what made it worse was lack of backline size to finish defensive possessions with contests and defensive rebounds.

Did we? We only had JJ, Hunter, and Bey that were truly quality and they couldn't stay healthy last season. The season turn sour in December when Hunter and JJ went down and there wasn't depth.

[bleachkit]

Does Risacher have anything to offer besides shooting? Seems like a reach at #1. 

[AHF]

2 minutes ago, BangHolman said:

Did we? We only had JJ, Hunter, and Bey that were truly quality and they couldn't stay healthy last season. The season turn sour in December when Hunter and JJ went down and there wasn't depth.

We had a bunch of wings most of whom weren't viable defenders:

Hunter - viable defender

Bey - not

Bogi - not

Vit - not

Matthews - not

Mathews - not

Lundy - not

Gueye - DNP

Bufkin - DNP

Griffin - not / DNP

[Gray Mule]

Want VS Need.  Do we really want two rookies?  Do we really need two rookies. 

We really don't know.  Why?  Because we don't know who we we're going to trade for what. We want to draft ___ & ____ but, after our trading is over, we may already have two of each.  We don't really need three of a kind.  

Who do we trade for?  Guess this depends on who we draft.  It's a mad wheel, going round and round.  Where it stops, no one knows.  We guess and stress, all the time, not knowing.

Who?  What?  When?  Where?  How?  I gotta stop.  Getting dizzy!

[Final_quest]

2 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Does Risacher have anything to offer besides shooting? Seems like a reach at #1. 

Every player is a reach at #1 in this draft.  I think Risacher projects to be a solid defender so he fits the 3 & D that teams covet.  The other wings at the top of this draft are probably better than him at other things, but can’t shoot at his level.  

[Jody23]

If the Hawks are going to trade with the Spurs AGAIN, they better make sure they don't get fleeced AGAIN.

[RedDawg#8]

4 minutes ago, BangHolman said:

Did we? We only had JJ, Hunter, and Bey that were truly quality and they couldn't stay healthy last season. The season turn sour in December when Hunter and JJ went down and there wasn't depth.

Wings as I define them are players at the 2/and small3 position. The guys you listed made up our forward rotation as 4s/bigger3’s. And due to injuries as you mentioned, they almost strictly had to cover at the 4 spot the entire season while other, smaller players like the Matthews played the 3.

Your point about their impact I 100% agree with. We lacked playable size and depth at forward and moreso PF to be specific.