Peachtree Hoops Draft Board 3.0

The only thing I know for sure about what the Hawks will do in the 2014 NBA Draft is not to trust any rumors regarding what Danny Ferry will do. According to a consensus of reports and mock drafts, my sources believe Atlanta is targeting a raw stretch player with productive college experience who can defend wings and play combo guard while being ready to play right away as he is stashed in Europe.

Who knows what Atlanta will do? Whatever reservations people have about maintaining financial flexibility, it does make the draft more interesting. With multiple future assets available and a flexible roster, Atlanta can trade up or down and be ready to strike if the right player comes available.

Continually re-evaluating players, K.J. McDaniels remains the most underrated prospect and likely to be on the board when Atlanta makes a selection. Knowing that few scouts share my view, James Young and Gary Harris may be the wing players more likely to fall to Atlanta. If both are gone, UCLA's Kyle Anderson continues to make sense as shared in the Peachtree Hoops Mock Draft.

This updated Draft Board is not an exact ranking of prospects in general, but a look at ranking them according to fit in Atlanta and need. Prospects are sorted into tiers on this expanded board. All players from a higher-rated tier should be gone before dropping to the next one, but need should be considered within the tiers. Personally, Embiid is in his own category if healthy and Parker's productivity has him ready to start for most lottery teams right away. Here is a look-in on the draft board with less than 2 weeks remaining. A final board will be available the day before the draft.

The Draft Board

(previous rankings in parentheses)

Tier 1

1 (2) Joel Embiid, C (7'0, 240), FR, Kansas

2 (1) Jabari Parker, SF/PF (6'8, 241), FR, Duke

Tier 2

3 (3) Andrew Wiggins, SF (6'8, 197), FR, Kansas

4 (4) Dante Exum, PG/SG (6'6, 196), 19, Australia

5 (5) Julius Randle, PF (6'9, 250), FR, Kentucky [PROFILE]

Tier 3

6 (6) K.J. McDaniels, sg/SF (6'6, 196), JR, Clemson [PROFILE]

7 (7) Aaron Gordon, pf/sf (6'9, 220), FR, Arizona

8 (8) Noah Vonleh, PF/c (6'9, 247), FR, Indiana [PROFILE]

9 (9) James Young, SG/SF (6'7, 213), FR, Kentucky [PROFILE]

10 (11) Tyler Ennis, PG (6'2, 182), FR, Syracuse [PROFILE]

11 (12) Marcus Smart, PG/sg (6'3, 227), SO, Oklahoma State [PROFILE]

Tier 4

12 (10) Gary Harris, SG (6'4, 205), SO, Michigan State [PROFILE]

13 (14) Kyle Anderson, PF/SF/pg (6'8, 230), SO, UCLA [PROFILE]

14 (13) Dario Saric, PF/sf (6'10, 223), 20, Croatia [PROFILE]

15 (15) Clint Capela, PF/c (6'11, 222), 20, Switzerland [PROFILE]

16 (16) Jusuf Nurkic, C (6'11, 280), 19, Bosnia [PROFILE]

17 (32) Nik Stauskas, SG (6'6, 207), SO, Michigan

18 (17) T.J. Warren, pf/sf (6'8, 220), SO, North Carolina State [PROFILE]

19 (21) Rodney Hood, SF (6'8, 208), SO, Duke [PROFILE]

20 (22) Adreian Payne, PF/sf (6'9, 215), SR, Michigan State [PROFILE]

21 (23) Doug McDermott, SF/pf (6'8, 218), SR, Creighton [PROFILE]

Tier 5

22 (18) Cleanthony Early, SF/pf (6'7, 209), SR, Wichita State [PROFILE]

23 (20) Jerami Grant, PF/sf (6'8, 214), SO, Syracuse [PROFILE]

24 (24) Jordan Adams, SG (6'5, 209), SO, UCLA [PROFILE]

25 (25) P.J. Hairston, SG/SF (6'5, 229), 21, NBDL/North Carolina [PROFILE]

26 (26) Bogdan Bogdanovic, SG (6'6, 200), 21, Serbia [PROFILE]

Tier 6

27 (27) Damien Inglis, SF (6'8, 240), 19, France

28 (29) Kristaps Porzingis, C (7'0, 220), 19, Latvia

29 (30) Zach LaVine, SG/sf/pg (6'6, 181), FR, UCLA [PROFILE]

Tier 7

30 (31) Shabazz Napier, PG (6'1, 175), SR, Connecticut [PROFILE]

31 (34) Vasilije Micic, PG (6'6, 202), 20, Serbia [PROFILE]

32 (NR) Spencer Dinwiddie, SG (6'6, 205), JR, Colorado

33 (NR) Glenn Robinson, SF, (6'7, 211), SO, Michigan

34 (19) DeAndre Daniels, SF/pf (6'8, 196), JR, Connecticut [PROFILE]

35 (35) Russ Smith, pg/sg (6'1, 160), SR, Louisville

36 (31) Elfrid Payton, PG (6'4, 185), JR, Louisiana-Lafayette

Tier 8

37 (42) Jarnell Stokes, PF (6'8, 263), JR, Tennessee

38 (NR) Thanasis Antetokounmpo, SF (6'6, 205), 21, Greece

39 (28) Nikola Jokic, C (6'11, 253), 19, Serbia [PROFILE]

40 (36) Devyn Marble, SG (6'6, 192), SR, Iowa [PROFILE]

41 (37) Markel Brown, SG (6'3, 184), SR, Oklahoma State [PROFILE]

42 (38) Lamar Patterson, SG (6'5, 225), SR, Pittsburgh [PROFILE]

43 (39) Nick Johnson, SG (6'3, 198), JR, Arizona

44 (NR) Joe Harris, SG (6'6, 215), SR, Virginia

45 (40) C.J. Wilcox, SG, (6'5, 201), SR, Washington

Tier 9

46 (43) Johnny O'Bryant, PF/c (6'8, 257), JR, LSU

47 (44) Dwight Powell, PF/sf/c (6'11, 234), SR, Stanford [PROFILE]

48 (NR) Nemanja Dangubic, SG/sf (6'7, 193), 21, Serbia

49 (NR) Moussa Diagne, C (6'10, 218), 20, Senegal

50 (NR) Artem Klimenko, C (7'1, 228), 20, Russia

51 (NR) Walter Taveras, C (7'3, 265), 22, Cape Verde

52 (NR) Mitch McGary, C (6'10, 263), SO, Michigan

53 (NR) Patric Young, C (6'10, 247), SR, Florida [PROFILE]

54 (NR) Jordan Bachynski, C (7'2, 254), SR, Arizona State

55 (41) Cory Jefferson, PF/c (6'9, 230), SR, Baylor [PROFILE]

56 (NR) Isaiah Austin, PF/C, (7'0, 220), JR, Baylor

Tier 10

57 (45) Deandre Kane, SG/pg/sf (6'4, 200), SR, Iowa State

58 (46) Josh Huestis, SF (6'7, 223), SR, Stanford

59 (47) Fuquan Edwin, SF (6'6, 215), SR, Seton Hall

60 (NR) Khem Birch, PF (6'9, 209), JR, UNLV

61 (48) Akil Mitchell, PF (6'8, 229), SR, Virginia

62 (NR) Jahii Carson, PG (5'11, 180), SO, Arizona State

63 (NR) Jordan McRae, SF (6'5, 179), SR, Tennessee

64 (NR) LaQuinton Ross, SF (6'7, 239), JR, Ohio State [PROFILE]

65 (NR) Cameron Bairstow, PF (6'10, 252), SR, New Mexico

66 (NR) C.J. Fair, SF (6'8, 218), SR, Syracuse

67 (NR) Melvin Ejim, sf/pf (6'7, 219), SR, Iowa State

68 (NR) Sean Kilpatrick, SG (6'4, 219), SR, Cincinnati

69 (NR) Niels Giffey, SF/pf (6'7, 200), SR, Connecticut

70a. (NR) Xavier Thames, PG (6'3, 187), SR, San Diego State

70b. (NR) Kendall Williams, PG (6'4, 183), SR, New Mexico