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To this point, most way-too-early mock scenarios have projected the Atlanta Hawks to select a big man with the number 21 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. That trend may well continue, given the uncertainty surrounding Al Horford, for some time, but prior to the NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday evening, Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports put forth an interesting name when it comes to the Hawks.
That player? St. Joseph's swingman DeAndre Bembry:
The Hawks may lose Al Horford, putting a potential big squarely in their crosshairs this time around. However, they also will likely lose Kent Bazemore, creating a rather large hole on the wing. Bembry was given the choice of playing 5-on-5 or not this week at the combine, and he decided to do so and really helped his stock by performing well on Thursday. He has basically everything you'd hope to ask for from a wing beyond a jump shot, and the mechanics there certainly aren't broken. This would be a really solid fit.
Bembry has been a favorite sleeper of many NBA pundits in advance of the draft and, as mentioned above, he performed quite well at the combine over the weekend. The talented wing measured at just under 6-foot-6 in shoes in Chicago, but Bembry has a wingspan of more than 6-foot-9 and, more importantly, he is a highly intelligent player that would appear to be a nice fit in Mike Budenholzer's scheme.
The big issue plaguing Bembry's stock is a lack of perimeter shooting, where he connected on just 26.6% of his threes last season at St. Joseph's. Atlanta has been well known for transforming ugly jump-shooters (i.e. DeMarre Carroll and Kent Bazemore) into competent ones in the past, though, and Bembry is a very good defensive player that would present versatility and talent at a position of relative need.
As always, it is far too early to discuss legitimate specifics here, but with the combine out of the way, more players will come to light and DeAndre Bembry is a very interesting name that could legitimately be available in Atlanta's range.