The Atlanta Hawks went in search of players that were willing to play internationally during the 2016-2017 season, and the team ended up landing French guard Isaia Cordinier with the No. 44 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. With that in mind, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress brings word that Cordinier is set to sign a one-year contract in France before presumably arriving in Atlanta for the 2017-2018 season.
Looks like Isaia Cordinier will end up signing a one year deal in France, possibly with his hometown team Antibes. Will join Atlanta in 2017
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 24, 2016
This seems to be in line with the thinking espoused by Hawks general manager Wes Wilcox late Thursday night, but according to Givony, Cordinier’s fall to No. 44 was something of a surprise.
Isaia Cordinier had a promise to be picked by a team drafting in the late 30s/early 40s, but team reneged at the last minute. Ugly story.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 24, 2016
Even told other teams not to pick him because he was guaranteed to be brought to NBA right away. Had to scramble last minute to get picked
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 24, 2016
Cordinier, who is only 19 years old, fell in the 40-45 range among prospects in the 2016 class for ESPN, DraftExpress and CBS, but this isn’t the first indication that he could have come off the board significantly higher on draft night. Given the presence of two first-round wing players in addition to Thabo Sefolosha, Kyle Korver, Tim Hardaway Jr., Lamar Patterson and (potentially) Kent Bazemore, it makes sense that the Hawks would like Cordinier to gain seasoning overseas, and he will reportedly be doing that next season.
It remains to be seen what kind of value Atlanta can extract from this draft selection, but Cordinier appears to have fallen in the team’s lap during the course of the second round.