With only three weeks remaining until the 2016 NBA Draft, it is somewhat difficult to unearth new names with regard to what the Atlanta Hawks could do with the number 21 overall pick. However, the good folks at HoopsHype released a mock draft on June 1, and they put forth a name that hasn't yet surfaced publicly for Atlanta.
That name was former UNLV swingman Patrick McCaw, and here is the snippet about the rationale behind the pick.
The Hawks could use another shooting guard to battle with Tim Hardaway Jr. as Kyle Korver is already entering his 14th season at 35 years of age. McCaw has combo skills and tremendous speed, which would work very well with the blur Atlanta has at point guard in Dennis Schröder, who appears to be edging out Jeff Teague as the team's PG of the future.
McCaw stands at 6-foot-7 with a wingspan of 6-foot-10 and he tested with a 38-inch max vertical at the NBA Draft combine. To translate, he is very nice athlete with good size for the position.
However, most pundits in the draft industry have pegged McCaw as a late first/early second round selection, and this projection seems to be on the high side for his current stock. In his final season at UNLV, McCaw averaged 14.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game while shooting 47% from the floor and 37% from three, and his jump shot looks to be an asset. Still, there is some concern about the frail state of his current body and how that might translate to defensive issues in the future.
No consensus has emerged as to a particular position that the Hawks could address in the draft, but wing depth (and, well, upside) has been an issue at times in the recent past, and adding another option at that spot wouldn't be a surprise. Let the debate continue.