NBA Mock Draft: Consensus emerges who Hawks will pick No. 1

When the Hawks won the NBA lottery, my immediate reaction was: “Of course, the Hawks have the No. 1 overall pick in the draft when there isn’t a consensus player like Victor Wembanyama in the class.”

Most experts have described this draft class as one of the weakest in recent memory, with no clear and obvious choice to take first overall. That’s just this team’s luck, right? Well, that’s not exactly true anymore. The dust has settled and every major outlet has the Hawks drafting the 7-foot Frenchman Alex Sarr in their mock drafts:

Yahoo! Sports

CBS Sports

SB Nation

ESPN

USA TODAY

The Ringer

Sarr plays a similar brand of basketball as his fellow countryman that just won the Rookie of the Year award unanimously, but Wembanyama was more developed in every facet of the game coming into the draft.

Sarr played for the Peth Wildcats in Australia’s NBL and averaged 9.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 18 minutes per game. He’s a mobile 7-footer with obvious defensive versatility and upside, but the offense needs to be developed.

From what I’ve seen, Sarr doesn’t really create for himself as Wembanyama can, and his jumpshot is wildly inconsistent. The Hawks would have to be confident in their ability to help Sarr realize his full potential because he’s not even close to a finished product.

How long he develops into a significant contributor is important because there needs to be an internal clock within the organization in regard to Trae Young. The Hawks superstar isn’t going to wait around forever.

Atlanta’s front office will have to balance what’s best for the franchise in the long term while also maximizing Young’s window. It’s playing both sides of the fence, and it may be impossible, but the Hawks seem pegged to take Alex Sarr if they make the selection as far as NBA pundits are concerned.