Former Mr. Basketball decides to 'test waters' in NBA draft, gets top nod as 19th pick
The Atlanta Hawks got both of their men in Thursday night’s NBA draft, and they have social media to thank for one of them.
Of course, the headliner was Atlanta’s deal with Dallas to land All-America guard Trae Young out of Oklahoma, in a trade with Dallas (the Mavericks ended up with international sensation Luka Doncic, and forked over a future first-round pick).
The Hawks had their eye on Maryland’s Kevin Huerter with the 19th selection, but didn’t know whether the guard would still be available.
To ensure the pick, Atlanta had a deal in place with Milwaukee, which was at the 17th spot.
But then word leaked out on social media via Yahoo’s Shams Charania and others that the Bucks were taking Villanova’s Donte DiVincenzo.
Sources: The Milwaukee Bucks have selected Donte DiVincenzo with the No. 17 pick in the NBA draft.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 22, 2018
Atlanta knew its man would be there and no trade was necessary.
Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk told KGMZ-FM in San Francisco that leaking saved his franchise some assets.
“Last night, for instance, we had the 19th pick, and we’re coming down and we’re actually talking to Milwaukee on the 17th pick, talking about trading up to get a guy we like,” he said. “There were a couple of guys we felt really good about on the 19th pick, obviously Kevin [Huerter] was one of them, and it leaked who Milwaukee was going to take.”
Atlanta pulled out of the deal, saved a pick and got their guy, which suited Huerter, his friends and family just fine.
Huerter, who was named New York state’s Mr. Basketball in 2016, decided to “test the waters” for the NBA draft, working out for the Hawks last month as he maintained the option to return to College Park.
“Just looking for the right feedback, listen to the people close to me and hopefully make a decision with my family,” Huerter told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Trying to hear the right thing from the right team. Love Maryland, have no problem going back there. Still, I’ll wait and see what the process tells me.”
It told him he would be a first-round draft pick.
Huerter is a 6-foot-7 guard who averaged 14.8 points, five rebounds and more than three assists per game last season at Maryland.
Between him and the highly touted Young, it seems certain that Atlanta will be looking hard to trade point guard Dennis Schroeder.
301 ➡ 404
Welcome to the 🅰, Kevin Huerter! pic.twitter.com/tqgyNZwv6W
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) June 22, 2018
It’s always a good draft when a team gets the player it wants at the price it wants.
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