The 2024 NBA Draft is less than a week away, and it remains to be seen what the Atlanta Hawks will do with the No. 1 overall selection. Will they trade it? Make the pick at No. 1? Run out of time to make the selection? All options appear to be on the table.
Recent reports suggest that either Donovan Clingan, Alex Sarr or Zaccharie Risacher will be the pick if the Hawks don’t trade it away before NBA commissioner Adam Silver steps to the podium on Wednesday night. ESPN reported Wednesday that Clingan appears to be Risacher’s main rival at No. 1, citing his solid workout with the Hawks.
The discourse around Clingan’s draft stock has been a hot topic amongst people who follow the draft closely — so much so that the question “Is Clingan worthy of the No. 1 pick?” was one of the true or false questions I answered alongside 247Sports’ Adam Finkelstein and CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone earlier this week.
The case for Clingan at No. 1 is tricky. I personally don’t think Clingan is worth the top selection because of his low upside, but I’ll play devil’s advocate here and mock Clingan to the Hawks instead of Sarr — the popular selection — in my final mock draft of the cycle.
With Clint Capela’s future in Atlanta uncertain, the Hawks need a center. While Sarr is the higher upside play, there are reasons to believe Clingan could work with the Hawks long-term. Let the debate begin.
Our latest NBA mock draft is below.
