The Atlanta Hawks have made moves this week to improve their roster, and they are not yet done with their addition of Asa Newell. Their goal is to push to the top of a wide-open Eastern Conference. New Orleans, meanwhile, is improving as well, but needs some additional talent influx. The teams matched up, with Atlanta dropping back to this slot and New Orleans jumping up to pick 13. Atlanta then used their only first-round pick to select Asa Newell. Let’s take a deeper dive into what this pick means for the Atlanta Hawks going forward.
Atlanta Hawks Select Asa Newell
Asa Newell played 33 games for the University of Georgia in the NCAA Men’s basketball league this season, and in 29.0 minutes, he averaged 15.4 points, 0.9 assists, 6.9 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. He shot 54.3% from the field and 29.2% from 3-point range. He is a bit more of a work in progress overall, and is not expected to plug in right away for the Atlanta Hawks, as it is not an area of need. Instead, he is a high upside pick that can learn and not play major minutes this season as he develops his long-range shooting.
This pick is a more long-range pick for Atlanta. Newell’s strengths are in his size, mobility, and energy in the paint. He is highly competitive and plays with fire. He needs to develop instincts and game awareness on both ends of the court and improve his perimeter shooting. Since Atlanta has built a strong core, they have time to work Newell into a place where he is consistent on defense, improves his shooting, and becomes a full-time power forward in the years to come. The upside here for a 23rd pick is strong, if the Hawks can harness Newell’s full talent potential.
Final Thoughts
This leaves the Atlanta Hawks with a talented young power forward to develop with their talented roster that hopes to compete this year. This should not affect their overall roster makeup too much, as Newell is not expected to play much of a role in year one. Atlanta wanted to push back in this draft to acquire other assets, while still targeting a player with future potential, and they were able to do exactly that with this trade and pick.
