Atlanta Hawks Should Avoid Repeating Trae Young Mistake in 2026 NBA Draft

Nobody can say exactly why the Atlanta Hawks traded Trae Young. Well, maybe someone can. Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh knows what he was thinking, and those in his inner circle may be able to attest to his thought process. The rest of us are left guessing.

That said, it's not hard to take an educated guess. The Hawks were stuck on the mediocrity treadmill with Young. For all of his prodigious offensive gifts, Young is one of the largest defensive liabilities in the NBA.

It's overwhelmingly likely that Atlanta realized this and opted to reshape its identity. So far, the results have been promising.

So why would the Hawks go backward by drafting Darius Acuff Jr.?

That's what recent rumblings suggest Atlanta may be considering. Reports indicate the Hawks are interested in Acuff Jr.

Look, Acuff Jr. is incredibly talented. That's not a question. He will generate a lot of offense at the NBA level.

That's part of the problem. He'll need to be paid. A ball-dominant, high-stat player like Acuff Jr. will command a hefty sum. The Hawks need to be asking themselves whether they'd rather spend $50 million a year on a deeply flawed star, or $25-30 million on a productive player who complements Jalen Johnson.

Besides, some advanced stats suggest that Acuff Jr. has been a worse defender than Young was at the college level.

Those metrics aren't the be-all, end-all. Acuff Jr. has longer arms, and he may develop into a better defender than Young. Still, that's a low bar. Acuff Jr.'s defensive outlook is bleak.

For Atlanta, drafting him would be the definition of insanity.

For some time, it was fashionable to link Michigan's Aday Mara to the Hawks. The skilled 7-foot-3 big man would be a better decision than Acuff Jr. Let's assume he's off the table, and Atlanta indeed wants a guard.

At the eighth overall pick, the Hawks should be left choosing between the 6-foot-5 Mikel Brown Jr. or defensive ace Kingston Flemings. Atlanta should prefer either over Acuff Jr.

This team already has an infrastructure in place. Jalen Johnson is the primary playmaker, and building around the recent All-NBA selection is the smart move. Acuff Jr. should be a more attractive option to a team that doesn't have a franchise player. He could be the type of guard who can be insulated on defense, but the Hawks don't need to find out whether that's viable when they already have so much talent.

They've already been down that road.

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