Hawks select players who will give ‘your all’: 5 takeaways from the draft

“Hawks DNA is about being in love with this game and giving it your all,” Hawks general manager Landry Fields said Thursday.

Here are five takeaways from the draft:

First pick already on right trajectory. In Bufkin, the Hawks have a dynamic guard who they can inject into the rotation who matches well with both members of their starting backcourt. At 19, he still is very young, and the Hawks likely will spend the majority of this season focused on his development.

But Bufkin has plenty of potential that excites the Hawks.

“He’s an unbelievable person who we spoke with in Chicago (at the draft combine),” Fields said. “That was another huge moment for me, just very mature. The way he sees the game, the feel, the IQ, the competence that he has as well. Just a very fluid type of player (that) can play on-ball, off-ball, defends, and that’s big for us, as well. And he’s young, he’s still growing and getting better. And so it was a good choice for us.”

Bufkin already is on the right trajectory, improving his 3-point shooting between his freshman and sophomore seasons with the Wolverines. He went from making just over 22% of his attempts from 3 as a freshman to making 35.5% at a slightly higher volume the next season.

“I think it was just consistency and shooting the same shot every time,” Bufkin said via Zoom. “Just being consistent in your work allows you to be consistent while you play. So, I just (envisioned) just shots to start falling and once they start falling they never really turned off. So I’m glad it was able to show on the big stage.”

Lots of tools in Bufkin’s repertoire. The rookie guard already has some familiarity with his teammates. In his post-draft interview at the Barclays Center, he spoke highly of his future backcourt partner, Trae Young. Bufkin spoke of Young’s talent on the ball and his ability to draw multiple defenders on him to create open looks for others.

With Bufkin’s instincts off the ball, the Hawks get a young guard who has plenty of other offensive tools in his repertoire.

Bufkin has plenty of speed and makes decisions quickly as he reads the game. He attacks driving lanes aggressively and will attack closeouts when defenders look to contest his shots from outside. Per Sam Vecenie of the Athletic, Bufkin is an elite finisher who made 67% of his shots in a half-court setting, as well as 64% of his layups. He utilizes angles effectively to avoid opposing rim protectors and uses his body not only to initiate contact but also shield the ball.

Of course, now, he’ll have to adjust to the speed and size of NBA defenders.

Trying to stay true to themselves. Ahead of the draft, the Hawks expressed comfort in making their pick at No. 15, but they kept their options open. Of course, no deals materialized, and the Hawks stood pat at their original position.

This year’s draft did not have a lot of movement, though, and draft experts projected Bufkin to go anywhere from 10-15 in the first round. So, with the rookie guard available to them, the Hawks made the decision they believed stayed true to who they were.

“Part of our job is exploring any and every option to help make this team better but to do it in a way that holds true to who we are and who we want to be more of,” Fields said. “So yeah, it was a lot of talks on the phone a lot this week and especially around that, that pick that we had.”

Hoping for a high reward. The Hawks did end up making a deal Thursday night, though it may not have been as splashy as some may have wanted. They acquired the draft rights to Gueye at No. 39 from the Celtics in exchange for their 2027 second-round pick.

As is common with second-round picks, the Hawks take a low risk but get a potentially high reward in the 20-year-old Senegalese forward. Gueye, 6-foot-11, has only four years of organized basketball under his belt but has enough raw tools that convinced the Hawks to take a swing for him.

He moves fluidly for his size and has shown offensive flashes as a shot-maker that have intrigued scouts. He has solid instincts to take advantage of mismatches and faces up his opponents or drives by them when he sees the lane. Gueye has a developing midrange game and loves to create space with a jab step and has the ability to make some tough shots.

The 20-year-old also has shown some budding passing skills.

But he is a big project, particularly on defense. He still needs time to build strength and may have trouble against some of the NBA’s bigger players, and his lack of speed could hurt him if he’s up against some of the speedier ones.

The Hawks, though, are intrigued enough by his potential and the investment could pay off should he develop the way they envision.

Forward with fearless style. After acquiring Gueye, the Hawks also selected another forward who adds to their already deep group of wings. In Lundy, the Hawks look to nail the 3-and-D prospect that has eluded them.

At Penn State, Lundy knocked down 40% of his shots from 3. Lundy impressed the Hawks in his workout two days before the draft after he caught the eyes of the front office at the draft combine last month.

“He came out here and lit it up in front of us, and that’s part of who he is,” Fields said. “He’s been doing that for a long time at Penn State and a guy where you can never have enough shooting and again, this is a character fit.”

He already has strength and has impressed scouts with his fearless style of play. He uses his motor, body and length to disrupt what opponents. At Penn State he often took on the hardest defensive assignments and held his own in those matchups.

At Penn State, Lundy made 40% of his shots from 3. Lundy impressed the Hawks in his workout two days before the draft after he caught the eyes of the front office at the draft combine last month.