The Hawks tried to move up and back in the second round of the NBA Draft on Thursday.
However, there objective was the same.
The Hawks were looking to get a young player willing to go or remain overseas to continue his development. The Hawks roster is quickly filling up following their two first-round selections. There is still a need to add another point guard to the roster after the Hawks agreed to a trade that will send Jeff Teague to the Pacers.
The Hawks selected French guard Isaia Cordinier with the No. 44 overall pick. The 19-year old plays in the second tier of the French League but could move up next season.
“He is a player that we studied pretty deeply throughout the season,” Hawks general manager Wes Wilcox said after the draft. “He is very young, 19 years old, very athletic. He plays extremely hard. Extremely high character. We were very pleased to have him available at the 44th pick.”
Cordinier played at the Nike Hoops Summit event this year. While under contract in France, Wilcox said there is a chance Cordinier could play for the Hawks’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League next month.
Cordinier, 6-foot-4, averaged 11.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 18.6 minutes in 47 games last season for Denain.
The Hawks also held the No. 54 overall pick but elected to sell the selection to the Cavaliers, who had the Hawks select Oakland guard Kay Felder.
“There was a lot of moving around at 54,” Wilcox said. “This is not typically something that we do but we did end up selling 54 for an amount that I don’t think is appropriate to disclose but I think we did pretty good.”
The Hawks received $2.5 million for the pick.
The Hawks use both their second-round draft picks last year on international players that remain in Europe in Marcus Eriksson and Dimitrios Agravanis.
There is still work to do on the Hawks’ roster. By taking Baylor’s Taurean Prince and St. Joseph’s DeAndre Bembry in the first round, the team still has a need for another point guard and available roster spots are filling up quickly.
“There are certainly position needs that we are going to have to address be it through trades or free agency,” Wilcox said.
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