The Atlanta Hawks turned heads on Sunday when owner Tony Ressler, general manager Landry Fields, and assistant general manager Kyle Korver showed up to the Rutgers-Kennesaw State showdown.
The Atlanta Hawks have their GM, assistant GM and owner at Kennesaw State to watch Ace Bailey (and, presumably, Dylan Harper). pic.twitter.com/HZr33mZTDY
— HawksMuse (@MuseHawk) November 24, 2024
Hey, maybe Ressler, Fields, and Korver just wanted to catch some college hoops. After all, just because they’re NBA executives doesn’t mean that they can’t be passionate basketball fans. Furthermore, because the Hawks don’t own their 2025 first round pick, it’s unlikely that they would be able to draft either Ace Bailey or Dylan Harper without making a major move.
Perhaps they’re enamored by Scarlet Knights freshman center Lathan Sommerville, especially with Clint Capela on an expiring contract. Kennesaw State duo of freshman wing Adrian Wooley and junior guard Simeon Cottle have been pretty productive. Bailey and Harper are projected to be available in the top-five, but Sommerville, Wooley, and Cottle could be available much later.
Hawks Make In-Person Visit To Rutgers To Scout Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper
At the end of the day, the Sunday’s Rutgers-Kennesaw State matchup was undoubtedly headlined by Bailey and Harper, who have been scouted heavily by the Brooklyn Nets front office personnel, among others. So, even if they weren’t there solely for them, the star duo was being vetted. Additionally, though the Hawks aren’t currently projected to have a top-five pick, that could change by the time of the draft.
Is A Trae Young Trade Still On The Table?
In the 2024 offseason, the Hawks put both Dejounte Murray and Trae Young on the trade block. This was perceived as Atlanta admitting they were in an either-or situation. Nonetheless, Atlanta was clearly willing to move on without at least one of them. The problem was that neither Murray nor Young had as much trade value as the Hawks wanted.
Fast-forward to today and Murray is in New Orleans with the Pelicans. His replacement, Dyson Daniels, has been a defensive revelation. Yet, Daniels isn’t nearly as impactful as a scorer, averaging 14.2 points per game and shooting 30.8 percent from deep. So, it’s worth noting that he’s on the final year of his contract, making him both a re-sign and sign-and-trade candidate.
Young may not be doing enough to cement his future in Atlanta either though. He’s approached the game with a team-oriented style that reflects his growth on and off the court. Since last season, he’s played with pride defensively. Yet, he’s still one of the least efficient volume scorers in the NBA.
Young has averaged at least 22 points per game in each of his last six seasons. However, he’s converted under 44 percent of his field goals in all but one of those occasions. He’s made fewer than 35 percent of his three-pointers in three of them. In 2024-25, he’s averaging 22.1 points per game while shooting 38.4 percent from the field and 32.8 percent from three.
If the Hawks can move him to a team with a top-five pick, they just might.
Dylan Harper
Harper would have to be high on their list of targets if they end up in position to draft him. At 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, Harper is reminiscent of Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a nifty three-level scorer whose footwork has helped him dominate despite a lack of top-end athleticism.
Atlanta’s front office has to have been impressed by what they saw.
Dylan Harper really has star potential pic.twitter.com/s8nAeMumIS
— ℚ (@qshironalberti3) November 25, 2024
Against the Owls, Harper tallied 21 points, nine assists, and two steals. He only connected on one three-pointer (out of four attempts), but went 10-18 from the field. For the season, he’s averaging 19.8 points, 5.2 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.0 steal per game, shooting 54.3 percent from the floor.
Ace Bailey
Sunday wasn’t Bailey’s best game from an offensive efficiency standpoint, as he went 6-17 from the field and had seven turnovers to one assist. However, he still shot 40.0 percent from deep at 6-foot-10. Furthermore, despite his low assist tally, he was often getting the ball out of his hands quickly.
Bailey’s biggest issue is that as a No. 1 contender, but not the favorite, everything he does is compared to Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. To that point, Bailey has demonstrated a purer shooting stroke, but Flagg has been the better playmaker. Thus, games like Sunday’s look even less favorable than they might otherwise have.
Idk but Ace Bailey reminds me of Warriors KD pic.twitter.com/7G08Hob9Aj
— ℚ (@qshironalberti3) November 25, 2024
All of that aside, Bailey’s a Kevin Durant-coded combo forward who could slot into virtually any team’s starting lineup. Just because he isn’t as complete a prospect as Flagg doesn’t make him worse. Durant has never been the all-around player that Toronto Raptors point-forward Scottie Barnes is, but most would choose the former.
This season, Bailey is averaging 19.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.0 steal, and 1.0 block per game on 47.6 percent shooting from the field and 41.2 percent from three.
