{"id":108900,"date":"2024-11-25T13:26:27","date_gmt":"2024-11-25T18:26:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=108900"},"modified":"2024-11-25T13:26:27","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T18:26:27","slug":"hawks-scout-rutgers-ace-bailey-dylan-harper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/25\/hawks-scout-rutgers-ace-bailey-dylan-harper\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawks Make In-Person Visit To Rutgers To Scout Star Duo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>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.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Atlanta Hawks have their GM, assistant GM and owner at Kennesaw State to watch Ace Bailey (and, presumably, Dylan Harper). <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HZr33mZTDY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/HZr33mZTDY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 HawksMuse (@MuseHawk) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MuseHawk\/status\/1860804467907518645?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 24, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Hey, maybe Ressler, Fields, and Korver just wanted to catch some college hoops. After all, just because they\u2019re NBA executives doesn\u2019t mean that they can\u2019t be passionate basketball fans. Furthermore, because the Hawks don\u2019t own their 2025 first round pick, it\u2019s unlikely that they would be able to draft either <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/airious-bailey-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ace Bailey<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/dylan-harper-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dylan Harper<\/a> without making a major move.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps they\u2019re enamored by Scarlet Knights freshman center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/lathan-sommerville-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lathan Sommerville<\/a>, especially with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/capelca01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Clint Capela<\/a> on an expiring contract. Kennesaw State duo of freshman wing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/adrian-wooley-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Adrian Wooley<\/a> and junior guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/simeon-cottle-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Simeon Cottle<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n<h2>Hawks Make In-Person Visit To Rutgers To Scout Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper<\/h2>\n<p>At the end of the day, the Sunday\u2019s Rutgers-Kennesaw State matchup was undoubtedly headlined by Bailey and Harper, who have <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/18\/nets-heavily-interested-2025-nba-draft-prospects\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">been scouted heavily<\/a> by the Brooklyn Nets front office personnel, among others. So, even if they weren\u2019t there solely for them, the star duo was being vetted. Additionally, though the Hawks aren\u2019t currently projected to have a top-five pick, that could change by the time of the draft.<\/p>\n<h3>Is A Trae Young Trade Still On The Table?<\/h3>\n<p>In the 2024 offseason, the Hawks put both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/murrade01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dejounte Murray<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/y\/youngtr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trae Young<\/a> on the trade block. This was perceived as Atlanta admitting they were <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/04\/09\/will-hawks-trade-trae-young-or-dejounte-murray\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">in an either-or situation<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n<p>Fast-forward to today and Murray is in New Orleans with the Pelicans. His replacement, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/daniedy01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dyson Daniels<\/a>, has been <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/19\/hawks-dyson-daniels-bulls-scottie-pippen-impression\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">a defensive revelation<\/a>. Yet, Daniels isn\u2019t nearly as impactful as a scorer, averaging 14.2 points per game and shooting 30.8 percent from deep. So, it\u2019s worth noting that he\u2019s on the final year of his contract, making him both a re-sign and sign-and-trade candidate.<\/p>\n<p>Young may not be doing enough to cement his future in Atlanta either though. He\u2019s approached the game with <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/02\/trae-young-change-approach-pay-off-hawks\/\" target=\"_self\">a team-oriented style<\/a> that reflects his growth on and off the court. Since last season, he\u2019s played with pride defensively. Yet, he\u2019s still one of the least efficient volume scorers in the NBA.<\/p>\n<p>Young has averaged at least 22 points per game in each of his last six seasons. However, he\u2019s converted under 44 percent of his field goals in all but one of those occasions. He\u2019s made fewer than 35 percent of his three-pointers in three of them. In 2024-25, he\u2019s averaging 22.1 points per game while shooting 38.4 percent from the field and 32.8 percent from three.<\/p>\n<p>If the Hawks can move him to a team with a top-five pick, they just might.<\/p>\n<h3>Dylan Harper<\/h3>\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gilgesh01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a>, a nifty three-level scorer whose footwork has helped him dominate despite a lack of top-end athleticism.<\/p>\n<p>Atlanta\u2019s front office has to have been impressed by what they saw.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Dylan Harper really has star potential <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/s8nAeMumIS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/s8nAeMumIS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 \u211a (@qshironalberti3) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/qshironalberti3\/status\/1860928917239992810?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 25, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s averaging 19.8 points, 5.2 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.0 steal per game, shooting 54.3 percent from the floor.<\/p>\n<h3>Ace Bailey<\/h3>\n<p>Sunday wasn\u2019t Bailey\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>Bailey\u2019s biggest issue is that as <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/07\/30\/nba-draft-executive-names-cooper-flagg-no-1-competitor-ace-bailey\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">a No. 1 contender<\/a>, but not the favorite, everything he does is compared to Duke freshman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/cooper-flagg-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cooper Flagg<\/a>. To that point, Bailey has demonstrated a purer shooting stroke, but Flagg has been <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/23\/cooper-flagg-best-draft-fit\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">the better playmaker<\/a>. Thus, games like Sunday\u2019s look even less favorable than they might otherwise have.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Idk but Ace Bailey reminds me of Warriors KD <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7G08Hob9Aj\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/7G08Hob9Aj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 \u211a (@qshironalberti3) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/qshironalberti3\/status\/1860929701281235217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 25, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>All of that aside, Bailey\u2019s a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a>-coded combo forward who could slot into <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/21\/rutgers-ace-bailey-charm-wizards-draft\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">virtually any team\u2019s starting lineup<\/a>. Just because he isn\u2019t as complete a prospect as Flagg doesn\u2019t make him worse. Durant has never been the all-around player that Toronto Raptors point-forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/barnesc01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Scottie Barnes<\/a> is, but most would choose the former.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 \u2014 HawksMuse (@MuseHawk) November 24, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":108925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,1608,62,556,3],"tags":[49399,49668,4605,98,1349],"class_list":["post-108900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hawks","category-basketball","category-nba","category-nba-draft","category-news","tag-ace-bailey","tag-dylan-harper","tag-dyson-daniels","tag-nba-draft","tag-trae-young"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}