By: JJ Lanier

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Well, you’ve got to start somewhere. And having four picks, three in the first round, in the upcoming NBA Draft is a pretty good starting point if you’re the Atlanta Hawks.

Owning the 3rd, 19th, and 30th pick gives Atlanta a few different avenues they could go down, if they decide to do so.

The first is to package the number 3 pick with one of the other two to either move up to the number one pick, like Philadelphia did last year, or trade for an actual player.

DeAndre Ayton seems to be the consensus number one pick, so if Atlanta is all on board the Ayton train they’ve got the assets to make the move. I like Ayton a lot, and he’s going to be a very good pro, but I don’t think he warrants that type of offer, especially when you look at how deep this draft is.

I have no idea what player they could trade for using those two picks as collateral, but if a team is willing to part with an Andrew Wiggins type player, it may be worth a look.

Personally, if I was general manager Travis Schlenk and new head coach Lloyd Pierce, I’d stay right where I was at.

With the news that Luka Dancic is considering staying overseas for another year- basically he’s doing his best Elway/Manning impersonation because he doesn’t want to play for Sacramento- there’s a good possibility he’ll be around when Atlanta is on the clock.

If Dancic isn’t available, there will be three front court players, Marvin Bagley III, Jaren Jackson Jr, Mohamed Bamba, all waiting to be selected.

I’m a little biased, but out of those three I’d go with Bagley. Having watched almost every one of his games this past season, the kid is going to be something special.

Jackson has the skills but is inconsistent.

Bamba has ridiculous size and length, which is why he’ll be able to make an immediate on the defensive end. But, it’s going to take a while for him to come around, offensively. He reminds me a little too much of Nerlens Noel, to be completely honest.

Looking at the draft board, I imagine a lot of frontcourt players will be going in the lottery, which may benefit Atlanta in the long run. Outside of Dennis Schröder, the Hawks need some help in their backcourt. It’s impossible to predict who exactly will be available by the time the 19th pick rolls around, but there should be plenty of guards available that could make an impact.

At 30, they’re just going to take whoever the best player available is, or at least they should.

I get that you don’t finish a season 24-58 because you have a plethora of talent on your team. The Hawks obviously want to address areas of need, but the most important thing is getting players that can contribute within Pierce’s philosophy, even if they happen to play a similar position.

With the exception of a few seasons, the Hawks have hovered right around mediocrity for most of the franchise’s history. More than likely the playoffs are still a few seasons away, but things are at least lining up with the rebuilding process.

Now it’s up Atlanta’s front office and coaching staff to take advantage and make the right selections. That’s something easier said than done; just ask Sacramento.