By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The 2024 NBA Draft is coming up on June 26-27 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

We are going to take a look at the teams around the South and see who they might select in the first round.

# 1 Atlanta: The Hawks have the chance to select the best player in the draft. Zaccharie Risacher is a 19-year-old wing/forward the played for JL Bourg (France). He shot 38.7% from beyond the arc. He is 6’8 so he has the prototypical size for his position.

Atlanta already has one star player with point guard Trae Young. It would make sense to pair him with another talented player but there is always the chance of a surprise in the draft.

Young is only 25, so he still has several good years ahead of him. There is a chance the Hawks could take a guard like Reed Sheppard (Kentucky) and then trade Young.

#6 Charlotte: UConn center Donovan Clingan would be the ideal pick but he may not be around for the Hornets. If he were, the 7’2 Clingan would be a great fit.

Small forward/shooting guard Dalton Knecht (Tennessee) might be the player to select here. He’s 6’5 and primarily played guard in college. Charlotte already has point guard LaMelo Ball and small forward Brandon Miller.

Knecht averaged 25.5 points per game in SEC play and shot 48.4% from the field. He would help to create space on offense for Ball and Miller.

#9 Memphis: 6’7 small forward Cody Williams (Colorado) might be drafted here. He is the younger brother of OKC Thunder wing Jalen Williams.

He’s 6’7 with a 7’1 wingspan. He should be able to defend multiple positions, pass and pressure the rim. He averages 11.9 points per game as a freshman.

Forward Ron Holland II can also potentially be picked here if he’s still available. He played for the G League Ignite last season and averaged 19.5 ppg, 6.7 rebounds per game and 3.1 assists per game. The 6’8 forward was the only bright spot on the team. The Ignite were 6 – 44 last season.

“In high school I feel like I was just playing at 100 percent and running over guys,” Holland said at the NBA Draft Combine in May. “I definitely learned how to deal with it with the Ignite playing against bigger and smarter defenders.”

#15 Miami: 7’4 center Zach Edey (Purdue) is one of the most decorated college players in the last decade.

He played for the Boilermakers from 2020-24. Edey was the two-time National College Player of the Year (2023, 2024), two-time Pete Newell Big Man Award (2023, 2024), two-time Kareem Abdul-Jabar Award (2023, 2024), two-time consensus first-team All-American (2023, 2024) and the NCAA season scoring leader (2024).

He led Purdue to the national championship game and averaged 25.2 ppg and 12.2 rpg. He has a great mix of size, power and intensity.

Baylor guard Ja’Kobe Walter could also be picked here. He averaged 14.5 ppg for the Bears. He was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year last season.

#18 Orlando: 6’9 wing Johnny Furphy (Kansas) would be a good pick. Furphy was born and raised in Australia and came to the US for college. He struggled with being consistent last season. He averaged 9 ppg and 4.9 rpg.

#21 New Orleans: 6’10 forward Yves Missi (Baylor) is the likely pick here. He averaged 107 ppg and 5.6 rpg for the Bears.