Redrafting the 2018 NBA Draft: Who do Mavericks select after Luka Doncic goes No. 1?

3. Atlanta Hawks select Trae Young

Original draft position: 5

Perhaps the most polarizing player in the 2018 NBA Draft and the entire association today, Trae Young, comes in at three in this re-draft.

Everyone knew what kind of player Young was before he even stepped on an NBA court. The former Sooner could shoot the ball from anywhere and create for others as well as anyone in the draft class. However, there was a massive knock on Young, which still remains today.

Young does not have the size, frame, or competitiveness to excel on the defensive end. He has been a sieve throughout his first five seasons in the NBA. Amongst all current players with over 10,000 minutes played, Young has the worst defensive rating in the NBA.

With Young on your roster, you get a 25-plus per-game scorer with savant-like passing instincts. Averaging 25 and 10, like a season ago, will be common for Young going forward.

But, as the Hawks have quickly realized, he must be surrounded by above-average perimeter defenders. Atlanta even took this realization a step further, as the Hawks traded for former All-Defensive player Dejounte Murray in 2022.

Murray and Young are both primary ball handlers but with Young on the roster, it will forever be required for his team to employ a high-level defender next to him at shooting guard.

Aside from focusing on the bad, Young is a 2-time All-Star and All-NBA third-teamer who led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals in only his third season. Young may have his liabilities, but his offense is consistently impeccable.