Recently in the NBA, a trade was made that will shake up the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft a bit. Here’s our updated 2019 NBA Mock Draft.
The move was between the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks, as the Hawks sent Taurean Prince and a 2021 second round pick to Brooklyn in exchange for Allen Crabbe, the 17th overall pick in this year’s draft, and a protected first round pick in 2020. How will this shake up our 2019 NBA Mock Draft?
In a purely salary-motivated move, the Nets free up around $15 million in cap space while also acquiring a young forward in Prince. The Nets will look to use this cap space to re-sign D’Angelo Russell and another max-level free agent.
Atlanta appears to be the early winner of this trade, as the team now has three first round picks in the top twenty this year to go along with three in next year’s draft. Atlanta has quickly propelled itself to one of the NBA’s top young cores, and adding two more first round selections to their repertoire certainly helps them expedite this rebuilding process.
Because the 17th pick in this year’s draft was involved in the deal, it is only fitting to see how this will shake up the first and second rounds. More importantly, the trade could shake up how the Chicago Bulls choose to spend their 38th overall selection.
For the sake of this mock and despite the many trade rumors surrounding the draft, it will be assumed that all teams will keep their current selections. If another trade is to occur before the draft, another 2019 NBA Mock Draft may be made.