Photo: Bama in ATL / CC BY-SA 4.0I was 65% sure on June 3 that drafting Mara by default was a mistake. I'm raising it to 75%.
Here's what changed. The Clippers held the number five pick and every league source said they were the most likely team to trade down. The door was open. Atlanta had the picks -- eight and 23 from the De'Andre Hunter deal -- and the front office told rival teams they'd happily field offers for 23.
Then nobody moved.
Now the Clippers are rebuffing trade offers as their board solidifies. Kevin O'Connor reported the shift. Brett Seigel confirmed it. The team that was supposed to be your trade partner decided they like their pick.
Five days until the draft. The 23 pick can't anchor a trade-up by itself. The price was always eight plus 23, possibly Risacher. The Hawks deliberated. The Clippers decided. Those are two different verbs.
And what are they defaulting into? A 7-foot-3 center who shot 56.4% from the free throw line and posted the worst agility times at the combine. Okongwu is 25 with a career year. McCollum scored six in the elimination game and nobody addressed it.
I told you on June 3 they'd wait too long. The receipt is right here.
The deliberation was the decision. I'm 75% sure they just made the wrong one.
The Tilt
The Hawks' deliberation on trading up from eight to five was itself the decision -- and they chose Mara by default, exactly as predicted.
— Dex Ponce
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