Jalen Johnson – Atlanta Hawks
Drafted 20th overall this year, Jalen Johnson is a very athletic and unique power-forward prospect within the Atlanta Hawks organization. While he only gets into games when it is out of reach in “mop-up duties”, Jalen Johnson is a young hybrid-forward that the Hawks are extremely high on.
In four games with the College Park Skyhawks this season, the Atlanta Hawks G-League affiliate, Johnson has averaged 14.8 points, 14.0 rebounds, 1.2 steals and has shot 45.8% from the floor, 36.4% from three-point range.
The young forward definitely has a lot of potential to be an impactful player, similar to that of John Collins, but it is going to take some time for him to develop.
At just 19-years-old, Jalen Johnson still has a lot of maturing to do, hence why he is going to spend a lot of time on the bench and in the G-League this season.
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If the Pelicans can somehow convince Atlanta to give him up, then New Orleans should definitely pursue the former Duke Blue Devil for several reasons.
Not only would he provide some young, athletic depth behind that of Zion Williamson in the team’s depth chart, but Jalen Johnson could be a guy they use in many different ways.
In Summer League for the Hawks, Johnson was one of their primary ball-handlers and in transition, he was almost impossible to stop once he got a full head of steam going towards the rim.
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While he does need to get strong and add some muscle to be a factor at the NBA-level, the young forward is everything the Pelicans need in their developmental system.
Seeing as the Hawks just drafted him and are very high on his potential moving forward, it is hard to imagine that Atlanta would want to trade Jalen Johnson, but he is definitely the kind of dynamic player the Pelicans need to be targeting both now and the future.
Verdict: Pursue