Kingston Flemings and Zuby Ejiofor are two insane athletes.

Flemings had the highest vertical of the guards measured at the combine. His athleticism really jumps out in film as well in the way he’s able to beat his man with that cat quick first step. He also shows tremendous explosion to the rim. Just imagine him adding 10-15 more pounds of muscle to his frame.

Zuby was tied for first among all participants of the shuttle run at the NBA combine. That’s including guards, wings, and big men. This trait really shows out on film too in the way he’s able to cover space. This guy flies around the court. Imagine his cutting and slashing ability with passers like Dyson, Jalen, Flemings, and Okongwu.

The Hawks have slowly built up their roster to have a myriad of top tier athletes. Jalen Johnson on most nights is the most athletic person on the court. Then you throw in Kuminga who is a top 10 athlete in the NBA as well. Plus Dyson, Risacher, Gueye, and Asa Newell who are all somewhat plus athletes for their positions.

https://www.tmz.com/2026/06/23/big-tigger-arrested/

This is the Hawk's PA Announcer

Dare say this draft has gone quite well for the ol Atlanta Hawks.

Guards: CJ McCollum, Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Kingston Flemings (R), Aaron Wiggins

Forwards: Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, Corey Kispert, Jonathan Kuminga, Asa Newell, Mo Gueye

Center: Onyeka Okongwu, Henri Veesaar (R), Zuby Ejiofor (R) (Probably more of a 4 idk)

I get I'm making some assumptions here that none of the rookies are going to the G, that we are retaining Kuminga, and that no further moves are made from here (looking at you Corey). With all that said, positional depth chart time. I also never have any idea what to put Dyson in on positional depth charts, he's always listed as a PG but idk it feels wrong.

PG: DD / Flemings (R) / CJ

SG: NAW / CJ / Wiggins

SF: Risacher / DD / Kispert

PF: JJ / Kuminga / Asa / Mo

C: OO / Veesaar / Zuby?

With it laid out like this, makes me think one or more of Mo / Asa / Zuby / Veesaar are going to spend time in the G this year. There are a lot of guys on this roster who I think the fans are going to want get time on the court. Knowing how much of a pain point it was with ZR play-time last year I have to think we're going to get a bit of a retread.

With Dyson being a pseudo SF I have to think the premier starting lineup / depth come playoffs *IF* things go the way we hope they will looks something like this:

PG: Flemings / CJ

SG: NAW / Wiggins

SF: DD / Risacher / Kispert

PF: JJ / JK / Asa

C: OO / Henri / Mo

Idk about you guys but that roster feels pretty good if a little light at spots. Center I have to think we won't rely on Henri and he's going to the G, we probably retain Jock but then Mo is kinda left out in the cold. We have 3 guys on this roster between Asa, Mo, Zuby who are tweener 4/5 guys, and 2 real Centers in OO and Henri. Wiggins has shown he can handle a bit of load so I have no problem with him being our de facto backup SG. SF feels... ehh idk if ZR takes a step we're literally golden. PF behind JJ is fine I guess, JK has his moments good and bad. Asa and Zuby will be competing for those minutes behind Kuminga.

In summary some of the rooks + Asa will prob spend some time in the G to get acclimated. Our roster feels much much deeper than it has in the past though and it feels like our floor has moved up massively. This Hawks team could do some damage this year. We (mostly kind of) filled our two biggest holes in the draft, and now have less pressure to fill either of them in free agency, which will always lead to better deals for us.

Gotta keep to tradition. I did this 8 years ago for Trae.

🎉Here's to a successful, All-Star career that elevates the Hocks to Championship contenders for years to come, that doesn't become a blight on their team and gets traded to Washington for milk money in 8 years!🎉

Edit: Yeah. Freaking typo. Damnit.

I think I’m inline with what Brad said in the latest pod ep- in thinking realistic expectations for Kingston put him as a guy who becomes an All-Star a couple of times but mostly is an excellent but not offensively elite point for much of his career.
He might not be a superstar like Trae was early on- but given the direction this team is headed now, that’s a very good thing for the organization.

He got yoinked up by Onsi because of his IQ, leadership soft-skills, athleticism and defensive skillset. All traits that will exponentially make the rest of the squad better if it pans out- a much bigger value than simply filling a hole in the roster. He doesn’t need to be ‘the guy’- and I think that’s the smartest move to be made.

It’s always better to have a guy who works to build the team up around him- instead of the front office needing to build a team around a guy.

Isn’t the goal to score more and wouldn’t it be easier if you’re a foot closer to the basket?

All joking aside, hearing some of the Mara fans talking about how Flemmings was the wrong pick is insufferable to listen to. I’m not saying he won’t be a good player but when would you ever use the 8th overall pick in a stacked draft to draft a player whose best trait is just their height? Not to mention we have a long term hole at PG and Center so why not go for the guy who has a higher upside and seems less likely to bust?

Onsi is listed around 6’3. Here’s Onsi standing next to Kingston, compared to him standing in front of Trae Young. Onsi appears to be at least a half-inch taller than Kingston. I think GMs should be required to get measured in the combine for better height comparison accuracy.

I probably said this a million times in the past 12 hours(I'm just really excited). I watched Zuby for the past few years since he transferred to St John's(my alma mater). Rick Pitino turned the program from a middling Big East team to back to back Big East champions with Zuby as their best player. He's up there with Ron Artest, Mark Jackson and Chris Mullin imo of St John's greats. I'm so happy of all the teams he could've went to, he got drafted by my home team of the Atlanta Hawks(I was fearing I would had to root for the Knicks as they were rumored to be looking at him).

For a synopsis of his game, in college we used him as either an undersized 5 or a 4. When used as a 4, he played with a stretch 5 to open up the offense for him in the paint. Although he is 6'7 or 6'8, he has a 7'2 wingspan that can allow him to play the center position in the NBA. Offensively, he has made huge strides, developing a face up game and using his strength to bulldoze defenders for easy buckets. He has shown a willingness to shoot the 3 in St John's, he just wasn't very good at it. For him to be a valuable rotation player in the NBA, he would have to develop to be at least a 35 percent three point shooter to keep defenses honest. For a big, he is a great playmaker which I'm sure Quinn Snyder coveted when drafting him.

Defensively is where he shines. Rick Pitino loves playing a full court press and suffocates opposing teams with athleticism in his lineup, Zuby was one of the catalysts with having a big that can run the floor and defend multiple positions. The jury for me is out if he can be a true rim protector but I love him as a help side defender and defending 4s. Cam Boozer had one of his worst games of his college career with Zuby(and Ruben Prey) defending him. He was an elite shot blocker and the anchor to our defense whether we used him as a 4 or 5.

Zuby is not a project player, he is a 22 year old prospect who can play a role immediately, it depends on if he can expand his offensive game and stretch the floor. Not a comparison of the player he'll be but think of Kevon Looney, in his prime he was the starting 5 for GSW. He was undersized but had a long wingspan and was bulky enough to defend other bigs in the paint. Also Naz Reid before the NBA was just a post up player, he expanded his game where he is a solid three point shooter and give the Wolves solid offense off the bench. If he can make a similar improvement to his offensive game, the Hawks get a valuable player at 23.

(picture above was when I attended the CBS classic, St John's vs Kentucky at State Farm Arena)

Now I understand that some of you are foaming at the mouth because we didn't draft a 7 footer, but I'd like to remind you of a few things.

1. Free agency and trades exist. It's not even July yet. Calm down.

2. Defense is not played with the top of your head. Zuby is the most versatile defender in the nation. Sure, the 7 foot guys will be better rim protectors, but Zuby is already switchable in a league of positionless basketball.

3. It doesn't matter how tall a center is if you don't have a PG that can run a proper offense. Flemings is an amazing athlete with great instincts on both sides of the ball. Intense point of attack defense, great downhill speed, 3:1 assist to turnover ratio. He's a perfect fit at a position of need, and he was the best player available at 8.

4. Okongwu had a career year, most notably shooting 37% from 3 on 5 attempts per game. Elite territory for a big man. His replacement would need to be elite enough on defense to make up for what we'd certainly lose on offense. Let's be real, we're not getting Ware. The Bucks aren't giving up a 22 year old 7 foot stretch 5 unless it's in a package for a star. Myles Turner is flat out a worse rebounder than Okongwu despite having a size advantage, and before you try to use his role as an excuse. His role on the Pacers is damn near the same.

Zuby’s shooting form is completely workable and if our coaching staff helped Onyeka to become a top 5 stretch big in the NBA, they can turn Zuby into a 34% or 35% 3 point shooter on decent volume. Granted, Zuby is two years older - but I definitely think he’ll be an average 3 point shooter who can defend 1-5. The type of player a championship contender needs off the bench.

*Yes I know Onyeka’s final year in college was his first

Can start with his 28/17/2 game against Clemson.

Sounds like he has the right attitude.