Nolan Traore - NBA Mock Draft Roundup 2.0

I'm still a believer in Traore's talent. He has top-end speed to play point guard in the NBA. At this point in the draft, taking the best player available is the wise move, even if you already have a franchise point guard on the roster in Tyrese Haliburton.

Traoré, the younger brother of Lakers forward Armel Traoré, was recently named the Champions League Best Young Player for his production with Saint-Quentin. He is currently playing some of his best basketball of the season, averaging 16.6 points, 5.8 assists and 1.6 rebounds on 48.1% shooting from 3-point range over his last five games. Traoré has the potential to be an elite playmaker at the next level, with his feel, instincts and passing, making him a possible option for the Hawks if they look to make roster changes under a new front office.

Traoré has rebounded well from a tough start to his pro season in France. Over about three months from Jan. 15 to April 6, Traoré averaged 13 points and four assists while shooting 50 percent from the field, 35 percent from 3 and 79 percent from the line. His overall numbers on the year aren't that strong, but it's worth remembering that he's a teenager playing professional basketball for a full season for the first time in his career and leading his team to the cusp of the playoffs as the primary ballhandler at 13-16 on the season. He's also dropped 20-plus points in back-to-back games recently, too.

The Hawks just moved Bogdan Bogdanović this past trade deadline. They do have Caris LeVert, but he's entering free agency. They could use another player in the backcourt who could both play with Trae Young or could back up Young as the lead ballhandler in bench units. That's what they were hoping for with Kobe Bufkin, who has been unable to stay healthy.

Pro Comparison: Lonzo Ball

Nolan Traore is in the midst of one of his best stretches of the season. He's going to enter the draft with the field's highest assist percentage regardless, but now he's confidently stepping into three-point makes and creating for himself with visible decisiveness.

Shooting struggles and inefficiency caused by athletic limitations had scared scouts off. But the bar was awfully high entering the season. And now the 18-year-old has looked highly effective generating offense as a starting point guard in Pro A.

Scouting report: Traore started this year projected firmly in the top 10 but tumbled down the board amid an inefficient season struggling with turnovers, inconsistent defense and streaky shooting and finishing prowess. He has been on a major upswing lately, putting together some of his best performances as the season comes to a close, reminding teams of why he was so highly regarded with the way he gets to spots on the floor creating shots in volume for himself and teammates.

The 18-year-old has plenty to offer from a talent standpoint, showing flashes of brilliance with his ballhandling, passing and all-around creativity. His scoring ability and shotmaking prowess have been on display more vividly as of late with quite a few NBA teams in attendance. -- Givony

NBA intel and fit: With three first-round picks, but 14 players expected to be under contract next season, it's unclear how much room there is on Oklahoma City's roster to add more rookies. Packaging picks to move up in the draft, trading some nonrotation players to other destinations or kicking the can down the road by swapping this year's picks for future first-rounders could be options the front office considers.

The Thunder would have little use for a player such as Traore, but they have very few needs that this draft would help resolve anyway. The team will likely go for a best-talent-available approach if it ends up using all its picks. -- Givony

Traoe was thrust into a huge role as an 18-year-old playing in the top French league, and he turned in a productive but inefficient season that cooled his top-five preseason hype. The 6'5 lead guard might be the fastest player in this class with the ball in his hands, showing outstanding burst attacking the basket with excellent passing vision. He operated at a sky-high 30.1 percent usage rate this year, and he turned in a highly impressive 43.4 assist rate. Traoe just isn't a good outside shooter or finisher right now, and it killed his own scoring efficiency. He finished with 51.6 percent true shooting and only made 31.7 percent of his threes on just under four attempts per game. His speed, passing, and positional size gives him a nice foundation to develop if he starts improving his scoring touch.

Traore's played well of late in France and is inching closer to his preseason stock projection as a possible lottery pick. He's showed improving as a shooter of late and has a future as a point guard with his size and passing vision.

Traoré oozes upside with his size, blazing speed and shiftiness off the bounce. And it's starting to manifest into actual production: In his last game, he dropped 21 points with seven assists to only two turnovers. And he continued to shoot the heck out of the ball too. Over his last six games, he's made 50% of his 3s. And over his last 10 games, he's made 82% of his free throws. Inefficient scoring and erratic decision-making are the big concerns with Traoré, but if he keeps this up there's a chance he won't even make it to this pick for Brooklyn to pair with Derik Queen.