Depth was top goal for Hawks, Grizzlies

ATLANTA — Jalen Johnson was entertained by what Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks accomplished in the playoffs this summer. Now he wants to help Young and the Hawks take the next step to the NBA Finals.

The Hawks bolstered their depth by selecting Johnson, a forward from Duke, with the 20th pick in the NBA draft Thursday night.

“They’re a crazy young talented group,” Johnson said. “Like, it’s so fun to watch. Trae, he was a bucket the whole playoffs and he was just entertainment, pure entertainment. I’m excited to play with him, the other guys, Cam Reddish. It’s just a great young talented group. I feel myself fitting in just great there. So they’re definitely going to make some more noise in the next couple years.”

With their second-round pick, No. 48 overall, the Hawks selected Auburn point guard Sharife Cooper, who will compete for a spot as Young’s backup. Cooper (6-foot-1, 180 pounds), from McEachern High School in the Atlanta area, averaged 20.2 points and 8.1 assists as a freshman at Auburn.

The Hawks missed the playoffs three consecutive years before making an improbable surge late in the regular season that carried over to the playoffs. They lost in the Eastern Conference title round to the Milwaukee Bucks, who went on to beat the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals.

“They came off a great season this past year,” Johnson said. “I’m just willing to do whatever it takes to add on to that. The next goal is the finals now, make it to the finals.”

Johnson (6-9, 220) gives Atlanta important depth as the team faces the possibility of losing forward John Collins to free agency. The Hawks will open the season without big man Onyeka Okongwu, who had surgery July 21 to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder and is expected to be fully recovered in about six months.

Johnson played only 13 games as a freshman at Duke last season before opting out. He averaged 11.2 points and 6.1 rebounds.

Grizzlies make deal to pick up Williams

MEMPHIS — The Memphis Grizzlies picked up Stanford forward Ziaire Williams in the first round Thursday night via a draftweek deal that gave them the No. 10 overall selection. The New Orleans Pelicans made the pick for the Grizzlies under a deal that won’t be completed until Aug. 6 under NBA rules.

The Grizzlies were slated to pick 17th but moved up by sending center Jonas Valanciunas and two 2021 draft picks (No. 17 and No. 51) to the Pelicans for Steven Adams, Eric Bledsoe and two 2021 picks (No. 10 and No. 40) along with a top-10 protected 2022 firstround pick.

Memphis added Loyola-Maryland big man Santi Aldama (6-11, 215) with the final pick of the first round at No. 30 in a draft-night trade with the Utah Jazz, who made the selection. The Grizzlies sent their second-round pick (No. 40) and two future second-round picks in exchange.

The 19-year-old Williams (6-8, 185) adds young depth to a Grizzlies’ roster that features rising stars Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., both 21.

“I love the energy that the whole organization has from the front office to the players and coaches,” Williams said. “I feel I could fit perfectly as a locker room guy and rookie just learning and developing. This is the perfect organization for me.”

And to Grizzlies executive vice president of basketball operations Zach Kleiman, Williams was the perfect fit and worthy of trading up to obtain.

“We were after Ziaire,” Kleiman said. “We had an incredibly high degree of confidence that Ziaire was not going to be there at 17. Ziaire is a terrific, terrific person, and it’s a rare skill set he brings to the table.”

Aldama, 20, played two seasons at Loyola and averaged 19 points and 9.2 rebounds in 27 career games. Last season, he averaged 21.2 and 10.1 to become the first player in Patriot League history to average 20 and 10 as the Greyhounds reached their first conference championship game.