As the NBA Draft 2018 arrived on Thursday night, it brought with two expected picks and then a few surprises, as well as a top five trade. The Phoenix Suns started off by selecting Arizona's DeAndre Ayton as many expected they would. The Sacramento Kings also went according to most projections, opting to select Duke's Marvin Bagley III. That left some intrigue for the Atlanta Hawks, who could have gone with a big, but instead made a surprise move.
From there, a trade would take place not long after.
Hawks select Doncic third overall
With the No. 3 pick in the NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks made the big move by selecting international prospect Luka Doncic. The overseas product had been pegged to go anywhere from second overall or fall down to the No. 5 spot. However, Atlanta grabbed him early on, rather than going for one of the bigs available. They included Jaren Jackson, Mohamed Bamba, and Wendall Carter Jr. who were both still on the board.
That wasn't the plan, though, as the Hawks selected the European player that many people feel is the next big star from "overseas." In 61 games for the EuroLeague, Luka Doncic averaged 14.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per contest this past season.
With that said, Luka Doncic wouldn't be staying with Atlanta for very long as a trade was rumored and then later it was confirmed.
Mavs select Young fifth, trade occurs
A shocking pick came at the No. 5 spot where the Dallas Mavericks could also have taken a big man. While the Memphis Grizzlies had taken Jaren Jackson Jr. off the board at No. 4, that still left Mo Bamba and Wendell Carter Jr. among available prospects. Instead, the Mavs selected guard Trae Young, a player who had been listed all over the place on mock drafts.
However, moments later, NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced that a trade had officially gone down. The Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks agreed to a swap involving Luka Doncic for Trae Young.
With that, Doncic now joins German NBA superstar Dirk Nowitzki, who really paved the way for the conversation about new overseas stars each season. Dirk is winding down his NBA career, but will surely be a valuable mentor for Doncic in his first season or so.
Meanwhile, Atlanta didn't do so badly themselves. Trae Young averaged 27.4 points, 8.7 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game in his season at Oklahoma. He was also a 42 percent field goal shooter and knocked down 36 percent of his three-point shots. That sort of potential is just what a struggling team like the Hawks will need as he'll join a roster featuring last year's big man rookie John Collins.
The early trade in the 2018 Draft conjures up memories of other early trades back in the NBA Draft history.
About 20 years ago, a top five trade occurred when the Toronto Raptors selected North Carolina's Antawn Jamison at No. 4 and the Golden State Warriors took his UNC teammate Vince Carter fifth. The two teams then swapped picks and the rest was history.
Carter became a sensation in Toronto, and Jamison didn't do too bad, but never quite achieved the sort of success as Vince. It should be interesting to see if Luka Doncic or Trae Young ends up being the bigger star out of this draft.