The top prospect of the 2024 NBA Draft has been French big man Alexandre Sarr for most of the season, but it seems like Sarr is out of the running for the No. 1 overall pick. Jake Fischer has reported that Sarr being drafted by the Washington Wizards at No. 2 seems like an inevitability, especially after Sarr refused to work out for the No. 1 pick holder, the Atlanta Hawks.
“The Wizards are likely to remain at No. 2 as well, where Washington has the league convinced it’s focused on selecting Alex Sarr from the Perth Wildcats. The Wizards, according to people familiar with the situation, invested the most time and resources of any NBA club sending various personnel to Australia to evaluate Sarr. This situation is also considered the preferred outcome from Sarr’s camp, as it’s become well known that Sarr has so far declined to work out for Atlanta.”
Sarr played for the Perth Wildcats in the NBL last season, averaging 9.4 points, 0.9 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game in 27 appearances. He averaged 17.3 minutes per game in the NBL, with games being 40 minutes long (10-minute quarters).
Alex Sarr Refusing To Workout For The Hawks
As Fischer also mentioned, Sarr has declined workout requests from the Hawks since the start of the Draft process. The 7’0″ big man has been considered the main prize of a weak draft class, but his refusal to work out for the team with the No. 1 pick has brought other prospects such as countryman Zaccharie Risacher and UConn Huskies big man Donovan Clingan into the mix for No. 1.
“The Hawks have been unable to bring Alex Sarr in for a workout to this point, but the door remains open for that to potentially happen. Clingan appears to be Risacher’s main rival at No. 1.”
He was excited to possibly join the Hawks when the team won the Draft Lottery in May.
“I’m really excited. I just found out what the order is. It tells me what team I’m going to work out with… The Hawks are an exciting organization. They are trending in the right direction. It’s great that they have the No. 1 pick… I know a little bit about Atlanta. I wasn’t doing much. I was just going to school and was in the gym. It’s a great city.”
This doesn’t bode well for the Hawks, as a No. 1 pick prospect intentionally trying to fall to a lower team on the board shows a lack of faith in the organization to do right by him. The Hawks have two elite guards like Trae Young and Dejounte Murray who would spoon-feed Sarr great opportunities, but it seems he doesn’t want that for himself.
The Hawks would expect Sarr to play a role similar to what Dereck Lively II did for the Mavericks, which the French center might feel is a waste of his abilities. The Wizards are worse but their lack of success in recent times means Sarr will have more opportunity to showcase the full range of his abilities rather than restricting his growth to fit a winning project.
Sarr will team up with Frenchman Bilal Coulibaly, along with an intriguing young core featuring the likes of Deni Avdija, though none of the other young stars on the roster can count themselves as a part of the team’s core.
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