Hawks draft international prospects Eriksson, Agravanis in second round
ATLANTA -- After trading away their first-round pick for Tim Hardaway Jr. and two future second-round picks, the Atlanta Hawks selected two draft-and-stash international prospects in the second round.
The Hawks selected international guard Marcus Eriksson at No. 50 overall and international big man Dimitris Agravanis 59th overall.
"Marcus Eriksson is a player that we've followed for quite a while. He tore his ACL, so he missed a year. We thought that might have been an opportunity, had he played the year he probably would've gone much higher in the draft," general manager Wes Wilcox said. "And then Agravanis plays at Olympiakos -- both EuroLeague teams play at a very high level. See if we can't develop some players internationally."
A 6-foot-7 Swedish guard playing for Barcelona in the ACB League, arguably the world's second-best professional basketball, Eriksson played just five minutes during the 2014-15 season after tearing his ACL. Draft Express ranked Eriksson as the 12th-best international prospect available in his age group.
Agravanis, a 20-year-old out of Athens, Greece, was similarly ranked in his own age bracket. Playing for Olympiakos, a European powerhouse, the 6-foot-10 stretch-four averaged 6.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in the Greek League this past season.
