emeans

This team was pretty damn good offensively without Paul. So I definately agree that our 1st priority right now is a defensive big man presence. With the moving of Al, Marvin is exactly what the doctor ordered for his replacement. Marvin is very special player if you give him the minutes. But I agree with this poster it has to be a Big Man or Bust....no doubt!!!

If you don't see superstar written all over this kid you are flatout blind!! I am so so happy we picked him 2nd. Next year will be exciting and with minutes he will easily surpass anything Al Harrington can do. He can do it all!!!

Yes the fact that Al is not a max type of player will hurt with our negotiations to get a Sign and Trade done. I honestly think we should have gotten something done before the trading deadline. This would be a major major blunder if he walks without any compensation.

I just hope we don't lose him without any compensation. He is unrestricted and can choose as he pleases. The only incentive for a Sign and Trade is an extra year on his contract. Is that enough? BKs decision not to trade him before the deadline will be tested this offseason. Was it the right decision? Time will tell, but this has the potential to be a disaster for BK and Co.

Well at some point in all the post before the draft, I know I complimented Paul, Deron and Marvin as good picks and a lot of other posters did too. I don't think too many people trashed anyone of these guys as good picks for the Hawks. Some people did but most people didn't. However, you only get ONE PICK and that is it. If I remember right before the draft we all put our mock picks in some thread and you definately had Deron as the Hawks 1st pick. Find that mock draft thread right before the draft.....Since you guys are so good at finding threads!!

I am glad someone brought that up. If Diesel was GM on last years draft night the Atlanta Hawks would have drafted Deron Williams NOT Chris Paul. I don't know why we continue to argue about Paul versus Williams. 95% percent of fans, GMS, owners would have drafted Marvin for the Hawks at #2. Even in Diesel's draft night pick we still would be without Chris Paul, so leave it alone and stop acting like he was your Number 1 Point Guard. Deron was you No. 1 guy!!

I just hope we don't lose Al for nothing. If he does a SNT then he will be able to get 1 more year of guaranteed money than he would he if he didn't do a SNT. I actually thought they played better spurts of defense yesterday with Al not in the game.

That is just a 'figure of speech', don't take that literally.

Ah man....Diesel cold set KB up. That is kinda of funny!!This forum has made a lot of people eat crow. Everything you say is documented!!If you have a point you better be consistent. LOL!!

Scouts say Bagnani maybe the the next Nowitski(sp?). They say he has an outside stroke like Nowitski. If he is any where close to Dirk then I say take him with no questions. The Darko ghosts is looming over the Bagnani pick however. However, Darko is playing well in Orlando.

I heard good things about Marcus Williams. I am going to look at him much more closely now that a lot of guys are mentioning him as a Top PG in the draft.

are the only 3 players the Hawks should be seriously looking at in this draft in the Top 10. There are no PGs worth taking in the top 10 and these are the only 3 big men worth mentioning in the upcoming draft. 6'11", 6'11" and 7'0" respectively. Right now, I think my order would be: 1. Aldrige 2. Bargnani 3. Noah That could change with Noah depending on the tournament and NBA workouts, which so far has done nothing but impress!!

Ronald Steele is the real deal and I have no idea why he isn't considered a top prospect. He is better than Rondo in my mind. He is an excellent Point Guard!!

I think Al is very talented in doing what he does best and that is score in the post and very short pull-up jumpers. Al's problem (Maybe coach Woodson's problem) is that he turns into a shooting guard in the clutch moments of games, which has cost us 6 to 8 wins this year. The end of games are like a scratched record, it keeps playing over and over again. I am not sure if this is a coaching issue or an Al issue, but giving Al the ball at the 3 point line for him to CREATE a shot during clutch time (late 4th quarter) is dumb basketball. This is not Al's game at all. Al is not a creative Shooting guard. JJ is the only one who should have the green light to do that. Al needs to setup down in the post area and do what he does well. Al gets the ball too far from the basket to be effective in crunch time!! I have seen him turn the ball over 3 to 4 straight times during crucial periods of the 4th quarter too too many times this year. The problem is I don't think it is Al's faught. He is either trying to do too much or coach Woodson is grossly misguiding what should happen at the end of games. Let me repeat however that Al is a talent when he goes to his strengths!!

I have to agree about Al's lack of coming through in the clutch. Al frustrates the hell out of me at the end of games. I don't know how many games he has missed or turned over 4 to 6 straight possessions in the closing minutes of games. We have probably lost 6 to 8 games this year because of Al trying to do too much at the end of games this year. Al is not a Shooting Guard, yet they continue to give him the ball outside the paint in the late minutes of games and he either tries to drive to the basket and always gets blocked or shoots a LONG jumper that misses. Al is good when he is in his comfort zone under the basket. He is very crafty there, however I cringe when they give Al the ball at the 3 point line and clear out for him to either turn the ball over or get blocked in the late 4th quarter. Al is a talent but he has single handedly lost us a lot of games this year, because of trying to do too much!!

I was about to say the same thing. Chad basically says BK as done an excellent job of assembling a young talented team with cap flexibility, and tradeable pieces. But in the same breathe he says the man who did this need to be fired and get a Coangelo type. Does he understand that this team was totally built by BK. That doesn't make any sense!!! He really hates BK!!

Jackson is old and will not be playing in the league for long. Every guy we bring in now needs to be here for long term development of this young team. We don't need old veterans that are looking to retire soon. We don't need any veteran over 30.

His pre-draft profile is impressive. On paper he is exactly what Atlanta is missing........a big wide bodied banger. Again that is on paper, lets see what he does on the floor. I really would like to see this guy on the floor.

I remember this guy, but I don't remember much about his game. Good....We need some beef down low to help spell Zaza a little. Edwards need to be cut.

This years draft is loaded with SF and PF that are very talented especially Tyrus Thomas, Gay, Aldridge etc. If I had a crystal ball and had knew that 2006 was going to be the year of the talented forwards draft I definately would have drafted Paul last year. This is a VERY WEAK draft for Centers and PGs. Very weak. Unfortunately, you almost HAVE to take a Forward this year. The Top 5 picks are forwards!!! We may have to take a chance on the 7 foot European player. The problem with him is that he is a finesse player, hates contact and has no low post game. He plays like a SF. We don't need that either. This is a bad year to address specific Hawks needs in this draft. 2007 will be the year, but Pheonix will get that pick. Oh well.............. bring in another Forward.

Yeah I agree. Once Stotts started pressing the game changed quickly!! What made me mad was that they would beat the press down court by passing over it and then they would pull the ball out to setup a half court play allowing the defense to get setup in 2 - 3 zone. Basketball 101, when a team presses, you pass over the press and you SHOULD have easy layups if you attack the basket with quick passing. The numbers should always be in the offenses favor. You can make teams pay dearly if you attack the basket consistently when they press. It will bring them out of that press so quickly it wouldn't be funny. Woody didn't adjust him gameplan!!

Exactly!!! You can't always believe what Vescey puts out there. He has a history of sensationalizing stories. Words may have been exchanced between Salim and Woody, but that is nothing new in the world of sports. A coach and player exchanging words happens much more often than you think, probably every game. The Marvin/Smooth issue is very questionable. Why would they be mad at each other. If anything they would be mad at the coach for minutes. Very questionable to believe!!!Personally I think that is BS.

I don't think AL will be traded before the deadline. The rumors have all but died concerning Al. I am not sure what BK is going to do with Al. I am not sure of his trade value as it stands. What can we realistically get for Al? What if is injuries get worst during the remainder of the year? Teams will NOT give up their 1st round pick for Al, if he turns out to have chronic problems with the knee and ankle.

Exactly...I am sold on his PG ability. He is light years better than anything we have at PG right now. He is extremely instinctive, he knows where everyone is on the court. He is years beyond his age in terms of poise. We couldn't lose picking 2nd with Paul or Marvin. I love Marvin too however. Marvin is also an all-star in the making.

I am looking at the rookie all-star challenge and I am really impressed with his instinctive PG nature. The dude is flatout awesome!! Definately the next Isiah Thomas. I am also glad we have Marvin Williams too. Both is these players are future all-stars. We were in a win/win situation picking 2nd. We couldn't lose either way we went.