wasBlackHawkDown

I think Aldridge is a potential star but he needs 3 seasons to become one, he is still a kid. I would draft him, but as for filling our immediate needs he cant. Diop to me is a more ready player, he just needs PT and a self esteem boost, the players out there are pretty much even physically, the difference between a bench warmer and an allstar is mental, players need to have drive and a goal that can only come from confidence, Diop's confidence is up a bit and so is his play, I think if we treated him like he was part of the future he would play like it. Physically he has the potential to have s Shaq like body he just needs to get into a Shaq like workout routine.

Western Europe is 5% Black and North African infact the City of London is 10% black so if your trying to imply some sort of racial connotation to this then try again. I am offended by the sissyball style of play. Centers should not try to play point gaurd! And interior play should be dominant not a team of 6'10" player shooting jumpshots for 48 minutes.

Why? Would you use such a terrible racial slur?

I think it was 2002 ---- I said that the big trend to draft European players not from Russia would turn out to be a bust and I was right, Diaw, T.Parker and Sophocles are the only Euroleaugers I thought had an ounce of potential.... fast forward 4 years later I was right! While not every HS player drafted turned out to be a star they were on the whole FAR BETTER than their Euroleague counterparts. How many HSers became stars or at least solid players. About 75% . How many Euroleagers did the same, less than 10%. Other than Dirk Diggler and T.Parker none of them became All Stars or even close. And the only tough hard nosed player to come from Europe Andre Kirelinko (THE RUSSIAN) BHD

I see the stardom in Diop that the scouts saw years ago, remember he wasnt the #8 pick , with a bad foot, for no reason, he has all the physical tools to be a superstar center. He just needs experience, its obvious his Basketball IQ has improved. As for players out of position with Billy Knight around that will always be the case but honestly, having Johnson playing Point in a SG's body, Marvin playing SG in a SF's body and Dalambert playing PF is alot better than the days when we had Jason Terry playing SG in a PG's body. We can overmatch teams with bigmen and play tough in the paint. Look at the Lakers Kobe hasnt done a thing without Shaq because of the intangables a solid bigman brings, with Shaq gone Centers playing against the Lakers can come help in the post, and on D the Lakers dont intimidate anyone in the paint.

? White People what? Who? When? Where? ?

Despite popular opinion he isnt ready by a long shot, I told him he needs to add about 30 pounds before he thinks about it. Maybe he listened?

Stromile Swift, Tyson Chandler, Darko Milicic are bums! Darko is worst of all because he is a bum with no talent! Jay Williams, Emeka Okafor and Marvin Williams arent comparable Jay Williams was on route to stardom before he ruined his life in that motorcycle crash and Okafor is a player I would trad half our roster to get, he rebounds , blocks shots and plays D. Just because he is hurt doesnt make him a bum. Marvin hasnt even played a full season although I am less than impressed with him, I am not ready to star comparing him to the Danny Ferrys of the world. But your right We have 4 Small Forwards at least 2 have to go and I recommend Harringto and Childress.

The hawks have two glaring problems No-true Point gaurd and outside of Josh Smith no interior Defense or presence. Contrary to poular opinion however I dont think the Hawks need to add a dominant scorer to be successful instead build a team around defense and strong interior presence. What we do have is a few solid franchise building blocks in Josh Smith and Joe Johnson and a potential star in Marvin Williams ( at least everyone tells me he is a future star, I personally dont see it.) And the thhird pick in the Draft. Pauchullia is a servicable center but he is tooo Toni Kukoc-esqe, a big man more concerned with driblling and passing than in playing solid D and staying on the Defensive boards. Harrington is a solid player but honestly nothing special, he has alot of dimae a dozen qualities, 20PPG and no Defense, he however can garner alot of value in a trade. Childress has alot of the qaulities that we missed out on y letting Diaw go however he is just one swing player to many Offseason: We make a move on Samuel Dalambert , he has alot of growing up to do but he is what we need A NON OFFENSIVE, DEFENSE FIRST CENTER. Honestly the best player we have had since Nique was Dikembee because he changed any opponents ability to go inside. Dalambert could easily put up 10RPG and 3.5 BPG and give the Hawks the interior defense that is so lacking. We should also go after Philly's pick in order to draft Patrick O'Bryant of Bradley he is a 7'er that will go in the mid-first round and could be the steal of the century. -------> We can offer Philly Pauchulia and possibly Childress in addition, the salaries dont quite work out but their are ways around it. Next is another high risk project but it could pay off big we go after DeSanga Diop, Yes I know your saying but before you leave this thread in confusion, look at it this way he was a disaster in cleveland, but he had no BBall experience before he came to the league and a bad foot, however this year he has been rebounding and blocking shots in limited time with Dallas, with PT he could become a huge interior presence and a monster on the boards. He is very young and has potential. -------> if we dont give up childress to Philly we can offer him for Diop and a few future picks. With the third pick we take LaMarcus Aldridge and for no other reason than the fact that he has huge upside, I know Noah is popular right now but the truth is I have known that kid for a while and I will tell you now he isnt a big man he is a Small Forward that grew 3 inches too tall, his glaring lack of strength will be exposed in the NBA. And Tyrus Thomas will probably be the #1 pick. The #3 Pick and Harrington would be and attractive offer for KG, but my biggest concern with KG is #1, with him around J.Smith and M.Williams wont really develop as fast/or at all and he is heading into the prime of his career which means the Hawks need to be championship ready now, which they are not. -------> I think we need to keep Harrington for a while until we can figure out how to drop him and see how Diop/Dalambert pan out before we move ALdridge Let Marvin William play a bit at Shooting Gaurd, it will give him an advantage on the post and let him develop his game. 2006 - 07 Hawks C Diop...........O'Bryant PF Dalambert..Aldridge... ( Harrrington , until we move him) SF Smith........M.Williams SG M.Williams.Stoudamire PG J.Johnson..Ivey We become a team with dept at the center and PF with a huge ability to dominate the paint. What do you all think?