Hatertots

The dad from 'Webster'?

Totally agree with you, NC. He's being drafted to play in the National Basketball Association, not the National Benchpress Association. It's much easier to make a guy stronger than to make him more skilled at basketball. FWIW, from a physiological standpoint, skinny, lanky guys like Durant have the absolute worst physical attributes for benching: narrow chest and long arms. They have less pectoral to get the job done and a longer distance to move the weight. It's not at all surprising that he didn't perform well on that test.

Of all the things that I've read about Durant, the thing that impressed me the most was that he practiced 10 hours a day as a kid. Getting in that much time each day means waking up early as hell and getting to the gym before class and then heading back when school finishes. You rarely see that kind of drive in anyone, let alone a teenager. That kind of work ethic leads me to think that maybe the Jordan comparisons (another workaholic) aren't as far-fetched as I once thought. I like Marvin, but I think Durant has the better future.

Where is he gonna find a more athletic big than Dwight Howard?

If it's a leader we're looking for, then we should look at drafting Noah (which I'm actually fine with)

Quote: no one think highly of JJ or JS, people respect Joe but don't think of him as a star, just Hawk fans. "Joe Johnson is one of the most underrated players in the league. It seems like he made every shot." -Kevin Garnett He sounds like he thinks pretty highly of Joe.

Why is everyone so down on Joakim Noah? He's a high motor PF/C that brings it on both ends of the court, has good handles for a big, passes well, excellent leader, and (this is key) he's a hard worker! He already weighs as much as Marcus Camby and has never had time to hit the weights during the summer. If he'd come out last summer, he was a mortal lock to go 1st overall. Instead, he wanted to go back for another year to win another championship (and did). And now he's suddenly not as good as LMA, a Youtube All-Star from China, or a raw, skinny PF from UNC with a questionable work ethic? I'd bank on Noah turning into Camby before I'd bet that Wright lives up to his billing as the next Bosh. Once they start working players out I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Noah climbing up draft boards. We could do a lot worse than a hard working 6'11" leader who can play the 4 and 5, pass, dribble, rebound and block.

I think KG makes too much money for the salaries to work out in that trade.

"BK hit leg out singles (busts to role players with mid lottery, role player to avg starter with high lottery), while the TWO other players remotely possibly considered have been home runs (Paul, Deron, Roy, Deng), triples (Iggy), or a ground rule double (Foye). It's the worst slugging percentage in lottery pick NBA GM history. It's the "All Ho-Hummer Team" brought to you by BK. " Walter, what you've written here is demonstrably untrue. In the 2003 draft, Knight selected Boris Diaw with the 21st pick. He started at center for the Suns during the playoffs while Amare was injured, won the Most Improved Player award in the 05-06 season, and averages around 10ppg and 4rpg. Hard to call that a bust. With the 17th pick in the 2004 draft, Knight took Josh Smith. Pretty safe to say that guy's more than a role player or a bust. In that same draft, Knight selected Josh Childress with the 6th pick, one pick before the much celebrated Luol Deng, who you rate as a home run. And yet, statistically, these players look very similar. Last season, Deng shot .517% from the field and .777% from the line while averaging 7.1rpg. Childress shot .504% from the field and .795% from the line with 6.2rpg. The only two glaring exceptions are in ppg, where Deng scores 5.8 more ppg than Childress (a function of Deng's greater total shots), and in 3pt% where Josh absolutely buries Deng: .338% (26-77) compared to .143% (1-7). I don't follow how Josh's ability to shoot 3s reduces his value from a home run to a swinging bunt. Is Deng a lockdown defender with strong leadership qualities and great intangibles? I mean that question seriously; I didn't watch any Bulls games last year and seriously have no idea what Deng brings to the table other than his measured production. I did watch the Hawks play, however, and JChill always seemed to play with energy, do all the little things, and give the Hawks a lift off the bench. Steve Smith commented on this a number of times during Hawks telecasts. In 2005 the Hawks picked up Marvin Williams with the 2nd pick. At the age of 20 and in his 2nd season, he's averaged 13.1 ppg on .433% shooting and going .817% from the line. He also grabbed 5.3rpg. For the sake of comparison, in his second season Carmelo Anthony scored 20.8ppg on .431% shooting and scooped up 5.7rpg. That doesn't make Marvin into Carmelo but those kind of numbers hardly indicate bust or role player or even average starter. Picking Marvin, the BPA, wasn't even a bad pick on Knight's part. At the time, the Joshes had just completed their first season. How could you pass on the BPA on the basis that you had two first year forwards on your roster? What if one (or both) didn't pan out? Fortunately, the Hawks have the exact opposite problem because all three look like they're going to have nice NBA careers. That's a great problem to have! Finally, Knight took Shelden Williams with the 5th pick in the 2006 draft. I thought this was a questionable pick then and I still think it's a questionable pick. After the shoulder wrap came off, however, he did show that he could contribute when given minutes. I'm for giving the man another season before leaning one way or the other. That Roy was selected later and won the Rookie of the Year award is great for Roy and great for Portland. In Atlanta, Joe's the guy and Roy would've rotted on the bench. Billy's 2nd round pick, Solomon Jones, also looked pretty good. Billy's acquired more players (Diaw, Smith, Childress, M. Williams, Stoudamire) and fewer busts (N/A) than his predecessor. From 1997-2000, the only real player the Hawks managed to draft was Jason Terry while busting on Dermarr Johnson, Dion Glover, Cal Bowdler, Jumaine Jones, Roshown McLeod, and Ed Gray. If we're going to play the woulda coulda shoulda game, here's a who's who of missed opportunities over that 4 draft stretch: Ron Artest, Andrei Kirilenko, Ricky Davis, Al Harrington, Hedo Turkoglu. The 2001 draft, however, absolutely blows all of that out of the water. At the top of the first round, the Hawks traded 3rd pick Pau Gasol for Shareef Abdur-Rahim, and at the bottom of the first selcted Jamaal Tinsley one pick ahead of Tony Parker and three picks ahead of second-rounder Gilbert Arenas. Even Kevin McHale and Danny Ainge can't dream of that kind of draft day futility.