CTann

I like Gary Harris and I think a lot of people are sleeping on him big time because of his height. He's listed at 6'4" but I've heard somewhere that he's actually 6'3" or 6'2" or something like that? Not really sure. Say if he is 6'4" then that's the same height as these shooting guards: Wade, Mayo, Tony Allen, Eric Gordon, Jodie Meeks. An inch shorter than these SG's: Harden, Stephenson, Crawford, Beal, Wesley Matthews, and Stuckey. Also an inch taller than Monta Ellis. Harris could stand to add at least 10 pounds though and that's not hard to do considering that he's still only 19 years old. THIS NEXT LARGE SECTION IS A LITTLE OFF-TOPIC Height, was a big issue amongst the 'talk' for former Falcons cornerback Brent Grimes before he made a name for himself. Grimes isn't the tallest of the bunch but he sure made a lot of electrifying plays in his brief Falcons career. His biggest play that sticks out to me the most (which cannot be found ANYWHERE online) came in 2011 at Detroit. Matt Stafford had Calvin Johnson deep down the field 1 on 1 with Grimes, with no help from the safeties, and Grimes trailing by 2-3 yards. Ball is in the air, the 5'11" Grimes 1 on 1 with the 6'5" Calvin Johnson, and BAM Grimes performs a sky rocket jump to knock the ball down. Such a shame that somehow NOBODY got that play on the internet. The play was crazy because of the height advantage and Grimes trailing by 2-3 yards but he made a good play on the ball because that's what good players at their sport do, is make plays. Oh and by the way, Grimes is listed at 5'11" but he's actually 5'7"-5'8" without cleats. I met him at the Mall of Georgia in 2010 just a few days after the Falcons beat the Panthers in Week 17 to clinch homefield advantage in the NFC Playoffs (2 weeks before getting blown out by Green Bay lol). I'm short myself, only 5'7"-5'8" and I promise you that Grimes was about a half inch shorter than me. BACK ON TOPIC My point is that sometimes I think analysts try to point at an athlete's height and use it against him if he isn't necessarily the biggest guy in town, but that doesn't mean he can't play his sport well enough. Harris can shoot in a number of different ways; off the dribble, off a screen, from 3 or from mid range. He also isn't a bad slasher either. He drives hard to the basket a lot of times and an extra 10 pounds or so will help him even more. The other thing that I like a lot about Harris is that he plays DEFENSE! He has a lot of hustle in him, has quick feet, and has made a number of big stuffs at the basket. He's a two way player and is unselfish. My main knack with him is that often times he tries to do too much with the ball. I think playing alongside a point guard like Teague or even Schröder would level him out some in terms of not trying to do too much. He does also have some trouble at times creating his own shot. Overall I think Harris fits Bud's system quite well and could be a solid contributor early on. Plus he'll barely even be 20 whenever the season starts and he has 2 years of college ball experience. Dolf, I know you're not the biggest fan of Harris and I respect that but I know you've got to like some Brent Grimes on the Dolphins! :D

I like Nurkic. I've only seen about 10 minutes of him total but he looks like he can be dominant on the offensive end from that sample size. He finishes well and he moves around nicely without the ball. He does take some odd looking shots and they do go in, that'd be about the only negative aspect that I've noticed. I've not seen him on defense though. I'd be fine with taking him at #15. The center position would be set between Nurkic, Bebe, and Muscala. Horford would slide over to 4 and Millsap to 3.

This. Yes I like Schröder and yes I think that he can be a very good player in this league, but if the Hawks were to trade one of the two then why trade Teague? Teague has at least proven that he is capable of playing great basketball in the NBA. Again, I think that Schröder can be a very good player too but, from a Hawks perspective, why trade the proven player of the two? Who knows if the Kings would only want Schröder for the #8 straight up or not, but say if they do then I think DF should pounce on that opportunity. Only if he and Bud see a promising player that will fill a need. As much as I do like Schröder, I would rather have the #8 and #15 picks instead of him because we already have our starting PG in Teague.

Nice video, Dolf. I already like Anderson but watching him again some more and thinking about how he would fit the Hawks offense makes me like him even more. An awesome ball distributor is what he is. He can pass the ball from anywhere on the court and to any location on the court. People talk about "versatile shooters" and he's what I call a 'versatile passer.' He'll drive inside and get the defense to collapse on him but slip the ball to an unguarded Millsap or Horford standing under the rim. He'll drive inside and get the defense to collapse, only to then dish the ball to a completely open Kyle Korver for an uncontested 3. Or he can thread the ball through the defense to a slashing Jeff Teague. As for his slow-paced game. That can throw defenses off at times and especially whenever he's handling the ball at a slow pace, causes the defense to fall asleep, and then quickly pass the ball to one of his 4 teammates who slipped by the defense unnoticed because all eyes were waiting on Anderson to finally make a chess move. He may be "slow" but his passes are definitely quick and often unexpected.

I doubt that the Kings would take Dennis for the #8 pick straight up but then again I don't work in the Kings front office so I wouldn't know. However if the Kings would take Dennis straight up for the #8 pick then I think DF definitely has to consider. I like Schröeder and think he can be a great player in the NBA in a few years but if trading him meant getting another future star at a different position, since Teague is our PG, then I would be all for trading Schröder straight up for the #8. The question would then be who do we take at #8 and then at #15?

Great post. Anderson isn't the most athletic person but he IS a basketball player. He knows how to play the game and he's a great ball distributor, everyone knows that. We saw how basketball IQ trumped pure athleticism by moving away from the athletic Smoove and acquiring the brainy Paul Millsap. I really like the Diaw comparison that you made, excellent point. As ATLien mentioned below, his lackluster defense would be the main concern. All prospects are going to have some kind of concern in their game and offense isn't Anderson's. If he could be coached up with defense then he'd be a solid/smart pick at #15.

Ahh, I never realized that. Interesting. Would've made beating the Pacers even sweeter. Okay, so I see that most of you here say no. Fair enough lol.

Hey folks, I'm pretty sure none of you have seen me around because I only have probably 4 posts prior to this one. Lifelong die-hard Atlanta sports fan in the great state of Georgia. I'm always reading these forums and usually always posting on the Falcons forum; I have no idea why I don't post here nearly as much. Anyways here's a quick thought, most likely an unpopular one too, that I suddenly had. Roy Hibbert Pacers fans seem to be disgusted by his lack of play all season and of course it's not up to the fans to make team decisions, but what if the Pacers were to actually let Hibbert loose in the offseason? Hibbert may not have played his best ball this year but he can likely bounce back and a change of scenery might do him some good. Yeah we have our young folks Nogueira and Muscala and they could be great depth/rotational guys but adding Hibbert, a veteran defensive center, to start at C and slide Horford over to PF could be a good move for the Hawks. I mean would you rather have Antić-Brand-Goose/Muscala or Hibbert-Muscala-Nogueira? Lol I'm no salary cap guru so I have absolutely no idea on the details in regards of how his contract would fit, but say if Hibbert's contract isn't an issue then would you like to see the Hawks take a chance with him IF the Pacers choose to part ways?

Hey guys longtime Hawk fan, frequent reader, but rarely ever post dude right here! That game tonight was absolute BS!!!!!!!!!! The refs were beyond ridiculous. Terrible calls on Sap. Ghost calls all over. DMC DID NOT touch Ray Allen! I rewinded DVR and watched it slowly and paused the game and could tell that not even a finger touched Allen. I ranted about it on Facebook and a guy I know commented "Completely right. I watched that with a Heat fan and even he agreed." Refs completely gift wrapped this for the Heat, absolute trash. Go Hawks!

I'd like to attend the opener against the Rockets on my birthday.

I'm pretty sure that Ferry has one great big master plan and this offseason is only part 1. As said, we really do need a big man. Whether its Dwight or not, we need a center and we need to be able to keep Horford and Josh.My dream plan would be to sign Dwight and CP3 next offseason. CP3-Jenkins-Smoove-Horford-DwightTeague, Lou, Korver, Zaza, Morrow coming off the bench. Maybe Harris if he's still here.

Joe will forever be one of my 5 all-time favorite Hawks. He wanted to come to Atlanta whenever the Hawks were still a joke for the previous decade. He revived this franchise and city. I cannot thank him enough. In person, seeing him hit the 3 in the Hawks-Celtics Game 6 in 2008 as we won 103-100 was unbelievable. Its bittersweet but I'm happy because within a year Atlanta really may be one of the hottest teams in the league, Hotlanta.I wish Joe the very best in Brooklyn, my hat goes off to him!

Hey ya'll long time Hawks and Atlanta sports fan here who's suffered through the horrendous years of Theo Ratliff, Jason Terry, Shareef, Alan Henderson, Dan Dickau, Dion Glover, Antoine Walker, freakin Bob Sura, Al Harrington, and the list goes on. I've been reading HawkSquawk for a while now and decided to make an account on draft day. Finally here's my first post...Re-sign Josh and just play the season. If we suck this year then that's alright, it won't before long. Get a decent draft pick and then sign CP3 and Dwight in next year's offseason. You're not giving up Al or Teague, just money.CP3JenkinsJoshAlD12Perhaps possibly also a good drafted prospect in the 2013 Draft.