hawkman

We can address interior defense in the second round or through free agency. There's no need to reach for Shelden with the 5th pick. BK says he always drafts the best player available (see last year's draft), so why change that philosophy now? It looks like Foye is the best player in this draft. He could start for us immediately and inject some life into this franchise.

you beat me to it. I just made a post about Foye. I think he would be a perfect fit for this team.

I'm not a scout or an expert in pro basketball by any means, but I believe Randy Foye should be our pick. I think he has the tools that this team needs RIGHT NOW and he gives us one half of a great back court to build on. Atlanta needs a dynamic player on the roster who can create and make shots off the dribble in half court sets and who can finish with authority on the break. I watched this guy during the tournament and he was electric. He took over some of those games for Villanova and I like that kind of mentality in a player. Defenses were geared against him but could do little to stop him. He kind of reminded me of Dwayne Wade back when he played for Marquette. I think Shelden can be a solid pro but this team needs to give the fans a reason to be excited again. Foye fills a need and gives the fans a reason to be excited about the upcoming season. Many on this board are opposed to bringing Iverson here because of his salary/attitude. Imagine if we could get a player with most of his positive attributes but none of his baggage or his high salary over the next few seasons. I know a lot you will say that Foye does not address our need for better interior defense, but we could always pick up a shot blocker/rebounder of Shelden's caliber either in the second round or through free agency (see Justin Williams, Aaron Gray, Pryz.), so why not get Foye with our 5th pick?

Quote: The Hawks can't recall swingman Donta Smith from the NBA Developmental League because he is out with a knee injury. http://www.ajc.com/monday/content/epaper/e...2c51a1003b.html Well that makes the decision even easier. The Hawks brought Will in before the draft for a workout so obviously there was some interest there. With our guard situation now, this is a great opportunity to bring someone in for cheap who might actually have an impact. I think he brings the same level of defensive intensity as Ivey but with a much more explosive offensive game. I'll admit that I am a little biased being a GT fan but this kid's talent and heart are undeniable.

Quote: We need a little more depth on the bench cuz last night JJ and Marvin almost fouled out. We should be auditioning some of these D-league players and recall Donta, how about a JJ/Donta backcourt. As for Bynum, I think he is just as good as Nate because he actually has some point guard skills. I know. It's bad when JJ has five fouls and all you have is Ivey,Batista, and Edwards available on the bench. We should have some roster spots available now so why not bring in both Donta and Will?

With Salim's suspension, Lue's injury, and Delk being waved, it may not be so bad of an idea to bring this guy up from the D-league. He is currently leading the league in points (24) and assists (6). He is also leading the league in turnovers but that is something that can be fixed in a more structured environment. I watched almost every single game he played in with GA Tech and this guy should be on an NBA roster somewhere. I would compare his game to that of Nate Robinson's , athleticism and all. He was probably the best overall athlete in the draft and has a lot of heart for a smaller guard. He bought into Hewitt's system so I believe that makes him a pretty coachable guy. I'm not saying that he'll be a savior or anything but it wouldn't hurt to bring him in with a ten day contract to see what he brings to the table. He played great alongside Jarret Jack and it would be interesting to see him paired with Joe Johnson.

Quote: Quote: If we get him I will call him wookie blaylock BTW, anyone notice that we're ahead of Charlotte now? A lot of us have been taking the top pick for granted, but if our past luck has taught us anything, it should be that we should expect the #3 or #4 pick Exatcly, i dont see us getting that #1 pick But that doesn't have to be a bad thing. If we have to, we could trade #3-4 for 2 first round picks and still end up with two good players. I'm not so sure that any other teams are really sold on Aldridge as the number 1 pick anyway. Aldridge looks ok but Oden would have looked a lot better at #1. Besides, Aldridge could easily fall to us at the 2nd or 3rd pick and we could still use one of our SF/SG/PF's in a trade to get a late first round pick.

If we end up getting the first pick in the draft, I have no doubt that we would pick Aldridge. But what about our needs at PG? I feel there are some other PG prospects in college right now that just aren't getting the recognition that Rondo and Williams are getting. Check out Wil Blalock (love the name by the way) and Curtis Stinson at Iowa state. Either one of these guys could be had late in the first round if they decide to declare. Another one to consider is Carl Krauser. True, he has some FT shooting woes but is still a decent player in the late first round/ early second round part of the draft. There are a few others out there, but their names escape me at the moment. It would be pretty easy to swing a deal that could get us another first round pick so that we could get one of these guys, especially with our depth at certain positions. Just thought I'd spread the word.

Quote: Priest Lauderdale or Ed grey anyone, cmon we never gave them a chance to develop. Can anyone notice the irony that is currently going on with Al being just like JT. When he was here nobody wanted him. He was bashed on here like a red headed step child. We get rid of him and he plays well and then everyone wants him back. It will be the same way with Al everyone points the finger at the spokesman for the team, and finds an escape goat. I've gotten used to it over the years. If we are having a bad season, we always seem to bash our best player as if he is the only reason for our lack of success. Examples include JT, Toine, Reef, and Big Dog. True they were all flawed players but so are most of the players in the NBA. The problem with this is that we overlook the real problems like bad drafting, trades, and coaching.It's not that Al is a bad player, it's just that he happens to be arguably the best player on this team right now aside from his defense. I agree with the statement that "Dumb teams look at what a player can't do while smart teams look at what a player can do". To overlook Al's obvious talent and then chastise others for not recognizing Marvin's potential is almost hypocritical. But don't worry, we'll be bashing Marvin or JJ in the next few years and will attempt to trade them both for Kendrick Perkins and Delonte West or Andrew Bynum and Smush Parker.

Quote: Wait a minute. The skills that Marvin has shown are not simply basic skills for a player that is 6'9" with his kind of athleticism. There are very few long players like him that bring a complete skill set to the table. Josh Smith doesn't have his skill set. You simply don't find many 6'9" players like Marvin that can handle the ball and shoot the ball from the perimeter like he can. Marvin Williams has the ability to be what a healthy Jamal Mashburn was. A guy that can score 23-25 points per game, shoot the ball from the perimter, rebound, and play defense. If you give me the choice between a young Kenny Anderson, which is who I think Chris Paul compares most favorably to, and a young, healthy Jamal Mashburn, I'm going to take Jamal Mashburn everytime. I hope your'e right about the Jamal Mashburn comparison, but I honestly don't see it. Mashburn was a prolific scorer in college and in the league. The guy was virtually unstoppable from his rookie year on. He had something about his game that Marvin doesn't seem to have, yet.I honestly believe that maybe Marvin would have benefitted if he had stayed in school for another year to be "the man". I'm not another Marvin hater who wants to see him fail. I actually hope he lives up to the hype as the best player in the draft. But the Hawks don't exactly have the best record when it comes to developing young talent (Smoove, Chill, Diaw, Terry, Demarr, etc.)and I don't know if an unfinished product like him will do too well here.

Quote: Quote: Quote: how many 6'9'' tweeners have led their teams to a championship, When was the last time a pg led their team to a championship? After Magic and Isiah there's...... And about that same time Bird and DrJ, both swingmen, led their teams to titles. The bottom line is that big men are the key to titles. And Marvin isn't a tweener. He fits perfectly at the 3. I am not trying to say Marvin was the better pick but at least make a coherent argument. A defense oriented big man is definitely a requirement for an NBA title, without question. Outside of that - and we can all agree that there were no such players available to the Hawks - the clearest path for the Hawks to at least competing for a championship is with a great point guard. This is evident from the success of Steve Nash last year and Jason Kidd in previous years. The thing is, you also have to factor in how much better a good point guard could make Al Harrington, Josh Smith, Josh Childress, Joe Johnson and Zaza Pachulia. I agree with this. The only way the Marvin pick could be justified (at number 2)is if he had the same impact as another top high school prospect who chose to go to college for one year and won a championship, Carmelo Anthony. So far, I don't like what I'm seeing. He really didn't lead his team during the tournament and he really didn't show any go to moves in the post or perimeter.What he did show were the BASIC skills an NBA forward is supposed to have. He should be able to handle the ball reasonably well. He should be able to shoot a jumper with his feet set. He should be able to play decent defense on his man. He should be reasonably athletic enough to get by his man, hes only 19. When I saw him play against GT, I honestly saw nothing that really stood out about his game. What's so bad about it is I actually fell for all of the hype the weeks before the draft, trusting that all of these league scouts and college analysts couldn't be that mistaken about a player. I think that Marvin could be good player in the future, but I think his ceiling may be Al Harrington with a better looking jumpshot, which isn't a bad thing, but definitely not worth the nimber two pick in a draft loaded with great PG prospects.

Quote: This is what happens when you have 10 players all the same height with similar skill sets. Somebody gets pushed out. Diaw was far better than his role here for personel and coaching reasons. I expect the same will be said for Childress, Josh, and/or Marvin one day soon. W And it will continue to happen if we don't realize that if you draft based on potential, that you actually have to develop the player's skills and put them in a position to succeed. The hawks seem to have a recent history of not developing players, labeling them busts, then trading them (or giving them) away and having it blow up in their faces later.

Quote: Well I guess with 2 draft picks in that year we had to get at least one of them right. BTW it is truley sad that the Hawks are 2-13 and the NewOrleans Hornets are 8-7. The thing is that team last year wasn't that much better than the Hawks. You're right. They weren't that much better than the Hawks last year, and without Chris Paul they would probably be competing with us for "worst team in the league" status. And just think, they actually traded away Jamal Magloire and IMPROVED as a team. If you take Paul out of the equation, we have a much better team than the Hornets. We desperately need to get a PG to maximize the potential of the players that we have right now. Maybe then we could gain some stability and start to have some idea as to where this team is headed.

Quote: Our scoring would be a lot better with a legit point guard. Exactly. If you are truly trying to rebuild through the draft,you have to make those draft picks count. The problem is we keep drafting the same type of player rather than filling positions of need. This past season we had a glaring deficiency at PG and had our pick out of perhaps the best group of PG prospects I have ever seen. How do we respond? We draft another SF/PF based on potential. This team does not have the luxury to use the #2 pick on a player who MIGHT turn out to be good in 3-5 yrs. You have to go with the sure thing. I believe this team has the talent, youth, and athleticism to be alot more competitive than what they are right now. The only thing that's lacking is a PG. The problem is that we knew that last season and did nothing about it. The problem with this is that the fans aren't stupid. They will not spend money on a bad product just because you say that "it will be good in 3-5 yrs" and I can't fault them fo that.

I can understand why we picked Marvin, but that does not change the fact we mage a BIG mistake in not drafting Paul or Deron. Paul has just as much superstar potential as Marvin and both Deron and Jack could start for us right now. I know that we probably would not have drafted Salim, but he and Delk do essentially the same things on the court(somebody had to say it). I still think we would've picked up both ZP and JJ which still would have been a great off season. I believe that when you're rebuilding, you have to build with known commodities. Paul, Deron, and maybe even Jack were all known commodities. They all played well in big games and had that floor general mentality that we've not had since Mookie left. True, Marvin may turn out to be a great player in 4yrs, but then what? He'll be in Miami or Los Angeles with a max contract and we'll be in Las Vegas. The fans, both fairweather and long suffering supporters, need some indication from this organization that they are not only building for the future, but that they are also committed to winning now. Drafting a true PG this summer could've accomplished both of those things. Our record may not have been that different from what it is now, but at least we could have had some reason for optimism THIS season and many to come. Sorry for the rant but this is starting to look like another long season.

Quote: while I agree that JT would be a pretty damn good complement to JJ, let's not get carried away. I don't think he is better than what Marvin will become, and he did not have the tools to be a top 5 PG. He certainly had all the physical tools, but he did not have the mental tools. He has no court vision and poor decision making. I mean he certainly didn't have access to the NBA's finest coaches, but when you haven't adressed that and you're pushing 30, you've got a personal problem. He just doesn't have the mind of a PG, and that's a big part of being one. That being said, I loved his attitude while he was here although I didn't like him badmouthing us after his departure. I wanted him gone as much as anyone because he prevented us from getting a true PG. If I had known that we would not be getting a true PG, he might as well have stayed... Hopefully we'll get one this coming offseason (or sooner) I don't think that is entirely true. I watched this guy torch Baron Davis in a Pac-10 game the season before he got drafted. It's kind of hard for me to believe that he couldn't have been a lot better than what he is now under different circumstances. JT seemed to be on the right path under Lenny Wilkens' guidance. After Lenny was fired, JT was asked to be the primary scorer on a very bad team and responded by doubling his ppg average. However, his assist total did not improve much at all.I feel that if he had better coaching/mentoring during his earlier years in the league, he could have been something special. Don't get me wrong, I never believed that JT would be a pure PG but that he would have been a high scoring PG with better playmaking skills than what he has now. As far as him bad mouthing the Hawks, I think I've read worse criticsm of this team and organization as a whole on this board.

Quote: i love jt; he was my favorite hawk before he was sent off. i would love to have him back. I feel the same way. Unfortunately, not many on this board share our opinion. JT was extremely talented and easily the Hawk's best draft pick over the last few years. He had the tools to become a top 5 PG in this league, but the lack of stability as far as coaches and teamates pretty much stunted his development. I still like his game and think that he would be a great fit in the backcourt alongside JJ.

Quote: Actually Donta is 2nd on the depth chart. It's at SF, right behind Harrington. Williams and Smoove are being groomed at the PF. The Hawks are actively trying to trade him right now. They are taking the Joe Johnson Trade approach. A guy with some upside, and future draft picks for Maglore or Nene. I'm guessing Maglore is a Hawk before the tip in Southern California Wednesday. I think Donta will be involved. Wouldn't be surprised if Anderson, and draft picks accompany the trade. Then the Hawks will move Marv to SF (backup), Batista backs up the PF, and Maglore and Zaza are the centers. Is this a joke or what??? I have heard nothing of a Donta/Anderson/Draft picks trade...although I would welcome it!!!

Quote: The best of what's left and most likely are Curry and JJ. If we don't get those players we will be forced to pick from what's left over. For my money I would be content with Dan Dickau and Za Za. Both young players who showed promise this past season. Both can be had for cheap and leave money left over to nicely fill out our roster. Dan has been here before and based on reports Za Za is willing to come here also. Neither player will take away focus from our youngsters who were drafted to become the superstars for the organization as Curry and JJ will. Neither will force us to trade away our best player in Al Harrington as Dickau is unrestricted and Milwaukee can't match our money if they wanted to. This would obviously force BK to admit he made a mistake in Dickau but not only would Dickau be servicable for now he would be a great back-up for later. Dan Dickau Josh Childress Josh Smith Al Harrington Za Za I like the way you're thinking. I still think we could get Curry for a lot less than the max and without trading Al. I would also like to suggest Earl Watson (if he's still available) who seems to be a forgotten man on this board. This would be a lot cheaper than giving JJ max dollars then hoping he can play the point effectively. This would give us a solid starting lineup of: Watson Childress J. Smith Harrington Curry

I know that Darko has "potential." Then again, so does most of our team. The point is why be in so much of a hurry to trade our best player for someone who has shown nothing in the league thus far? M. Williams has shown that he is not quite ready for starter's minutes so why not just hold onto Al as a mentor until he matures? We have nothing to lose by waiting until the trade deadline.

Darko for AL????? Maybe if they threw in Chauncey Billups! These "trade Al for anything over 6'9" with a pulse" suggestions/rumors are starting to get a little ridiculous.

Nice to hear from you again Jay. You are correct in the fact that Haslem chose his own path. If I remember correctly, he elected to go overseas rather than take the Hawks' offer. I don't mean to jump off topic here, but where have been? Are you still affiliated with the Hawks? Any news on possible free agents coming to Atlanta?

Quote: last night said he would be our starting PG next year. I take that to mean that 1. they recognize we need a PG. 2. they both feel this guy has the ability to fill that role for us. There's no reason he can't be a chauncy billups type player for us. Chauncy is more of an SG than a PG. I would say that Salim is further along at this point thant Chauncy was when he came into the league. But many now consider Chauncy to be a top 10 PG in the league. I heard the same thing. Salim Stoudamire could very well be our "Chauncey Billups". All I heard last night from all of the analysts was how he was a steal at #31. They said he could pass, defend ,and of course shoot lights out. He's been great under pressure, hitting several game winning baskets, and he has that "attitude" that you need at the NBA level. If he could put all of those things together, I don't see why he couldn't be our starting guard next season.

Quote: I am not saying to get Paul or Deron but we need to get Felton, Jack or Ukic. We are in desparate need at that position and the FA PG market is terrible this season. I am not worried about the center position since there are a lot of free agents we can go after. This draft is Point guard rich and the top 5 are all potential starting quality for our team. If we get Williams or Bogut with 2 we need to make a trade to get one of the other 3 point guards mentioned above. I will be happy with any of them. The Houston trade of 31/cash for 24 would be worthwhile if Jack is still on the board. However, maybe 19 will be worth a consideration if we don't want to take a chance. If we come out with Bogut/Marvin and Jack/Ukic I will be very happy. If we come out without a point guard I will consider this a dissappointment. I agree that we have to get a point guard out of this draft. While there are a few free agent centers available this off season, there are virtually no worthwhile free agent point guards. With all of the international players in the draft this year, I believe that Jack will drop into the late teens/early twenties(hopefully). If that happens, we have to make a move to take him. With the respective deficiencies of the "top" 3 pg's (paul&size, felton&size+inconsistency, deron&speed), I think that Jack is a good compromise of all of their strengths at pg. He has the size, speed, and defensive toughness that you look for in a floor general. His team basically over acheived because of his strong play at the point. Imagine what he could do with Smith, Childress, and Harrington/Marvin. I don't know much about Ukic, but a 6'5" pg sounds like BK's kind of player.

Quote: I'll probably be there with my Pac-Man Hawks shooting shirt. But I need to tape so I can hear Bilas eat crow over Smoove. Worst move ever... Taking draft off TNT. I agree with last statement above!