falc82

Portland sends Utah the #3 pick and Ruben Patterson Utah sends Portland the #6 pick, Kirk Snyder and Gordan Giricek. Sounds like a good trade for both teams really, and one Portland should really accept; however, the Hawks could really miss out because of this trade. Utah is probably moving up to draft Deron Williams which means NO will pick Paul. The #2 for #5 and #13 trade now looks a lot less likely now that it can't offer Deron or Paul, like it would if Portland stayed at #3 and picked Webster or GG. So this means three things if we really want one of the PGs and not Williams. (Going by Insider rumor that Hawks arent high on Marvin after workouts, although this might be a smokescreen.) A)We draft either Deron or Paul straight out with the #2 pick. -It seems we miss out on some of the value of the #2 pick, because we could either pick Marvin who may have the most potential but does in fact have the most trade value right now. B)Trade with Portland and pick the PG of our choice. This could make a lot of sense. Portland would rather have Marvin than one of the highschool SGs, and would probably be willing to trade with us rather than Utah. Perhaps a deal of our #2 for their #3 pick and an 06' top 3 protected pick, top 1 protect in 07' and unprotected in 08' could make sense for both teams. C) Trade with NO and take whichever PG is left over, most likely Paul. This could work, but I can't think of any deal off the top of my head that would make sense for both teams. NO will probably want to keep future picks and they have JR Smith already and may want an elite PG instead of Marvin. NO is probably the happiest with their draft selection in this draft other than the Bucks. -Of course the Hawks and BK could just stay at #2 and pick Marvin Williams then try to trade up and get a PG in the later half of the 1st round. But if the Hawks do in fact want their future PG in the top 5 then those 3 options make the most since. Opinions?

Out of all of those lineups we are the only one not starting someone over 6'9''. I believe if we do draft Marvin then either he or Josh Smith will be our PF and Harrington will be dealt at some point near the trade deadline.

Monta Ellis is a 6'3'' PG prospect who is a scoring machine. But he needs to seriously put on weight to be effective in the league, and because of this mock drafts have him dropping like a rock. It may get to the point where we could actually pick him up in the late 2nd round. We aren't going to win this coming up season, so he may be worth taking a look at. Aaron Miles might also be a player to pick up at our low 2nd rounder.

''It's been rumored that Atlanta is trying to move the 31st pick and Boris Diaw to Seattle for the 25th pick to grab Jarrett Jack, are you familiar with Jack's game? Yes, I am familiar with him. He is a strong point guard and he plays hard. He seems like he likes to win, too. But, I am not sure if he will be around at #25.'' It would seem like Smoove would say something about how he'd miss Diaw or at least mention his own teammate in that response. Perhaps this trade has some credit to it if Diaw's teammate could care less if he's gone. The full interview can be seen at: http://nbadraft.net/2005shanghai008.asp

For some reason I saw the Barry Bonds reference coming for awhile lol. Al/Lakers pick for Chandler/future pick or Al for Chandler in a sign and trade are much more fair (and are actually possible) than an Al/#1-4 this year for Chandler and a future pick.(2007 at the soonest due to the Suns trade)

Atlanta Hawks From nbadraft.net -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Josh Redetzke 4/7/05 2005/06 Atlanta Hawks Payroll: $20 million 2005/06 Estimated NBA Salary Cap: $45 million Roughly: $25 million under cap Josh Smith Photo: Getty Images The Good: Atlanta has a budding superstar on their hands in Josh Smith. After his fantastic performance in the slam dunk contest, some fans actually started to care about Hawks basketball for the first time in years. Hopefully, Smith can avoid over-hype and continue to work hard on his very raw game. The Hawks have him for the next three years at an extremely cheap price, so Smith has plenty of time. The "other Josh", Stanford rookie Josh Childress, may not turn out to be a superstar, but he has shown very solid play this season, especially in the past month where he has averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds. Since he is a rookie, Childress also comes with a very cheap price tag. With no bad, long-term contracts on the squad, Atlanta has plenty of financial freedom. The Bad: Al Harrington will be the Hawks highest paid player next season at only $6.875 million. That is a pretty good figure for a guy averaging 17.8 points and 7.2 rebounds a game. However, that is the last year of Harrington's contract and he will be looking for a big payday as the team's leading scorer. The jury is still out as to whether Harrington is worth such a substantial pay raise. The Hawks could be looking to spend their money on more dependable and recognizable stars to fill seats. Since Harrington plays the same position as both rookie Joshs, he could be a casualty of bad timing. The Hawks will have to decide whether to let him go, or possibly sign and trade and get something for him. The Hawks do not have a great reputation amongst other NBA teams. Some strange front office moves and embarrassing fan support has left a sour taste in some player's mouths. Having a lot of cap space is fine, but only if other players actually want to come play for your team. The Future: Atlanta is desperate for a winning team and they will be spending on the free-agent market right away. Desperation usually results in too much money thrown at players who probably won't be worth it. The Hawks could be throwing a lot of money at Samuel Dalembert this summer, but how big of a contract is he really worth? If Atlanta is smart with their money, they could build a winner right away. However, "smart" hasn't been anywhere near the Hawks for quite a while. At least now they have a chance to change their fortunes. Bonus Points… for taking a chance on the right high-schooler. If anyone can fill the empty seats in Atlanta, an NBA dunk champion can. Thank you, Josh Smith, for making us care about the dunk contest again. Grade: B+

As of right now I have Bogut #1. He seems to be one of the most talented in this draft and he has the size we need at C. The player I want the most in this draft is Felton, because I think he would fit our style very well. He's 6'1'' and long with good defense and can run a team and is the best at running the break in the country. He along with Harrington, Smith, and Childress would be quite a show. We would still need to upgrade at Center...maybe a stopgap for next year in FA then draft one in next years draft or sign one of the young guys to man the spot for the future. I would have to trade down for Felton though. He doesn't desearve #1 overall.

Would you draft him #1 overall...? We have Childress and Smith at the SG/SF spot. He may go to college still, but maybe not after tonights showing. Is he a SG or SF? We'll see how he does during workout etc.. should he come out.

I like Blatche or Frye in the 2nd. Gilchrist would be smart to stay in one more year and may. This year is more of a PG draft and next year is more of a PF/C draft. If we traded down I would only want to trade down to the 6-10 range to insure we get either Deron Williams or Felton (Felton is my personal favorite of all the PGs). Wait till next year and pick up with Oden or Morris both of whom are probably better fits for this team, even though I've been high on Bogut before almost anyone on this board having seen him play early in the year. I would only trade down and pick up the 2006 1st if it was unprotected. We could pick up Gay/Williams/Paul and Oden/Morris/Marty A in one year, while picking up Deron Williams/Felton this year. That's a lot more talent than we have right now, and we could still keep Harrington who I think is better than some seem to give him credit. We could be an uptempo team like the Suns (Especially if we get Felton this year) but with good defense, because we'll have long athletic players at every posistion that can block shots, get steals in the passing lanes, and rebound very well and all of this will spark the break. Just an alternative to all the choices we keep hearing all the time. True we have Bostons pick. But that could be used in a tradeup with one of the other 2 picks if we did that insuring that we have two high picks in a star studded draft that could be better than the 2003 draft (minus Lebron of course) and the 1999 draft. Deep in star potential players.

LA Lakers receive a 2005 second-round pick from Charlotte. (Kareem Rush trade 120604) via [Charlotte receives a 2005 second round pick from Atlanta. (Predrag Drobnjak trade 081604) ] via Atlanta receives a New York 2005 second round pick. (Tim Thomas trade 021504) The 2005 selection will be the better of the two second-rounders the Knicks currently own. (NBADRAFT.NET) Atlanta Credits: • New York owes Atlanta a 2005 2nd rounder. Acquired in Nazr Mohammed-Tim Thomas- Keith Van Horn trade. The higher of the two 2nd rounders (NY or Hou) will be shipped to Atlanta to complete the Nazr/TT Trade. Debits: • Atlanta owes the LA Lakers their 2005 2nd rounder, acquired via Charlotte in Kareem Rush trade. (DRAFTCITY.COM)

How about something no one is talking about? Trade the 1st overall pick (if we get it) for a lower pick in the 7-10 range and a 2006 unprotected pick, Draft either Deron Williams or Felton. The 2006 draft will be a very strong draft and having 2 very high picks would be ideal. Oden, Greene, Paul, Marvin Williams, Rudy Gay, Gibson, Boone, Diaz, Randolph Morris, Marty A, Aldridge, and maybe Brandon Rush and Louis Williams could all end up in the 2006 draft and appear likely to right now. The draft class of 2005 is just too weak right now. This is a rebuilding process that won't be fixed in one year. Why not stock pile picks in a draft that has so many potential stars in it?

nbadraft.net has the lakers getting our 2nd rounder owed to us by the knicks. We traded our 2nd to the bobcats who then traded it to the lakers. According to nbadraft.net we traded the knicks pick to the bobcats thus that is the one the Lakers get. Draftcity.com has the lakers getting our own 2nd rounder (1st overall) while we keep the Knicks pick. Does anyone know which one is the real deal? I'll look for myself, but if anyone else knew then it'd be appreciated.

Roundball Classic: Gerald Green 6-8 200 SF TX HSSr. His performance at the Roundball Classic left scouts who attended wondering what all the hype was about. He's obviously a tremendous run jump athlete with a nice stroke. However, his game is far from polished and he struggled shooting the ball in practices and in the game. Scouts came away unimpressed saying he should fulfill his commitment and go to Oklahoma St. instead of entering the draft this year. His stock has obviously taken a hit. Most feel he is in the 15-20 range at this point, and will need a big McDonald's game to stay in the draft. There's a huge amount of pressure on him to perform well, and it's possible it's affecting his game. He'll get another chance to show his stuff on Wednesday in South Bend, Indiana at the McDonald's All American game. - Besides everyone keeps calling him a SG and all I've seen him listed as is a 6'8'' SF...which we already have enough of. If we were to take him then I'd be alright with it, but not with a top 4 pick.

Quote: Plus we have some Euro players... Drobs, Diaw, Bogut... Bogut is an Aussie...I think that is a different than Europe...

Well Green may end up going to school, and we need a PG more than a SG, but I don't know how much that will factor into it. Felton would be the perfect PG to team up with Childress,Smith, and Harrington. He controls the tempo very well and is a good defender (unlike Paul, who will probably stay in school like Green) Felton has improved this year to, he's a much better 3 point shooter than he was in past season, and he's really shown something in the tournament thus far (8 assist 0 turn overs and excellent control of tempo against iowa state) He is probably the biggest reason behind UNC success this year. They lost their opener against a sorry team because he could not play after being in an unsanctioned game during the offseason, and when he was semi-hurt against WF earlier in the year they also lost. He tries too force things some of the times, namely against Duke in one of the games, but the man is a winner who lays it all out on the court. He is a long 6-0/6-1 PG with quick hands, excellent court vision, tempo controls, athleticism, and despite what it seems, I believe he can score very well but knows when to take his shots and when to dish it.

No, I think that the NBA team would still own the rights to that player, but that the roster would contain players from 2 teams and ran by one coach. One coach who determines playing time, growth, and could potentially put one player from a certain team in a situation where he could be injured... Stern has come up with some pure dumb ass ideas. This one just seems to flawed to work, and he wants to have teams in Europe when the teams in Canada don't even seem to work out. How would a team from California play a European team and then play an American team on back to back night games? The 20 age limit has it's positives, but did Stern forgot about that Lebron guy who is saving the league supposedly? I mean why does he want to shut out the Amares, Lebrons, Melo, Smith, and other recent draftees under the age of 20 when it seems it is only helping the league. Melo was the All-star rookie game MVP, Smith won the dunk contest, Bron and Amare were both all-stars..go figure. Stern does not seem to think some of these ideas through though. Let's not forget that it was Micheal Jordan who saved the NBA back in the 90s, not Stern.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2018562 I personally don't like this certain part: Quote: "In a perfect world, I personally would like to see a 15-team development league where, let's say, two teams could share a development team." Then you would have 1 coach representing 2 different franchises. Would you want our future (Smith and Childress) being coached and governed by someone who also represent say Okafor and the Bobcats? It just seems odd and flawed...perhaps if they waited a bit longer and then had 1 NBDL team per NBA team. I would actually like that. He also discusses the new age limit rule, which has it's good points and bad points. Didn't see it anywhere on here and thought it would possibly make for some good discussion other than the same old Bogut vs Williams etc.

Quote: Nelson, a former Boston Celtics star, came to the club as general manager in 1997, hoping to salvage a lost franchise that had just traded Jason Kidd. Within months he traded every player he inherited except Michael Finley, fired coach Jim Cleamons and took over himself, then eventually added Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash. All told, his moves turned Dallas from lottery regulars to a consistent 50-win team Maybe trading all of our own players and then building through the draft will net the same results for us. Perhaps they will be telling the same story about the Hawks and how they went from lottery to consistent 50-win team.

Please explain to me why you think Bogut is a pansy??? I doubt you have seen enough of him to make that statement. He had 21 and 17 in todays game. How does that make him a pansy?? In the game I saw him play against BYU, he took the ball straight down the middle of the lane, and thundered in a dunk over the BYU C and PF. He also did an excellent shot blocking shots. He looked nothing like a pansy to me. Paul is NO sure thing at all. He was dominated in games with big strong PGs like Jack (twice), Deron Williams, and Salim Stoudamire. I just don't know if he'll be able to excel in the NBA when he has to face PGs like that every night. His quickness will not be such an advantage at the next level. But we'll see what happens, I'll be happy as long as the Hawks get the best player available for the long run.

I heard that Chris Paul wants to finish school and to receive his diploma, which would happen following his next year (his jr year). But he may still come out early just because he's going to be a top 3 pick. Next year is NOT the year of Ogden. Ogden will be joined with the likes of Marvin Williams, Rudy Gay, and Gerald Green should all of them decide to wait one more year before coming out. Those 3 are all leaning somewhat towards staying in school. Also, if Chris Paul decides to stay in then he would also be in that top 5 of next year. draftcity.com has Ogden currently going #3 overall for what that's worth.

Quote: I can't say that I watched every Utah games because we don't get many. They play in a weak conference that don't get much pub.. However, in that game which I did watch, for most of the game, he was at the three point line... Let me ask.. DID YOU WATCH IT? Or have you watched any Utah games? The only Utah game I've been able to see was the game against BYU on ESPN. Bogut pretty much had his way in that game including a HUGE dunk over BYU's center that sent that center to the ground. Bogut showed great passing abilities for a big man, excellent awareness all over the court especially down low in the paint, seemed to be able to block out well and get the rebound and the outlet pass,blocked around 4-5 shots if I recall, and also was able to score with relative ease. Pretty good free throw shooter to. An above average passer at Center is very important for a running team, because they are able to supply that crucial outlet pass to the athletic runners. I believe Bogut should be our pick, and that he'll fit in quite well with what we are trying to build. First pick- Bogut 2nd pick- Best PG left (Deron Williams, Jack, Gilchrist?) But no to Diaz. I just don't think he has what it takes to run an NBA team. He averages around 3 apg..

I'd be perfectly content with the Hawks drafting him with the #1 overall pick if we were to get it. I've been wishing for Bogut with our top pick before anyone else on this board seemed to care too much about him, first time I mentioned him the response was pretty much, ''PAUL PAUL PAUL PAUL''...but he may not be the first player taken if Marvin Williams comes out. You never know, one team may like Paul or Williams better than Bogut. If the Hornets get the first pick who do they draft since they have both Magloire and Davis/Dickau? Maybe still Bogut/Paul, but they could end up drafting Williams just as easily. It's much harder to find a franchise Center than a PG or SF. That's why I hope the Hawks draft Bogut, and also because from the games I've seen he is a beast who's game will translate very well on into the NBA.

I don't know about all that. While it is true that many of the players in the league today are not as hungry or competitive as Nique/Bird/Magic, there are still some very competitive players in the league today. Kobe, KG, Iverson, and other guys like Wade, Artest, and Lebron all show that ultra-competitive edge needed to be a star in the NBA. However, there may never be a player in the NBA as competitive as Micheal Jordan. The true definition of competitiveness is MJ. He laid it all out on the floor every night, rather it was when he was sick in the playoffs or ignored in his first All-star game. He set his sights on being the greatest at everything he does. He knew he had to be the best at defense as well as scoring to be considered the best there is, so he set out and became one of the greatest defenders ever, he then set his eyes on championships and he only won 6 straight (for him) and 6 out of 8 for the Bulls. That is why all of the ''next MJs'' have failed, because they all lack this competitive edge that made Jordan a legend.

Yeah, I'm switching between it and the Hawks game, and Gilchrist is on fire. He has that ability and about his ''attitude''..it's not all bad, I mean he gets up for big games, and he is really firing up his teammates in this game and it shows. Maybe it's just a cocky thing, which is sometimes good.

Marvin Williams may be the first pick in the draft if New Orleans gets the pick. We also have a hole at C,not just PG. You take the best C in this situation.