RAHMOR

It came down to Marcus Williams and Rodney Carney for this pick. I felt we really needed a good swingman and since Rodney was the most athletic player left he would be a good fill at the 2 spot. If healthy this team will make the playoffs regardless of who they pick in this draft.

If we have the West coast swing to start the 06-07 season and play well and even win 2 out of 3 then I think that will be a good indicator of how we will do for the season. If we start out like that everyone will be euphoric--except Hotlanta.

I don't know if Orlando is better because of Dwight Howard or not. Truth is we were right on their ass the entire season until the end where they went on a great win streak and pulled away. During the time when we were on their ass they still had Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson. They traded away Stevie Franchise and acquired Darko Milicic and towards the end of the season they got their act togther. Why? I don't know. Maybe the coaching or maybe they felt like without Francis hogging the ball they could play better together. Either way, they weren't that much better than us record wise for 3/4ths of the season.

Explain.

Quote: I do like the fact that Magloire is in the last year of his deal because he would allow us to be competitive this year and have his salary next year in a big Free Agent class. Very good point.

Chris Paul vs. Marvin Williams and Boris Diaw. Ugh. BK influences all. He is the true puppetmaster of Hawksquawk.

I really liked Rondo earlier in the season for us but have kind of forgot about him lately. I'm glad to see Billy is bringing him in for a workout. I really wanted to see his combine numbers, oh well. I'm neutral on Shelden at the #5 spot. I could got for him if we trade down. Billy Knight's secretive ways have reached their culmination for me as a Hawks fans as I have no idea what he's going to do. As much as it has pissed me off in the past, it's actually sort of fun now. Go figure.

Just a few thoughts about what's going on with the board. The 5th pick - I really want Lamarcus Aldridge. With that said I wouldn't mind Shelden as I know he will help immediately. The question is how much of an upgrade does Shelden present in toughness over Esteban, if any. Shelden is a good rebounder and shot blocker. He is supposed to be a good defender but his opponents numbers don't prove it. In the toughness category I would take Shelden over anyone in the draft and on our team except Esteban (I think Esty may be a little crazy). Shelden would provide shotblocking at the PF spot but not more than Josh Smith. His biggest asset would then be rebounding at the 4 and hopefully post scoring. Can this not be address in FA. This makes me think we would be better off picking either Roy or Foye. If we absolutely had to survive next season which would you rather have: PG-Roy/Foye, PF-J.Smith, C-ZaZa w/Esteban backing up. PG-Lue/Ivey, PF-J.Smith, C-ZaZa w/Shelden backing up. 33rd pick - We already got lucky with Salim. I don't think we'll strike gold twice. There are probably no teams with two outstanding 2nd round picks on their squad. Looking at 2nd round picks from the last 5 years there are about 5 players from each draft whose name I even recognize. Looking for something of quality out of a second round players is a crap shoot at best. BBallPrincess - This board has long been a giant sausage party and I'm glad you're here. There was more stuff I wanted to say when I started with post but I forgot.

Some people might be trying to run her off so then can keep up the battle. en garde!

Quote: Plus Clancy was the drill instructor Sargeant on Starship Troopers who threw the knife through the kid's hand and then ended up capturing the "brain bug" and saving the world...whatta guy I don't know what they hell you guys are talking about in this thread, but I'd like to nominate Starship Troopers for worse movie ever.

All I have to say is thank god this f*cking forum in no longer a sword fight.

Quote: But I think Paxson is very calculating and he doesn't draft for potential... I mean when you look at Hinrich, Deng, Duhon, Gordon... Those were all guys who were pretty proven coming out. I think he drafts the proven player but that is also the reason they don't have a superstar. All of those guys are solid but none of them are going to be as good as even JJ. I would take a chance on Thomas or Bargnani because they have very high ceilings and he has another pick to play with later in this round as well as the ability to swap picks with the Knicks next year. I also agree with them getting a vet, they are one of the younger teams in the league and probably the youngest playoff team. I doesn't make alot of sense for them to try to get younger unless they are fishing for a superstar.

1. Raptors - Rudy Gay - Has the most upside and athleticism in this draft. Seemingly outplayed Adam Morrison at a workout in Portland. 2. Bulls - Andrea Bargnani - I think Paxson is going boom or bust in this draft because he has two picks. With Tyrus talking about becoming a SF and with the bulls having no true superstar I think they take the risk on the foreign guy. 3. Bobcats - Brandon Roy - They need a swingman and who better in this draft. 4. Trailblazers - Lamarcus Aldridge. They truly seem to need everything and while it is a possiblity they take Adam Morrison, I think they should go big. I'm 50/50 on this one with Adam Morrison. 5. Hawks - Shelden Williams - The only reason I put him here is because of the rumors. I think he can be had trading down and, if he is truly our target, probably will be. The Rest: 6. Timberwolves - Adam Morrison 7. Celtics - Tyrus Thomas 8. Rockets - Rodney Carney

Perhaps more than any other player who is expected to be drafted in the top five, Connecticut forward Rudy Gay feels he has something to prove to NBA teams. In his mind, there are questions about his consistency, which led to stretches, and sometimes games, where he disappeared. In his view, there are questions about his perimeter game, and about his versatility. So when Gay on Thursday went against Gonzaga forward Adam Morrison in a workout at the Trail Blazers' Tualatin practice facility, it was with a determination to prove his critics wrong. Twice he drove against Morrison and dunked. Later, in individual shooting drills, his long body was graceful and fluid while making a high percentage of his shots. "The thing about this (college) season, I was doing what I was asked upon," Gay said. "We had a great team, and me taking over games wasn't needed all the time. So that's what I'm here for, to show what I didn't show (in college)." The Blazers would not comment on individual players, but Gay certainly couldn't have hurt his standing, perhaps even gaining ground on Morrison, who seems to be gathering momentum as the draft's possible top pick. "I think I stand OK. I think I'm up there just as much as (Morrison) is," Gay said. Gay averaged 15.2 points this season as a sophomore on a Connecticut team that spent most of the season at or near the top of the polls. He was second-team All-America and scored in double figures in 28 of 33 games. But for Gay's unquestioned athleticism and leaping ability, there were rumblings that he didn't compete hard every game -- a red flag for a Blazers team that struggled to give effort on a nightly basis last season. Gay said that label is unfair. "I have heard that a lot, but I don't think it's accurate," Gay said. "There are games when I showed emotion, and games when I didn't. It depends on the flow of the game. So people may say that, but they don't see the games where I am pounding my chest, getting the team hyped. I think with some people it's all about scoring. I can do that, but I wasn't asked upon to do it." On Thursday, he said he wanted to accomplish three goals: show his ability to take a defender off the dribble, exhibit his outside shooting range and demonstrate his ability to play positions other than small forward. He quickly established his ability to take Morrison off the dribble, twice beating him with a right-handed dribble that ended up in a dunk. "That's something a lot of people don't think I can do," Gay said. "So in these workouts I think it's a great time to show things you didn't do in the season." Morrison said Thursday he left impressed with Gay's physical skills. "He's long, athletic and has tremendous ability," Morrison said. "I did all right against him, but like I said, he's very athletic." Gay's outside shooting appeared solid during Thursday's workout, and he said he hoped that was the biggest impression he made. "I don't think I shot on the perimeter as much as I could have during the season because we had to even out our shots," Gay said. "I felt like I showed that (he could make them) today." And Gay, who said he envisions himself being able to play shooting guard and power forward in addition to small forward, said he thinks he made an impression regarding his versatility, at times guarding Washington shooting guard Brandon Roy. "The thing I have been working on the most is my versatility," Gay said. "That's the one thing I'm going to show in the league." Gay said he benchpressed 185 pounds nine times at the Orlando, Fla., predraft camp -- Duke forward Shelden Williams completed 25 repetitions, Texas' 6-11 LaMarcus Aldridge eight -- but that his strength shouldn't be an issue. "I'm only 19, so I think strength will come," Gay said. "But it's also something I need to work on. I think I am strong enough now, but there will always be somebody stronger." Maybe. But if there was on Thursday, that person was hard to find. ----------------------------------------------------------- Maybe my mock isn't as crazy as I thought.

I really wanted to see what his wingspan and standing reach were just out of curiosity.

There's a cop and a convinct and a bunch of other people. I can get the cop and some people over and i can get some groups of people over without the cops. I assume the purpose is to get everyone or at least he criminals over to the other side. When you do the wrong thing I'm not sure if those bubbles that pop up are trying to tell me something or not. Anyway I'll play later. I will get this damnit.

It's just a pipe dream. I think it may be slighly possible if everyone stays where they are in the draft, but if there are trades involving the four teams ahead of us I doubt we get him. I would love to add him to the Hawks especially since the measurements came out, but I also think the measuresments decrease our chances of him falling to the five spot even more.

Where have you been?

I have no porno related stories to match that one. Poor guy.

How can this possibly be a top list of every decade and not have any porn? j/k

Quote: The winner gets everything and gets to buy out everyone else at cost, period. The buyout price should be like on deal or no deal with Howie Mandel and Celine Dion included in the price. Howie could be the announcer at Philips and Celine Dion could do concerts after the game.

The NBA is a private company. I don't know how much power that gives Stern but the article in he AJC does state that in order for ownership to change hands the other owners must vote to approve it. I don't know if that is likely to happen but seeing how Belkin has seemingly outsmarted our current ownerships get may get votes because of that. If it comes down Belkin having a chance to buy the team I say we bombard the league office and owners of other teams(respectfully of course) stating our opinion of how we really would not like Belkin running this organization or maybe one e-mail with multiple signatures.

I guess this means I'll have to go back to my old team the Knicks. Wait a minute, holy sh*t I'm f**ked.

It took me a few seconds to get that one, but that was damn good. Some of your finest work.