All this crying - -

[Gray Mule]

Hawks get killed, over and over by all those layup

drills our opponents have against our team.

Hawks DESPERATELY need more interior defense, more meat

in the lane.

Hawks draft, not one but two players in the first and second round that should alleviate this glaring weakness.

Two shotblockers. Two interior defensive bigs.

Then, the crying begins. The player the Hawks drafted

is not and will never be worthy of the pick that they

spent on him. Same song, next verse. We've heard that

about last year's draft. We'll hear that about next

year's draft, regardless of who the GM is then.

Hawks got what they needed. Is that ALL we need? No!

We know that. But, regardless of which # pick he was,

you just have to know there will be a lot of crying

that the pick was wrong.

[mrhonline]

Quote:

---

Then, the crying begins.

---

I blame Adam Morrison.

Quote:

---

Same song, next verse.

---

Sadly, it's the same culprits every year.

I don't mind the different opinions, it's the arrogance and impatience that are incredibly frustrating.

Time will tell. That should be enough.

[WraithSentinel]

It is the same BS every damn year with Hawks fans. Whine and cry about every damn thing under the sun. I thought the AJC posters were bad. Some Hawks fans around here are just as bad. It is no reason Atlanta is such a damn terrible sports city. Got the worst Sports Media in the country along with the worst fans in the history of prosports. It is not a good combo.

[Plainview1981]

Quote:

---

It is the same BS every damn year with Hawks fans. Whine and cry about every damn thing under the sun. I thought the AJC posters were bad. Some Hawks fans around here are just as bad. It is no reason Atlanta is such a damn terrible sports city. Got the worst Sports Media in the country along with the worst fans in the history of prosports. It is not a good combo.

---

6'8 isn't big and will not stop Tony Parker and other top tier guards from shooting over them.

[WraithSentinel]

We should just continue to be a soft interior team? Hawks can get Mike James to defend PG and be the Hawks PG. There are options out there. In this draft it was best to go with the Bigs. There is not alot to offer in Free Agency. No one around here want to hand Nene a huge contract. One that he doesn't deserve. Hawks can then save that money in order to re-sign which ever of their young players they want to build around.

[MikeA]

Is Williams that good defensively? I remember watching Duke against FSU this year, and the Noles pretty much scored at will inside. It seemed like Duke had trouble against athletic teams, though I'm not sure if any of that was due to Williams.

I've got pretty limited knowledge, just wondering. I'm very unsure about this pick, though, too many Keefe memories.

[Plainview1981]

Quote:

---

We should just continue to be a soft interior team? Hawks can get Mike James to defend PG and be the Hawks PG. There are options out there. In this draft it was best to with the Bigs. There is not alot to offer in Free Agency. No one around here want to hand Nene a huge contract. One that he doesn't deserve. Hawks can then save that money in order to re-sign which ever of their young players they want to build around.

---

Mike James is just the newest Dana Barros. He put up numbers on a bad team. That doesn't make him good. He he have anywhere close to a 20PPG season anywhere else? No. Moreover, he's just a selfish player. James just played on a team that gave up 104PPG. I doubt he's going to come here and help the hawks on defense.

The problem is that Williams isn't going to be able to do anything to help slowdown the likes of Wade and Parker and other guards. He's short and can be shot over with ease.

[BusBoyIsBack]

Funny how everyone keeps bringing up Williams height. Fact of the matter is he has the wingspan of a 7 footer and he has elite strength and defensive instincts. He may not be the next DPOTY but he's a helluva lot better than what we had. He will help us move from near the cellar in defensive ranking to a repective rank.

We don't need an elite defense because we can produce offensively. We just need adequate defense.

[Plainview1981]

Quote:

---

Funny how everyone keeps bringing up Williams height. Fact of the matter is he has the wingspan of a 7 footer and he has elite strength and defensive instincts. He may not be the next DPOTY but he's a helluva lot better than what we had. He will help us move from near the cellar in defensive ranking to a repective rank.

We don't need an elite defense because we can produce offensively. We just need adequate defense.

---

The game is more about guards now... and the top guards probably will not be effected by Williams lack of height and perhaps non athletic body.

[Dejay]

Well, lets evaluate why the fans are so pessimistic and not just the fact that they are...

No All-Stars drafted in the last 22 seasons (longest current string in North American pro sports)

Only 3 draft picks over the last 22 seasons to have a career scoring average in double figures

Jon Koncak...Adam Keefe...Alan Henderson...Keith Edmondson...Al Wood...Cal Bowdler...a small sampling of players the Hawks have spent first round draft choices on

Karl Malone...Latrell Sprewell...Joe Dumars...Ron Artest...Andrei Kirilenko...Larry Nance...Rolando Blackmon...a small sampling of players the Hawks could've picked if the GMs in charge had as much as a clue

Do I really need to go on, folks? Simply put, the fans have whine, cried, and bitched about Hawk draft choices for years and you know what? They have been dead-on, bullseye on the mark EACH AND EVERY STINKIN' TIME!! It's just like a credit score; just because you paid the minimum payment on a couple of bills on time doesn't rectify the years of deliquency and from my standpoint, BK hasn't earned enough points on his Beacon score to get credit for anything yet. And until Marvin Williams makes the All-Star team, until Sheldon averages 16/12/1.5 beyond game 35 of the season, until Childress earns a spot in the starting lineup to justify being taken before Iguodala and Deng, it will not change, PERIOD.

GAME, SET, MATCH.

[Dejay]

As for this ‘well the Hawks don’t need anymore help on offense as they do on defense’ jive, that’s all it is; jive. What happens when Harrington leaves? Unlike JJ’s situation last year, the Hawks don’t have the rights to match an offer; Al can walk on July 15 and leave BK high and dry. Then what? Who fills in to take up the 18/7 Harrington leaves behind? And considering how tight the purse strings are with the Belkin thing hovering over their heads, what viable free agent would want to come here?

All I’ll say is that this pick smells alot like the ‘safe’ Childress pick a couple of years ago, which was simply too high a reach when Iguodala and Deng (i.e. better players, PERIOD) were still available. Now don’t get me wrong; I think Sheldon Williams will be a serviceable player in the league, just like Childress. But when you’re drafting #5 after winning a combined 39 games over the past two seasons, you need a lot more than just SERVICEABLE. You need a brush with greatness with the 5th pick; serviceable is what 2nd round draft choices and 2nd-3rd tier free agents are for.

[BusBoyIsBack]

The fact that Al Harrington is leaving makes the need for interior presence even more necessary. The only interior presence we had downlow is Zaza Pachulia and he isn't even starting material. The fact that people think we needed a PG more than we needed interior help is a joke.

Also I'd love for you to find a big man in the 2nd round with the pedigree of Shelden Williams. You act like we just drafted some nobody. This man is a 2 time DPOTY and was 3rd in voting for Player of the Year. He is the only player in the Coach K era to average a double double for his career. He is in a category with names like Tim Duncan and David Robinson in NCAA history when it comes to points, rebounds, blocks, and steals.

Shelden Williams is not just some nobody that raised his stock in the NCAA tournament. He's a guy who consistently produced in one of the toughest conferences in college basketball. How you guys hate on that is beyond me.

[Dejay]

I'm not hating, I'm just stating that he isn't my first choice, just like Childress, MW, hell, even Battier wasn't when that debate was going on before the SAR trade went down. Am I the GM? Nope, but as a fan, I certainly have that right. Do I hope I'm wrong about him? Certainly and will be the first to admit as much. But last I checked, the last guy to dominate defensively at his size was Ben Wallace and he doesn't remind me of him, even with the numbers he put up at Duke (which I don't trust since the last big man there to produce in the pros was Elton Brand, whom Sheldon couldn't be in his best wet dream). I'll give him a chance and I've said as much hours ago. But understand that patience is NOT a virtue with many of us right now.

[BusBoyIsBack]

Actually Boozer has some very good production offensively in the pros. And as far as Shelden not touching Brand, maybe not offensively but don't be surprised if he's AT LEAST on par defensively. We're talking about a guy who averaged 3 BPG 3 years in a row in Shelden Williams. His game translates like Brand's and we will have one helluva defender. Especially considering Brand was right behind Smith for 5th in BPG last year.

[vdunkndunk]

I nearly lost my mind when we drafted Childress and I was seriously pissed. I was also pissed about taking Marvin over Paul. But while those picks weren't perfect in my opinion, I think they will both work out very well for the Hawks and both guys are very good players.

So I'm willing to be patient and look at the bright side with Shelden. I don't think he'll be an all-star, but hopefully JJ, Smoove, and Marvin will take care of that. Shelden can just fit a need and be a very solid player and a winner.

[Spiral]

I don't really mind the Shelden pick. The 2nd round choice didn't make alot of since to me unless we plan to play him at center.

[Dragitoff]

Diesel and his cronies will verify I certainly was not on the Shelden bandwagon, but I felt the Hawks addressed the most glaring need in this draft. I love the 2nd pick even though my hometown boy Alexander Johnson was still on the board when they picked 2nd. I think the main focus should be a trading Al and getting something worthwhile in return, getting a starting PG or some kind of combo guard to help JJ out, and a backup center.