Offseason to-do lists

[dakast]

Atlanta Hawks (30-52)

The Hawks have the most riding on the May 22 lottery of any team. If they can jump over one of the three teams with more lottery chances than they have -- Memphis, Boston or Milwaukee -- they retain their pick in the top three. If they are fourth or lower, their pick goes to Phoenix as part of the trade that brought Joe Johnson to the Hawks.

But barring a vault up to the top with its own pick, Atlanta is likely to end up with a pick in the 11-14 range, one it would get from Indiana as a result of the Al Harrington trade if the Pacers don't beat tremendous odds and move into the top three themselves. Like Boston, Atlanta has pursued a path toward youth, and it has endured the growing pains associated with such a plan. GM Billy Knight's program is pretty much on schedule, but building with teenagers takes the patience of Solomon, and can be injurious to job security in the NBA.

It's been beaten into the ground how the Hawks could have had Deron Williams or Chris Paul in the 2005 draft, so I won't belabor that issue here, except to say that the team is still searching for stability at the point. Atlanta could also use a center good enough to allow it to bring Zaza Pachulia off the bench, but only Oden would enable the team to accomplish that through the draft.

Knight has survived long enough to see Josh Smith approach superstardom, with maturity being a key missing component there. Marvin Williams also came a long way in his second season. But the painful on- and off-court growing pains continue in Atlanta.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writ...ry.needs/1.html

[DJlaysitup]

Holy Cow...that must've been an Atlanta native that wrote that.

"Knight has survived long enough to see Josh Smith approach superstardom, with maturity being a key missing component there. Marvin Williams also came a long way in his second season. But the painful on- and off-court growing pains continue in Atlanta."

We have MAJOR problems in this franchise...and I seriously don't see Josh Smith approaching "superstardom"...I like him a ton but he still is a third offensive option on a good team - at best.

Marvin came where?

[Lascar78]

I think this is a pretty damn fair assessment of where things stand. Of course that would be with a very loose definition of superstardom that some people seem to use.

[Diesel]

Quote:

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We have MAJOR problems in this franchise...and I seriously don't see Josh Smith approaching "superstardom"...I like him a ton but he still is a third offensive option on a good team - at best.

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That's just the problem. You're looking at stats. Stars (in this day) are built on highlights, Charisma, and consistency. When people think of the Hawks and the stars of the Hawks, JJ is not the first name that comes to mind. JSMOOVE does!! They see the former slam dunk champion. They see the shot blocker. It's just like How Kenny Smith made "the matrix" a household name. He was consistently pulling down rebounds and consistently blocking shots. That will get you recognized just as much as scoring will these days.

[Iman]

I agree with the above comments, that summary sounds like it was written by a homer but it's also fairly fair. A little mention about how our last few signings/drafts didnt go well and put the rebuilding into jeopardy would pretty much balance off the comments in my mind.

They also make it sound relatively easy for us to keep our pick. We do have to jump over the teams ahead of us but also have to not get jumped over by teams behind us.