From a financial standpoint we need to draft Yi...

[Wurider05]

The Spirit group has been losing money for years now and with him being a phenom in China and with the large Asian population in the Atlanta area they can make some dough. Plus he is a lock to be in the All star game and with that ripple effect JJ would be a lock too since he would be the guys teammate. I say we get him with the pick and grab a pg with the 11th pick. He will put us on the map for sure. This is business designed to make money.

[Joker]

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The Spirit group has been losing money for years now and with him being a phenom in China and with the large Asian population in the Atlanta area they can make some dough. Plus he is a lock to be in the All star game and with that ripple effect JJ would be a lock too since he would be the guys teammate. I say we get him with the pick and grab a pg with the 11th pick. He will put us on the map for sure. This is business designed to make money.

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This was made already. It will not bring in more fans to the game, but it will get a TV contact in China and a bigger fanbase aboard then in the US.

[gutz]

Yi is a lock for the Allstar game? I think not.

[exodus]

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Yi is a lock for the Allstar game? I think not.

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Man the hype machine just keeps rolling. Never mind that this guy has no left hand and can't defend, he is a lock for the All-Star game. Ridiculous.

[Sothron]

You forget the effects of a billion people spamming the internet with votes. Yi might be another Yao that way.

[pimp]

how would he be a lock to be an Allstar???????

1. He wouldn't start over Jsmith or Mavin Willams.

2. He most likely wouldn't even be on the allstar ballot.

[Wurider05]

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You forget the effects of a billion people spamming the internet with votes. Yi might be another Yao that way.

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That's the point I was making. I didn't say that he would deserve to be an all-star.

[Diesel]

I think winning is the cure to the Hawks Owners Money woes. If you put a winning, exciting, product on the floor, the fans will come.

Now, Yi... He's a good player... .BUT is he our best shot?

I think you consider Yi...

But you also have to consider trade opportunities.

If we can get Okafor/#8 for our third pick?

If we can get Gasol..

or if we can get another impact player... then I would consider that strongly compared to just Yi.

[drzachary]

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You forget the effects of a billion people spamming the internet with votes. Yi might be another Yao that way.

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Funny to look at this from a voting point of view! If Yi ends up in the West, it could easily mean that he splits up the votes with Yao, and neither make it to the ASG!

[jezmund]

Is there actually a possibility of trading the #3 for #8/Okafor? I'd do #3/Shelden (or even Childress if necessary) for #8/Okafor in a New York minute. How's Okafor's health anyways? Okafor / Smith would possibly be the best shot-blocking duo in the league.

[Sothron]

Okafor is not healthy and all of the back problems he had leaving UConn have followed him to the NBA. I'd rather have Gasol than Okafor simply due to health issues.

[AHF]

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You forget the effects of a billion people spamming the internet with votes. Yi might be another Yao that way.

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Funny to look at this from a voting point of view! If Yi ends up in the West, it could easily mean that he splits up the votes with Yao, and neither make it to the ASG!

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Only if you buy the argument that Yi is somehow a center. I don't think they will be competing against eachother for votes.

[Sothron]

Yi will be listed as a SF or PF not a center.

[drzachary]

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You forget the effects of a billion people spamming the internet with votes. Yi might be another Yao that way.

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Funny to look at this from a voting point of view! If Yi ends up in the West, it could easily mean that he splits up the votes with Yao, and neither make it to the ASG!

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Only if you buy the argument that Yi is somehow a center. I don't think they will be competing against eachother for votes.

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True enough, hadn't considered that. My brain just stupidly converts 7' -> C.

[Nicholasp27]

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You forget the effects of a billion people spamming the internet with votes. Yi might be another Yao that way.

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Funny to look at this from a voting point of view! If Yi ends up in the West, it could easily mean that he splits up the votes with Yao, and neither make it to the ASG!

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yi isn't a center, so they can't split the votes

yi is pretty much a lock because while they are all taking the time to vote for yao, they'll go ahead and vote yi too

[Diesel]

I proposed #3/Zaza for Okafor/#8.

I think that's fair for both teams.

[troubleman]

Yi is intriguing to me, not because of race, but because of his upside. I see him as 4, who will allow us to keep the solid Zaza at center. Marvin and Smooth would battle it out for the three, with the loser, Shelden, and Josh Childress anchoring our bench. I'm not expecting Yi to come in and start immediately, but i'm looking 2 or 3 years down the road. If the Hawks take Mike Conley, great, but I also believe the Hawks need to get bigger at either the 4 or 5. Watching Conley play, he does not excite me like Paul and Williams did, so I would prefer the Hawks use the pick on Yi, if the pre-draft workouts go well.

[jezmund]

I must say that although I haven't seen Yi live or against any NBA teams, he is really growing on me. I guess the hype machine has gotten me. Assuming his fundamentals are as good as everyone says, a guy that is in the 6'11 area with his athleticism and ball-handling is something to build on. Even if is he 21, so is Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, Al Horford, Acie Law, etc. It's not like he has fulfilled his potential any more than the next prospect. If he can develop a jumpshot off the dribble and gain strength on the upper body, he could be a big time prospect. Could we do a trade involving #3/Marvin/Zaza/Speedy for #4/Gasol? It works salary wise. This would only work if Memphis coveted Conley.

Conley / Speedy / Lowry

Miller

Gay / Warrick

Marvin / Swift / Cardinal

Zaza / Johnson

Time to rebuild in Memphis. I guess I'm overrating Marvin. Memphis wouldn't do this. I just hate that the #2 pick has little trade value. Could Devin Harris be had in a deal with Josh Childress?

[jezmund]

I'd do it if Okafor's health checked out OK and there wasn't an obvious #3 guy that we coveted.

[Gambit99]

1. If Yi gets 20min or more PT he will make the All-Star Game, with the stroke he has. Don't forget about the write-in vote if he's not listed.

2. 3.3% of 5 million = 165,000...10% of that = 16,500(interested) and 30% of that = 4,950 ticket/season tickets buyers. This would be my low end estimate if I'm running ticket sales for ASG...product sales would be a whole different deal $$. This is for the Atlanta market...add visitors from all over the Southeast, plus vacation packages from all the Asian visitors to the city during the season. Yi would be well worth it.

3. As a fan I'd like to see:

Law or Critt

JJ

MW

JS

Yi

running and gunning...I'd probably run a zone defense 2/3 (sub MW with Solo and have a block party down low, nobody will drive on that).