Jarrett Jack for the 11th pick

[Scott]

-Speaking of Javaris Crittenton,, it's interesting to note that he's scheduled to work out with the Portland Trailblazers the day before the draft, June 27th. He obviously won't be working out for the #1 pick, and can't be planning on Portland's next pick at #37 either. So what does that mean? Deductive reasoning tells us that his people have almost certainly been convinced that there is a very good chance that the Trailblazers will have a draft pick in his range, AND will have a need for another point guard besides the two very good ones they already have in Jarrett Jack and Sergio Rodríguez. It goes without saying that the day before the draft is a VERY valuable spot on the calendar of a player like Crittenton.

A couple of quick calls made indicate that Crittenton isn't the only one who might feel that way. Two agents with draft prospects in the 5-15 draft range conveyed to DraftExpress that they feel that Portland is sending out messages implying that they may already have a late lottery pick locked up. The rumor emerging is that Portland can secure the #11 pick belonging to Atlanta, in return for Jarrett Jack if they so desire.

Portland will also (tentatively) be hosting Nick Young and Al Thornton two days before the draft, on the 26th. The Young and Crittenton workout dates were released by a Portland beat writer,

[KB21]

Considering that we aren't going to get what we want for the 3rd pick, then this is probably the best option to take. It would give us an ascending veteran point guard in the NBA....one that plays very solid defense I might add, and it allows the Hawks to take Al Horford with the 3rd pick.

I figure the Hawks would play small ball about 60% of the time with a line up like this:

PG - Jack

SG - Johnson

SF - M. Williams

PF - Smith

C - Horford

[AtLaS]

That would be horrible, I'd rather have Law, Crit or Conley over Jack. Jack can begin extension talks after next year.

I'd rather go after Calderon than Jack anyway.

[KB21]

Calderon is a terrible defender. Jack can defend the position. I'd much rather have Jack.

I believe some of you would rather field the worst defensive team in the NBA just so you can get the up tempo style you desire rather than putting an efficient offense and a great defensive team on the floor.

Jose Calderon, Sergio Rodriguez, Pau Gasol.....these guys are HORRIBLE defenders. Flat out atrocious! Atlanta would give up 110 points a game easily with those guys in the line up.

[DrReality]

Jack played 33 minutes, scored 12 points and had five assists. Very consistent and good size.

I would wonder if we would get something in addition given that he went 22 two years ago. Maybe a second rounder?

I'd do it.

[AtLaS]

You may be right that he's a horrible defender, I haven't seen enough of him. I just wanted him because he has a great shot, really looks to get others involved, can really run an offense and shot over 50%. If he's as bad as you say he is, then he's not a good option.

My main point was if we don't get Conley, I'd rather just draft Critt or Law with #11 instead of Jack.

[vdunkndunk]

There's a couple things I love about Jack. First of all, I know he's dying to come here. I have a very good source who told me over a year ago that Jack's people call BK all the time and try to find a way to get him back to Atlanta, and that BK likes Jack too.

Second of all, I haven't really seen him play much in the NBA, but I remember that John Hollinger recently listed him as one of the best up-and-coming defensive PGs in the league. He said Jack has the potential to become one of the best down the road. And Jack is pretty quick and pretty strong with pretty good size, and he learned how to defend at GT under Paul Hewitt, so I wouldn't be surprised.

Third, he doesn't overwhelm you, but he's solid in every area. Decent size, decent strength, decent athleticism, decent jumpshot, good defense, good freethrow shooter, good teammate, solid leader, etc. I think he and JJ would make a decent backcourt pair together, and he's almost certainly the most ready to play of any of the PG's we could get at 11.

Last, he was great to watch at GT, one of my favorite all-time Tech players, and I believe a lot of people in Atlanta feel the same way. This is a guy that wants to be here and that a lot of people here would want too. So it seems to make some sense to me, especially if you're in "win now" mode, like I hope the Hawks are.

[vdunkndunk]

Here are Jack's stats from last season:

12 ppg, 5.3 apg, 2.6 rpg, 1.1 spg, 2.3 tos, .350 3-fg, 454. fgp, 87 ft., 33 mpg.

I just checked that Hollinger article and he had Jack listed as among the top 7 defensive PG's in the league and called him "an up-and-comer."

[Vol4ever]

Quote:

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There's a couple things I love about Jack. First of all, I know he's dying to come here. I have a very good source who told me over a year ago that Jack's people call BK all the time and try to find a way to get him back to Atlanta, and that BK likes Jack too.

Second of all, I haven't really seen him play much in the NBA, but I remember that John Hollinger recently listed him as one of the best up-and-coming defensive PGs in the league. He said Jack has the potential to become one of the best down the road. And Jack is pretty quick and pretty strong with pretty good size, and he learned how to defend at GT under Paul Hewitt, so I wouldn't be surprised.

Third, he doesn't overwhelm you, but he's solid in every area. Decent size, decent strength, decent athleticism, decent jumpshot, good defense, good freethrow shooter, good teammate, solid leader, etc. I think he and JJ would make a decent backcourt pair together, and he's almost certainly the most ready to play of any of the PG's we could get at 11.

Last, he was great to watch at GT, one of my favorite all-time Tech players, and I believe a lot of people in Atlanta feel the same way. This is a guy that wants to be here and that a lot of people here would want too. So it seems to make some sense to me, especially if you're in "win now" mode, like I hope the Hawks are.

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The concern that I have about Jack is while he is a very good defender I'm not sure he can run the offense. I saw him a couple of times on tv this year and he played great defense but the team was not very good on the offensive end of the court. I'm not a stat gut, but 5 assist in 33 minutes is not very impressive.

[Packfill]

I would probably do it. Jack is still young but he has some experience. The Hawks need experience.

[vdunkndunk]

I am a little concerned about Jack's overall offensive game. And 5 assists per game isn't all that great. But then again, we're talking about a second-year player serving as the starting PG on a very young team.

Chauncy Billups, for instance, didn't average 5 apg until his sixth year in the league...and I think Jack may be someone you could compare to Chauncy a little bit in terms of their size and weight and type of game.

And of course we'll also have Joe there to help him out and create plays. So if we could add, say, Jarrett Jack and Pau Gasol to our roster next season, we would have more than enough to make the playoffs next season, in my opinion.

Imagine that we trade the 11 for Jack and the 3, Speedy and Lorenzon for Pau Gasol (which works under the tradechecker). This looks like a pretty good team to me, especially in the East:

PG: Jarrett Jack, Anthony Johnson

SG: Joe Johnson, Tyronn Lue

SF: Marvin Williams, Josh Childress

PF: Josh Smith, Shelden Williams

CR: Pau Gasol, Zaza Pachulia

[TexasPete]

Do you honestly think the Grizz would do that one sided deal? Because they would laugh hard.

Did you see what they wanted from the Bulls? IF they trade Gasol there will be several key assets involved.

[DJlaysitup]

Quote:

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...This looks like a pretty good team to me, especially in the East:

PG: Jarrett Jack, Anthony Johnson

SG: Joe Johnson, Tyronn Lue

SF: Marvin Williams, Josh Childress

PF: Josh Smith, Shelden Williams

CR: Pau Gasol, Zaza Pachulia

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I could certainly live with that starting lineup...plus we would get to keep much of our developing depth. You never know...Shelden was playing better at the end of the year once his shoulder harness came off, Zaza was even hitting a few mid-reange jumpers, and We would still have JChillz bringing the energy off the bench. We would be able to survive injuries much better and have a post-up offensive game.

Realistically it would be a team that would work pretty well with Woody's coaching philosophy too. We would all love to have more of a running team, but Woody will still be the coach next year.

[AHF]

Quote:

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Do you honestly think the Grizz would do that one sided deal? Because they would laugh hard.

Did you see what they wanted from the Bulls? IF they trade Gasol there will be several key assets involved.

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Agreed. Lo and Speedy are negatives and the #3 isn't enough on its own.

[WraithSentinel]

I like this deal. It turn a draft pick which was basically becoming the most worthless pick in Hawks history into something valuable and filling a need.

[TexasPete]

I'm not against the Jack deal because I really haven't thought it through.

But, Critts a player and is likely to move up in the draft. The choice is do we prefer Critt or Jack? If PTL did that deal they obviously like Critt.

But it is OUR CHOICE. I think Critt is a future stud. Jack would be better next year, I think Critt down the road inyear two or three.

BK might prefer a guy like Jack that steps in immediately. But, this is no easy choice.

[beav]

Quote:

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-Speaking of Javaris Crittenton,, it's interesting to note that he's scheduled to work out with the Portland Trailblazers the day before the draft, June 27th. He obviously won't be working out for the #1 pick, and can't be planning on Portland's next pick at #37 either. So what does that mean? Deductive reasoning tells us that his people have almost certainly been convinced that there is a very good chance that the Trailblazers will have a draft pick in his range, AND will have a need for another point guard besides the two very good ones they already have in Jarrett Jack and Sergio Rodríguez. It goes without saying that the day before the draft is a VERY valuable spot on the calendar of a player like Crittenton.

A couple of quick calls made indicate that Crittenton isn't the only one who might feel that way. Two agents with draft prospects in the 5-15 draft range conveyed to DraftExpress that they feel that Portland is sending out messages implying that they may already have a late lottery pick locked up. The rumor emerging is that Portland can secure the #11 pick belonging to Atlanta, in return for Jarrett Jack if they so desire.

Portland will also (tentatively) be hosting Nick Young and Al Thornton two days before the draft, on the 26th. The Young and Crittenton workout dates were released by a Portland beat writer,

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Not to break my arm patting myself on the back, but the 11th round pick plus a few of portland's 4 second rounders was exactly what I suggested would happen last week in the midst of the "never gonna happen" aldridge speculation.

It makes a ton of sense for ATL and like you said Jack wants to be here (gee how many up and coming young players are saying that?)

[txsting]

I really like Jack and I readily admit I'm a big Tech fan, but I don't know about this. If it's just Jack for #11, I'm not sure that is a very good value. I believe Critt is just more talented in just about every phase. Critt as a freshman was nearly as effective as Jack as a junior. I'm willing to wait a couple of years on a PG to develop. First of all we're not going to top of the East immediately anyway. Second of all we do have Craig and he's probably not going anywhere.

To critique Jack, on the one hand you see that his game really progressed from his 1st to 2nd season. In about 60% more minutes, he did nearly double his assists, scoring, and steals. He also improved his shooting in all phases. He is a developing player and he will become even more efficient. He's a leader and a high character/motivation guy, evidenced by the fact he was a captain this year for Portland in his second year.

On the other hand, I'm not as sure about his NBA defensive prowess. 82games.com actually shows that his opponent out produces him pretty significantly. I'm not sure how much of that is a product of being on a bad team - maybe that's all it is. He does have a defensive reputation, and I can vouch that he was an effective defender in college.

I'm just hoping that Portland's supposed ability to get the #11 pick would be part of a greater deal - which doesn't appear to be the case.

[GST]

Jack was 24th in the league last year in assists per 48 min. (7.6). He was 38th in assists/turnovers (2.23). Although he would be better than what we have now, he really is more of a back up player than a starter.

[exodus]

Portland played Jack at the 2 a lot if I am not mistaken. Plus Portland didn't have a lot of scoring. That would account somewhat for his low assist totals.

The thing i like about Jack is that he takes it to the basket and can finish/get to the line. We are too much of a jump shooting team at times. And he is a good foul shooter.