Where does Yi play?

[TexasPete]

I've heard all of the reasons why Horford can't be a Hawk because he would not be able to play the 5 and we add to our forward glut. OK, fair enough.

But, where does Yi play? If Horford can't play the 5 it is incomprehensible that a weak kid from China who is projected at the 3/4 and who make his living outside, can play our post.

The truth is that there are no centers worth our pick. There are only different versions of forwards. Neither Yi or Horford is ideal, but if you suscribe to the theory that we can get our PG at 11 because there isn't a PG good enough to take at 3...then, the center spot is still very much a void.

Who is closer to filling the void at 5, Yi or Horford? If neither then a trade is our only best option. If Horford is coming off our bench next year, and I don't doubt it, so is Yi. No question. For those who have already romanticized Yi as our savior you should remember that some don't think he is even top 5 material. The only board where Yi is a total savior is this one.

Just how is Yi used as a Hawk next year?

[gsuteke]

incomprehensible would be accurate terminology.

[BusBoyIsBack]

There is much hypocrisy in the notion of wanting Yi but bashing Horford.

I recently realized this.

You can't be an advocate of Yi and a Horford hater because Horford is a lot closer to filling that 1 or 5 void than Yi is from a physical and mental standpoint.

[AHF]

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You can't be an advocate of Yi and a Horford hater because Horford is a lot closer to filling that 1 or 5 void than Yi is from a physical and mental standpoint.

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You can if you think Yi is a special talent and Horford isn't. It is only hypocritical if you rule out Horford on the basis of position (and not talent) and you include Yi because of position (and not talent).

[gsuteke]

is constantly banging on Billy Knight for taking forwards and then going KooKoo for Cocoa Puffs on an internet site about two more.

[BusBoyIsBack]

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is constantly banging on Billy Knight for taking forwards and then going KooKoo for Cocoa Puffs on an internet site about two more.

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I never bashed the Marvin Williams pick nor the Shelden Williams pick.

With Marvin we were a desperate 13 win team without an emerging star.

With Shelden we were screwed by the age limit in a very weak draft and Shelden was best interior defender available for worst interior defensive team in league.

Obviously I would want a traditional C like Hibbert more than anything, but guess what? That option is not available!

So we have to make due with the options that we do have.

That is the main point people are missing.

We have to get the guy with the best chance of being our 5 and that guy is Horford. Of course I would rather have Oden, Gasol, Jermaine Oneal, etc but those aren't real options!

Bottomline is that if I had a lot riding on this team, I'd take my chances going into battle with Horford at center over Zaza Pachulia, Shelden Williams, or any other potential PF/C prospect in this draft not named Greg Oden.

[Guest Walter]

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is constantly banging on Billy Knight for taking forwards and then going KooKoo for Cocoa Puffs on an internet site about two more.

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And now you want Horford. BOTH forwards. Hello pot.

We cannot get a center prospect other than Hawes or Noah without a trade. I don't want Hawes and neither he nor Noah are worth a 3rd overall pick. Since WE MUST MAKE A TRADE ANYWAY we can get our freakishly built, talented, and skilled forward in Yi, our Pg at 11, AND our center too (we could getsay Noah at 11 and trade from MW/SW/JC for our Pg as well).

How rock headed do you have to be to consistently make the claim "we don't need no more forwards", suggest that we need an NBA forward in Horford, and not realize that nobody that wants Yi wants to sit on their hands with these forwards (I wouldn't want to even if we didn't get Yi) but would rather trade from JC, MW, and/or JS to fill the C need.

W

[jerrywest]

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is constantly banging on Billy Knight for taking forwards and then going KooKoo for Cocoa Puffs on an internet site about two more.

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Dude there is a #11 pick. [bold]Do you want to take two point guards in this draft? [/bold] You have to take a front court player at one point, unless you want to trade one of the picks for a next year's pick.

The player you want at #3 could fall to #11. That's how far you are reaching.

[BusBoyIsBack]

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You can if you think Yi is a special talent and Horford isn't. It is only hypocritical if you rule out Horford on the basis of position (and not talent) and you include Yi because of position (and not talent).

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We need the most talented player at a position of need.

What are our needs? PG and Center

Who are the most talented players? Horford, Yi, and Wright

Which one has the best chance at filling one of those needs? Al Horford

It's that simple.

No other way should we approach this.

[TexasPete]

That's my point. It seems the Horford lovers are convinced we can jam Horford into the 5. The Yi lovers are convinced he is a ready made Dirk clone. I even heard somebody say his upside was higher than Dirks? LMAO.

Dirk may have his flaws but his upside is league MVP. I'm not saying Yi isn't a potentially great player but the jury is way out. At the very least he will have a major adjustment in a myriad of ways. He is no center.

Marvin is the SF of the future (sorry MW despisers) and Smoove is our PF. Where do we play this kid?

BTW, we still need a young PG that runs the offense.

[Guest Walter]

JS the 3.

Yi has so many skill sets he can play like a 3 or 4 on offense. JS still plays like a 3. Regardless, they would be what a "two forward" lineup is meant to look like unlike the MW/JS grouping. Varied skills, physical attributes, both freaks in their own way, both aggressive as hell.

MW, JC, and/or SW are then either traded for a center, or, having drafting Yi and having a good sized, 7'+, long, leaper at the 4, we can actually draft say Noah at 11 (if he falls) to be our emotional leader and our center. Then trade from our forward glut for a Pg prospect (i.e. JC for Jack or MW for Conley).

W

[AHF]

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You can if you think Yi is a special talent and Horford isn't. It is only hypocritical if you rule out Horford on the basis of position (and not talent) and you include Yi because of position (and not talent).

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We need the most talented player at a position of need.

What are our needs? PG and Center

Who are the most talented players? Horford, Yi, and Wright

Which one has the best chance at filling one of those needs? Al Horford

It's that simple.

No other way should we approach this.

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I think our biggest need is PG and I think Yi has the best chance at filling that need. That is why I advocate for Yi.

[TexasPete]

W, like it or not, Marvin is our future at 3. BK has said as much. Barring a big trade that isn't changing. Smoove is our 4 and he has actually settled in quite nicely guarding other PF's. That also is not likely to change.

I'll ask again. What role will Yi play on the Hawks next year? Not your trade Marvin fantasy, what is Yi going to do next year?

BTW, until he gets stronger he can't guard many 4's.

[Johnnybravo4]

He would be our Manu or our Hedu, he is the guy who could come off the bench and cause matchup nightmares. If it turns out he is good enough to start then he does and we think about trading a forward.

His intangibles outweigh everyone else's in this draft.

[exodus]

Yi is clearly a 3 until he gets stronger. If he gets up to his listed weight of 246 then he can play some 4 as well. No way is he a 5 and neither is Horford.

The key difference between Horford and Yi is that Yi has a chance to be special and Horford doesn't. Horford is just an average looking pf and probably won't ever elevate himself over guys like Gooden, Wilcox, etc. His upside is very limited relative to Yi.

Marvin hasn't shown me anything to make me think he will be special. I am just hoping he will turn out as good as Deng.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Yi outplays him and forces him to the pine. Marvin hasn't done anything to really earn his minutes.

[TexasPete]

I also think Yi is a 3 right now and would have major issues guarding NBA 4's.

If Yi is the choice we need to move Childress. Now. Marvin is not going anywhere and it would make zero sense to take Yi and have 3 high lottery picks at SF. That is lunacy at its finest.

I'm not convinced Horford can play the post on defense but I'm not convinced he can't. The bottom line is we need to make a juicy trade that solves our real problems.

[Guest Walter]

...counter.

I don't believe MW is this untouchable whatever that you do. I do think Yi can play NBA 4s even now, giving them more matchup problems than they would give him.

I'd MUCH rather Yi bench MW or cause MW to be traded than Horford AND SW remain behind JS or give us the incredible mini-me frontline. I see MW being traded because of Yi FAR more likely than Horford ever making an All-star game as a center.

W

[Johnnybravo4]

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I also think Yi is a 3 right now and would have major issues guarding NBA 4's.

If Yi is the choice we need to move Childress. Now. Marvin is not going anywhere and it would make zero sense to take Yi and have 3 high lottery picks at SF. That is lunacy at its finest.

I'm not convinced Horford can play the post on defense but I'm not convinced he can't. The bottom line is we need to make a juicy trade that solves our real problems.

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Let me ask you a question. Can Dirk guard NBA 4's? Would you not take Dirk because he couldn't? Of course not. It is irrelevant. We didn't lose because we couldn't guard 4's, we lost because we shoot a horrible percentage and we don't score in the paint.

[BusBoyIsBack]

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Yi is clearly a 3 until he gets stronger. If he gets up to his listed weight of 246 then he can play some 4 as well. No way is he a 5 and neither is Horford.

The key difference between Horford and Yi is that Yi has a chance to be special and Horford doesn't. Horford is just an average looking pf and probably won't ever elevate himself over guys like Gooden, Wilcox, etc. His upside is very limited relative to Yi.

Marvin hasn't shown me anything to make me think he will be special. I am just hoping he will turn out as good as Deng.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Yi outplays him and forces him to the pine. Marvin hasn't done anything to really earn his minutes.

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This Yi Mania has some of you seriously out of touch.

I mean to compare a beast like Al Horford to someone like Chris Wilcox and to say his upside is very limited?

You've got to be kidding me.

Horford HAS NO PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS that will stop him from being a great player. None whatsoever.

Obviously you can't mention his size because Amare Stoudemire and Dwight Howard are the same height. You definitely can't mention his weight because he's an absolute beast already at 245 and with his broad shoulders, nothing is stopping him from getting even bigger and stronger.

Many will foolishly mention his athleticism when he actually runs, dribbles, and elevates EXCEPTIONALLY WELL for a player his size.

Horford's major weakness is his unrefined post game which is A SKILL. And when a raw skill like that is your only real physical limitation, that tells me you not only have decent upside, but you have TREMENDOUS upside.

And there are no intangibles that Horford is lacking either like work ethic and heart.

Horford is quickly becoming the most underrated player in the draft on HS, but ironically amongst draft experts he's becoming the consensus 3rd best player in the draft. Because they see things the way I'm beginning to see them.

At first glance, Horford seems like just a safe pick with no upside. But when you really examine his game and his strengths and weaknesses, his upside is tremendous which is probably why he's a top 5 pick in the strongest draft class since the stacked 03 class

[TexasPete]

Marvin is BK's boy. He took him at 2 and is now expecting some vindication. He is not going anywhere unless the trade is a blockbuster and he can justify trading his two and can save face.

You can disagree all you like but Yi won't play over Marvin except in your wet dream. There is no way, no how.

You obviously haven't learned how BK thinks yet which is a surprise. He isn't putting Smoove to 3 either. Drafting Yi would require him to re-do his front line and would also be admitting Marvin was a mistake and he isn't doing that now.

Yi may be a Hawk because Billy collects forwards like some people collect stamps...but, Yi will come off the bench. And, that may be for quite awhile.