Law received guarantee from Hawks?

[emorywjs]

http://newsok.com/article/3069127

By Darnell Mayberry

Staff Writer

One day after working out for the Atlanta Hawks, Texas A&M's All-American point guard Acie Law on Thursday pulled out of his scheduled workout with the Hornets, which was to be held today at an Edmond fitness center.

Law had been scheduled to work out today with a group of guards that included Florida junior point guard Taurean Green and Vanderbilt's Derrick Byars. But his sudden cancellation has lead to speculation that he has received a guarantee from the Hawks, who are in need of a point guard and hold the No. 3 and 11 picks in the June 28 NBA Draft.

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Law averaged 18.1 points, 5.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds while leading the Aggies to a 27-7 record last season. On Wednesday, Law joined Georgia Tech point guard Javaris Crittenton and Virginia Tech's Jamon Gordon during the Hawks' workout.

"I thought it went really well,” Law told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I thought I played extremely well. My four years of college, I think it helps me a lot. Coming in at 22, I think I can make a smoother transition.”

[DawsonsCreek]

Wow. Thanks for the post. I dont know if he got a promise, but I wouldnt mind him at #11.

[Wurider05]

If this is true does this make any implications on who we are taking at three? I think that we are getting Yi!!!

[thesheedera]

If true it means no Conley, but it doesn't mean no Wright or no Horford either.

[DJlaysitup]

Mazybe Yi...definitely sounds like a big or a trade. I don't see how BK could make a promise to Law (you have to figure at #11) and then take Conley at #3. Of course this is all speculation based on a cancelled workout.

This draft is like one of those "whodunits"...so many possibilites

[exodus]

If Law got a promis i am ok with it. I would much rather have him than Crit.

I still think Conley is the best option but the odds on the Hawks drafting the best option are about the same as the odds on me suddenly being able to dunk.

[Sothron]

Interesting. Emails and text sent, awaiting replies (God willing).

[Spiral]

I would find it odd if we did guarantee him a spot since there are so many uncertainties yet to be played out as far as potential trades and what not. Charlotte's pick is higher than ours at #11 so why not try to impress to get picked higher.

Another reason he could've pulled out is because Byars and Green are considered to be lesser prospects at this point; so why go match up against them and potentially devalue yourself if you have an off day.

[BHayley]

Wow, this is great!

On his interview (Acie) on AJC.com he said he'd love to play in Atlanta. I'd love to have him here. Even if we only got him at #11, and traded the #11 for a Matt Freije equivalent, it would still be a huge upgrade for this team. Woodson seemed high on Law too.

[DJlaysitup]

Quote:

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...Another reason he could've pulled out is because Byars and Green are considered to be lesser prospects at this point; so why go match up against them and potentially devalue yourself if you have an off day.

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That makes some sense too. The word is out that Law had a very impressive workout against Critt. If you are Law, why take the chance on following it up with a poor one and getting shown up by a lesser prospect.

One the other hand...this is the same kind of thing that happened last year and it ended up ringing true. BK may have decided that he is going to get his point with the #11 pick. He could promise Law at 11 and then have Critt as the backup plan if Law goes earlier.

If it is true, it would sound like the trade with Portland (#11 for JJack) is pretty much off the table. Too bad, I think JJack would be a nice player for us. It may just be that BK saw that Law can bring a real polished offensive game and (of course) he realizes that we had the worst offense in the league last year.

[AtLaS]

I don't mind Law at all, I really like him, but WHY make him a promise, or anyone for that matter? What if Conley falls, or if Conley falls further than expected and we can trade up with Chill/#11 to get him?

Gah BK is an idiot, you lose all leverage you possibly have when making promises.

[BHayley]

Exactly.

I am kinda confused though, because based on Woody's comments on the AJC.com article about the PG's, he said he is looking for a distributor and someone who plays defense, which I guess isn't exactly Acie's forte.

Hopefully Acie will be like Mike James on the Raptors...Scoring a ton of points and still handing out assists.

[TheDude]

i would never make a promise ever in any draft.....stupid...

in any case, why make a promise if Conley hasnt even worked out yet?

[jerrywest]

Quote:

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I would find it odd if we did guarantee him a spot since there are so many uncertainties yet to be played out as far as potential trades and what not. Charlotte's pick is higher than ours at #11 so why not try to impress to get picked higher.

Another reason he could've pulled out is because Byars and Green are considered to be lesser prospects at this point; so why go match up against them and potentially devalue yourself if you have an off day.

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agree. with the way this draft is forming up a much more talented player could fall on our lap at 11. I thing your last paragraph say the real reason. I don't think there is a guarantee, especially because so may trade options are still open.

[Lascar78]

First of all there is no known promise. There is a guy shutting down workouts, which happens frequently when a guys thinks he's shown enough, promise or not. Secondly, these "promises" are non-binding, and just because you tell a guy you'll take him if he's there at 11 doesn't mean you have to do so. Many GMs have gone back on promises. It looks bad, but it's not a huge deal. It's not like there's any proof of anything. You just end up with an agent who dislikes you.

[Scott]

One player that does seem to have one is Texas A&M's Acie Law. I'm told he's been told he won't slip past No. 14 to the Clippers. Expect us to change that on the next mock.

[Sothron]

According to source: No one has or will have a guarantee in the draft. BK wants all options on table on draft night.

[Scott]

Why work out for the hornets when they have Chris Paul?

[hawkman]

I hate the whole draft promise thing. It made the Hawks look really bad last season and I don't want to repeat that. It's one thing to keep it under the table but it is quite another for a player to immediately pull out of workouts after he's worked out for your team. Having said all of that, I actually like Law. He reminds me of Jason Terry when he played for Arizona. It's actually kind of ironic that so many hated the guy when he was here and yet love the prospect of having Law on this team. We need another scoring threat anyway, and if that happens to be the guy with ball in his hands all of the time, so be it. Maybe he could take some of the pressure off of JJ and allow JSmith and Childress to score more in transition. lord knows our PG's didn't do much of that last season.

[Lascar78]

Quote:

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According to source: No one has or will have a guarantee in the draft. BK wants all options on table on draft night.

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I'm not surprised. It didn't really make sense. Pretty much the only strategy we've seen from BK leading up to draft night this year is that he wants options.