Workout updates?

[BHayley]

LOL Diesel while I like your Yi arguments, you are WAY off here.

To say Conley will drop to the 14 or 15 is ridiculous. We're lucky if Memphis doesn't take him at #4. Do I prefer Law over Conley? Yes, but Conley is a sick player and will be for quite a few years

[AHF]

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I'm with Diesel on this one... I've been thinking about the comparisons with Brevin Knight for the last week.

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I don't get the Brevin Knight comparison, can you explain it to me?

Knight is 3 inches shorter.

Knight didn't shoot nearly as well as Conley during his best season in 4 years of college (FG% 52% for Conley).

Knight's senior year he had fewer assists and fewer steals than Conley did his freshman year.

Knight isn't as athletic as Conley.

What possible leads anyone to conclude that Mike Conley = Brevin Knight?

[TexasPete]

Diesel has to grossly exaggerate to make his points. He can't be reasonable and use measured analysis.

Horford has to be Mo Taylor. Conley will still be on the board at 11 and we still won't pick him. Just gross distortions to make his own views palatable.

That's why their is a credibility gap between his posts and the rest of the board.

[Diesel]

Aside from us and Memphis who else is likely to take a PG?

I know Memphis needs a PG, but if they decide to trade Gasol, don't you think that they could get one?

If we take Yi..

Memphis probably takes Horford, Brandan or Noah... and Conley slips down to #11.

If we take Law...

Conley slips to LAC.

Now.. back up a minute...

Why would we take Law?

If Law shut down his workouts after his workout with us, he probably got a promise somewhere in the top 20. He's invited to the greenroom.

If we take Horford, Memphis takes Brandan, Yi, or Noah... I just don't see Memphis taking Conley. They struggled with Damon Stoudamire who's a much better shooter than Conley so I'm sure that they prolly want to go another way.. Maybe Kyle Lowry gets the keys. He's a short small PG... But at least he can shoot.

[Traceman]

Hawks take a look at Conley

By SEKOU SMITH

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 06/25/07

Mike Conley Jr. has fond memories of his most recent trip to Atlanta, even if it did end with his Ohio State Buckeyes coming up short against Florida in the NCAA title game.

If things work out the way Conley hopes, he'll get the chance to many more memories here. He set out on that journey Monday afternoon, working out for Hawks' brass at Philips Arena in the last workout for him and the Hawks before Thursday night's draft.

"I had a great time in this city the last time I was here. There's a lot of memories," a smiling Conley said after his workout. "Hopefully, I'll have a chance to create a lot more."

The Hawks, picking at No. 3 and No. 11, can't pass up an opportunity to snag a point guard — be it in the draft or via trade.

If they opt for the draft, the speedy Conley would appear to be the ideal choice. He dazzled everyone Monday with his speed, athleticism and bounce in drills run by Hawks assistant coach Larry Drew.

And any concerns about his size (6-foot-1, 175 pounds) were alleviated quickly, according to Hawks coach Mike Woodson. Again, he's got to do it at this level, the major level. He did it in high school and college. But he has to do it on this level."

The Hawks worked out all three of the draft's top rated point guards — Conley, Acie Law and Javaris Crittenton. And despite his struggles in shooting drills, Woodson said that Conley stood out as the most complete prospect in terms of a "true" point guard.

"He's a leader," Woodson said. "He's a quality guy from a great background and he's one at every level. I don't question his leadership. He's been in a position before. But to do it at this level, and do it night in and night out, that's where the test will occur.

"But he's ready, we just have to make a decision as to whether he's ready to come and do these things for our ball club. Because it's a major learning curve."

Note - If you go back to Woodson's comments about Law, please note the following quotes from Woody:

"I'm looking for guys who can compete that are adequate scorers," Woodson said. " We don't need a big-time scorer. We just need someone who can distribute the basketball and defend."

" I think Acie is more of a scorer, more of a score-first/pass-second," he said. "Javaris is probably more of a distributor. Both have good size so they can defend at that spot. We need that. We struggled with that last year because of injuries to Speedy [Claxton] and [Tyronn] Lue."

"It just didn't enable us to have a point who could get up the floor and harass the other point guard."

Sounds to me like he would rather have Conley than Law.

[Diesel]

Unlike you.. I actually analyze the situation.

If you look closely, no other teams but us and LAC are in desperate need of a PG. Why should anybody in the top 11 pick Conley.

Only Memphis comes to mind but isn't Conley a poor man's Lowry?

[AHF]

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Only Memphis comes to mind but isn't Conley a poor man's Lowry?

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Umm...no.

[sturt]

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I don't get the Brevin Knight comparison, can you explain it to me?

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Both are small, though obviously Knight is smaller.

Both have games built on their quickness.

Both will/have habitually be beaten in post-up situations with larger guards.

Both have earned reputations as floor generals.

Both have earned reputations as less-than-average shooters.

Both will/have encourage teams to drop back and not respect their shot, adding clutter to the lane.

That's what I see.

Conley is just a happenstance beneficiary that there's no PG in this draft as credible as the players at all 4 other positions are credible... it's the almost the same as if Spencer Hawes were the best C prospect coming out... if that were the case, people would be hyping him about 3-4 slots above (if not more) where he belongs.

[Diesel]

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Point Guards Highlight Wednesday’s Workout

Knight Hawks GM Billy Knight

Hawks General Manager Billy Knight:

How do you rate this group of point guards, as well as this draft in general?

"You really never know how they're rated until after their third year, because you can tell what they've turned out to be, and what's happened with them. It's hard to predict and project. But after the third year, you can ask me and I'll sound like I know what I'm talking about."

Were you impressed with anyone here?

"All of the guys were impressive in different ways. There are some younger guys here, some guys here with more experience, some guys whose bodies are developed more, and some guys' aren't. We had something that we liked about all of them. We've seen them a number of times already throughout their careers, at least a dozen times each. So we were familiar with them. But we brought them in because we thought we wanted to get a closer look, interview them, talk to them personally, answer their questions, ask them questions. And maybe see them do some things they'll be asked to do at the NBA level.

What are some of the questions that players are asking?

"'Who's going to be the coach?' The same thing you guys are asking. And I'll tell you the same thing I tell them - I don't know. They ask questions like 'what style of play are we going to play?', our roster, 'where is training camp going to be?', those kind of things. (So what are some of your answers?): "The direct answers that we have. We don't know the coach (answer), training camp's going to be here, we answer all of their questions."

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That's BK after watching Ben Gordon, Devin Harris, Jameer Nelson, and Shaun Livingston.

[Diesel]

But the fact that they have Lowry and will probably trade Gasol makes it imperative that they get a post player...

Gasol is playing Center and Pf and he is surrounded by 3 Swingmen... come on... They will take a true PF with the fourth pick and will gamble with trade.

[AHF]

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But the fact that they have Lowry and will probably trade Gasol makes it imperative that they get a post player...

Gasol is playing Center and Pf and he is surrounded by 3 Swingmen... come on... They will take a true PF with the fourth pick and will gamble with trade.

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I agree they have a decent young PG and could pass on Conley for that reason - particularly because there will be some equally talented players at other position of need.

[Dexmethylphenidate]

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I don't get the Brevin Knight comparison, can you explain it to me?

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Both are small, though obviously Knight is smaller.

Both have games built on their quickness.

Both will/have habitually be beaten in post-up situations with larger guards.

Both have earned reputations as floor generals.

Both have earned reputations as less-than-average shooters.

Both will/have encourage teams to drop back and not respect their shot, adding clutter to the lane.

That's what I see.

Conley is just a happenstance beneficiary that there's no PG in this draft as credible as the players at all 4 other positions are credible... it's the almost the same as if Spencer Hawes were the best C prospect coming out... if that were the case, people would be hyping him about 3-4 slots above (if not more) where he belongs.

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I guess you can compare Knight to Kidd also.

[Diesel]

Kidd is 6'4 about 213

[AHF]

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I don't get the Brevin Knight comparison, can you explain it to me?

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Both are small, though obviously Knight is smaller.

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Significantly smaller. Conley is similar in size to Isiah Thomas. Knight is in between Thomas and Spud Webb.

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Both have games built on their quickness.

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That is true - just as it is true for Chris Paul, Allen Iverson and many other points and small SGs.

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Both will/have habitually be beaten in post-up situations with larger guards.

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To the extent that Isiah Thomas, Paul, and other guards were likewise beaten in the post, although this is actually less of a concern today since it is easier to zone against post-up play by PGs.

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Both have earned reputations as floor generals.

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No argument.

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Both have earned reputations as less-than-average shooters.

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No argument - although Conley is young enough that he could change that as John Stockton, Deron Williams and others have in the past.

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Both will/have encourage teams to drop back and not respect their shot, adding clutter to the lane.

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True, but that is also true for Tony Parker, Rajon Rondo (who this is probably most applicable to), Jason Kidd and others.

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That's what I see.

Conley is just a happenstance beneficiary that there's no PG in this draft as credible as the players at all 4 other positions are credible... it's the almost the same as if Spencer Hawes were the best C prospect coming out... if that were the case, people would be hyping him about 3-4 slots above (if not more) where he belongs.

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I just don't get the comparison because Conley was significantly better as a freshman than Knight was as a senior and Conley has more height and more athleticism.

To me comparing Conley and Knight is a bit like comparing Kevin Durant and Tayshaun Prince. Both Prince and Durant were long, tall SFs with excellent perimeter skills. Both were skinny and looked to be beaten in the paint by people like Corliss Williamson, etc. etc.

Durant is a heck of a lot better prospect than Prince was, though. And for good reason. If Durant exceeds expectations to the same extent Prince did, he would be a first ballot HOF (and remember that Nique wasn't).

The Conley/Knight comparison just doesn't ring true for me when the kid has better demonstrated performance in every category as a freshman and better physical tools. (Remember to add that Conley had fewer turnovers as a freshman than Knight did as a senior.)

[AHF]

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Kidd is 6'4 about 213

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Kidd is three inches taller than Conley.

Conley is three inches taller than Knight.

If Conley = Knight there is just as good reason to believe that Conley = Kidd and therefore Kidd = Knight

It is more accurate to say, Kidd does not equal Conley and Conley does not equal Knight.

They are all different players with some superficial similarities to one another in terms of playmaking and shooting.

[archie_otu]

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You can attack and insult as much as you please. The point is still Conley can't shoot. He didn't shoot well here or Milwaukee or Orlando. This guy is going to be a bust.

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You do know that Conley shot 52% from the field as a freshman this year...Paul, Kidd, and Derron Williams NEVER shot above 50% from the field, college or pro...how do you explain that stat?

As a freshman, he led the Big Ten in assists...last player to do that was Derron Williams in 2003...

He also led a major conference in assists, assist-to-turnover ratio, and steals in the same season...last player to do that was Chris Paul...

Another fact...Conley is a relentless penetrating aggressive guard with tremendous athletic ability...trust me, I saw about 15 Ohio State games...the best freshman point guard I've seen since Chris Paul...

It's a no brainer, Conley should be the pick....but Billy has to pick the "most NBA ready" forward in the draft...he can't help himself.

[D.R.P.]

He can't shoot yet he shot over 50 percent from the field. Acie Law at best is just another Jason Terry.

Yi is more likely to be available at #11 than Conley.

[D.R.P.]

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I believe that Conley will drop to LAC on draft day.

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Just like I believe your on some illegal drugs!

[TexasPete]

Diesel is not capable of a reasonable analysis. With him its all or its nothing. Comparing a guy like Horford to Mo Taylor or Conley to Brevin is his attempt to bring people into his camp. He can't say something like Conley will probably be a very good PG but I don't think he is ready. That would be thoughtful and logical. He could make an argument that Conley is good and yet not right for the Hawks but he would rather tear him down.

Same with Horford. He will call him a poor mans SW even though nobody sees him that way. He could say that Horford is a great prospect but he prefers Yi. No, it has to be a total shredding of Horford. Horford is not only not right for the Hawks he is compared to a guy who was a scrub.

This is where Diesel loses his cred. He just doesn't seem capable of rational conversation. The same with Marvin. Marvin at 21 is not capable of anything positive and needs to be shipped out for spare parts. Its all or nothing. What he doesn't realize is most things are not that absolute.

When he does make a reasonable post he doesn't get credit because of all the nonsense in the past. Now, Conley is a poor mans Lowry. Just utter nonsense.

[Diesel]

Paul is a wonderful shooter.

Paul and Thomas proved that they could lead without a dominating big.

Conley hasn't.