Update From Hawks Homepage

[Guest]

Kasten, Knight Talk Draft

Kasten

Hawks President Stan Kasten:

"It's true that we have been laying low for the past six to eight weeks. Obviously with the sale pending, there wasn't a need to bring you out here too much before there's a new, positive, hopefully exciting message we can craft very soon. And there's no particular rush, since we don't play games until November. We still have some time to get out there. Since the process has gone on a little longer than anticipated, I thought it would be a great time to tell you where we are, what things have been going on and where we see things as we prepare for the draft."

As you'll see when I turn this over to Billy (Knight), the staff has been working very hard. There is an awful lot going on. We haven't advertised it or written about it. But it's been a non-stop beehive of activity the last two months preparing for the draft. Since the end of our season, because of the turmoil we had during the year, and the failed expectations that many of us had last year, and the fact that we've been quiet, it's been fashionable to kick the Hawks around. And I think that's been exaggerated. About nine months ago, when all of us with the franchise and many of you were optimistic about how this team could do, all of the pieces that caused us to be optimistic are basically still here. Even six months ago, when in December we were at .500, we thought we were still headed in the right direction. Obviously, since then things took a serious downturn. And then the changes began. But by the end of the year, things looked like they were falling into place."

"By the end of the year, we got to the eighth-best (defensive) field goal percentage in the league. That surprised me when the season ended and I realized how far we had come. There are a lot of very interesting pieces with the team. We won 35 games despite all the turmoil. So, again, with the right move or the right tweak here or there, we could very well be in the mix very soon."

"And if there's a change in ownership with a new idendity, a new image, I think it's going to be a huge plus for everyone. Whether there is a sale or not, the team has a lot of good pieces in place, and an opportunity to get very good again very quickly. The first step is the draft, which is on Thursday. And the free agent season begins next week."

"We have two incumbent free agents we have to make a decision on in terms of their status. One is Jason Terry, who we will be tendering today or tomorrow. That will preserve our right to match any offer he brings us starting the 16th of July. The other player that we have a decision to make on is Dion Glover. Whether we tender him or not is a decision that has a couple of elements involved. We'll probably be making that decision later in the week, perhaps after the draft when we see what avenues are available to us. But we have until the 30th to make those decisions."

"Billy will tell you about the process we've been through and about any players. I can't swear to you that we have all the pronounciations down, but we know who all the players are, and we know that their games are, and we've seen all of them. Not me, but the staff certainly has. Everyone is here from the far-flung corners of the earth, and we're literally ready to go."

Knight

Hawks Director of Basketball Operations Billy Knight:

"With the 21st pick in the draft, when you move that far back in the draft, it's more difficult to sufficiently guess or surmise who's going to be picked the 20 places before you. We have a larger group than we would like to deal with, probably eight or ten guys names that we think are going to be there when we pick. We'll keep evaluating it all the way up until the day of the draft. We may even have a player come over on the day of the draft for a workout, because he's still playing in Europe. That's Boris Diaw, who's playing on the team that's playing for the French championship. We have a chance to get him on a flight by Wednesday morning, get him over here and rest up the rest of that day, and work out on Thursday. He's a guy that's in that grouping of guys that we talked about."

"(The grouping) is just guesswork, because when you go 21 places back, you're not sure who all the 20 pieces are. If you guys can tell me who the 20 people are that are going to be picked in those 20 spots before us for sure, we probably could tell you who we would take."

"We think it's, again, going to be a young draft. The NBA in essence has become more and more of a developmental league into itself, in that the players are so young. I feel that's one of the benefits of the rookie scale contract. Hopefully by the of three years, you'll be able to tell something - whether you want to invest in him for two more."

"I don't think you can plan for the player at number 21 to step in and start or play signigicant minutes. You can't plan that that's going to be your goal when you pick that guy. If you want it to work that way, you'll let the player dictate what happens. But you can't bank on this guy to come in and carry your team."

"We feel we have a chance at these positions to go out and get players who can be contributing members to the team. We think they can develop - at No. 21 and 37, they're not going to be perfect players. They're going to have some things that they need to work on. I always feel like you need to wait three years before you can tell if a draft has been a good draft or not. Everybody tries to predict those things ahead of time, but I choose to take the safer route."

Kasten:

"The process for the draft includes a number of evaluation steps. The first is the Portsmouth tournament, then the Chicago pre-draft camp. Billy and his staff had nine scouts or coaches that he had with him in Chicago scouting those people. Since then, they have brought in 55 players and worked them out individually. These are useful, because they're two man or four man workouts where you can go head to head with similar players - we put guards up against guards and big men against big men, something you can't see in Chicago. Billy and his staff have been working very hard. I'm quite sure that's the biggest number of people we've ever brought in. There's been an awful lot of good work which has taken the last two months."

Knight:

"A quick note, I want to say that I think too much is made of putting a number next to every player's position. I think too many teams get stuck in that 'you have to be a one' ... 'or a point guard, or shooting guard.' I think it's more valuable to a team and you give a coach far more versatility when you have players that can play more than one position. I think a perfect example of that is Jason Terry. I think too much is made of him not being able to play 'one,' or not being able to play 'two.' I just think Jason Terry is a basketball player, an excellent, excellent basketball player. I just don't think you have to put a position by the number he is on the court. You just have to have a team that's versatile and developing and athletic and running and exciting. It's better to have more players that can do more things."

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[DJ_Money]

So...let's start to break this stuff down...

In reply to:

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"We have two incumbent free agents we have to make a decision on in terms of their status. One is Jason Terry, who we will be tendering today or tomorrow. That will preserve our right to match any offer he brings us starting the 16th of July. The other player that we have a decision to make on is Dion Glover. Whether we tender him or not is a decision that has a couple of elements involved. We'll probably be making that decision later in the week, perhaps after the draft when we see what avenues are available to us. But we have until the 30th to make those decisions."

---

Glad to hear that we will give JT the offer. I think we're doing the right thing with Glove. He's probably just as good as any FA we could find, and you can't go wrong with a 1 year deal for just over $2 mil. I think we're definately looking at a SG in the draft, and what we come out of there with will determind Glove's future in Atlanta.

In reply to:

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. We may even have a player come over on the day of the draft for a workout, because he's still playing in Europe. That's Boris Diaw, who's playing on the team that's playing for the French championship. We have a chance to get him on a flight by Wednesday morning, get him over here and rest up the rest of that day, and work out on Thursday. He's a guy that's in that grouping of guys that we talked about."

---

We're obviously showing lots of interest in Diaw if we're going to fly him over for a last-minute workout. Chicago has been over to France to watch Pietrus and he's said to be right there with Wade for their choice at #7. I think we've got our eyes on guys who will likely go before #21, but Diaw will be the choice if they all go before.

In reply to:

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"I don't think you can plan for the player at number 21 to step in and start or play signigicant minutes. You can't plan that that's going to be your goal when you pick that guy. If you want it to work that way, you'll let the player dictate what happens. But you can't bank on this guy to come in and carry your team."

"We feel we have a chance at these positions to go out and get players who can be contributing members to the team. We think they can develop - at No. 21 and 37, they're not going to be perfect players. They're going to have some things that they need to work on. I always feel like you need to wait three years before you can tell if a draft has been a good draft or not. Everybody tries to predict those things ahead of time, but I choose to take the safer route."

---

Ok, so we're looking for a project. That could be anybody, really. Barbosa needs time to adjust to the NBA game and learn English, among other things; Diaw has to become more aggressive (Reminds me of DJ...); and Ebi and Outlaw need time coming out of HS, obviously.

So, when it comes down to it: Are we going to draft for need (PG/SG) or take the best talent available?

In reply to:

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Billy and his staff had nine scouts or coaches that he had with him in Chicago scouting those people. Since then, they have brought in 55 players and worked them out individually.

---

We have 9 scouts? Holy crap. And I guess this solves the mystery going on. There are players that have worked out here that we don't know about.

In reply to:

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"A quick note, I want to say that I think too much is made of putting a number next to every player's position. I think too many teams get stuck in that 'you have to be a one' ... 'or a point guard, or shooting guard.' I think it's more valuable to a team and you give a coach far more versatility when you have players that can play more than one position. I think a perfect example of that is Jason Terry. I think too much is made of him not being able to play 'one,' or not being able to play 'two.' I just think Jason Terry is a basketball player, an excellent, excellent basketball player. I just don't think you have to put a position by the number he is on the court. You just have to have a team that's versatile and developing and athletic and running and exciting. It's better to have more players that can do more things."

---

Again, I think it's obvious that we are not drafting to get us into the playoffs this year. We're already looking into the future.

I think Kasten and Knight have the same vision as many of us. We want this team to be younger, more athletic, and not have so many one-dimensional players.

Overall, at least we know that we're not sitting by and letting everything pass us by. The next 7 days will be interesting as we see who we draft and what our future will become.

[TheDude]

excellent excellent post weaseldom...good to finally hear something from the quiet front office..but i agree that it's good they've been quiet...let everyone forget about us...

i like what i'm hearing and our procedures...also, the more scouts the better....also doesn't sound like any draft day blockbuster trades will be including the Hawks..oh well...

but let's still get rid of glenrob...

[JaHawk10]

Thanks for the update weaseldom. It's good to know a little of what's going on behind the closed doors. I'm glad we're going to give JT that offer. I think Billy and Stan know that letting him walk w/o compensation would be a huge setback. At least they're being smart about that. I am also glad to hear that we are being very aggresive in the pursuit of Diaw. A last minute workout, really convinces me that he's the top guy on our list. If not we may be trying to trade up, but i have a feeling he'll be available.

Excellent post...

[jezmund]

I'm very pleased with what I read. It kind of sounds like if Kasten has any say, Knight is going to stick around. Especially if we have a successful draft, Knight definitely deserves a shot. A successful draft and picking up Fratello or Carlisle would be a great start for next season.

[Gray Mule]

Interesting!!

They said the right things, anyway. If we are bringing in

a player for a workout at about the time the draft is going

on, then we must assume that we expect that player

to be available for us to draft when it is our turn and that

we will take him.

If someone before us drafts him, it would sound funny to

have the team say, we draft the player currently with

the Hawks for a workout!!!

Seems to be the player most of us here want and he

has the position, size, etc. desired by us. Hope we

are able to get him.

[cyman3]

1)JT will most likely end up as a hawk.

2)Glover seems like a 2nd priority as a FA. IMO- that means we give him an offer... if he likes it hes a hawk but if he refuses and decides to test the FA MARKET, he'll end up on a different team.

3)Right now, we are totally concentration on the draft. If Diaw comes in with an impressive workout last minute, i have a good feeling hes gonna be our man. But its nice to know they're doing their homework.

[KB21]

It seems pretty obvious that Diaw is the guy they are targeting with that pick. I mean, if they weren't seriously looking at him, I really doubt they would fly him in on draft day for a work out. If Boris Diaw is there, he will be a Hawk. I think the Hawks are looking for all three things he brings to the table:

1. Athleticism - Diaw is a great athlete and is probably one of the top 2-3 international athletes in the draft period.

2. Defense - Diaw is known in Europe and France as a defensive stopper. He's long and can block shots on the perimeter.

3. Ball Handling - He is an improvement over both Dion Glover and Ira Newble as a ball handler.

Some other things I got out of that:

1. They will resign Jason Terry and keep him in the fold.

2. Dion Glover's future will be determined by who the Hawks draft.

3. If it were up to Stan, Billy Knight would be retained as GM and quite possibly Terry Stotts would be retained as head coach. Notice Stan's comments on how far this team has come.

4. No mention of DerMarr Johnson. I bet he gets an invite to the summer league just to see what he has. If he plays well in the summer league, then the Hawks might resign him.

5. I think they expect both the 21st pick and 37th pick to make the team.

[cyman3]

Kukoc was a great fit for our team. A great passing SF is really needed on this team...

It sounds to me like DIAW is kukoc + defense... if thats the case, DRAFT HIM NOW!!!

[Admin]

I know that Nique isnt the end all say all, but apparently he is VERY impressed by what he has seen from Pav.....

If he is still there when we pick, or close to our pick I, he could definitely be the guy, which might allow us to move Dog for someone like Spree or Mobley?

In reply to:

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Strengths: Fundamentally sound player who is steadily becoming a complete player offensively ... Displays good athleticism in terms of leaping ability and running of the floor ... Excels on the break where he displays the decent athleticism to finish with flair ... Shows above average ball handling ability to take most defenders off the dribble ... Extremely creative in his scoring as he uses an assortment of moves when taking the ball to the basket ... Defensively Pavlovic shows great promise of being a capable help defender thanks to his long arms and quick hands ... Great passer who has the kind of court vision to be effective when the defense commits to him ... Shows great confidence in his abilityand wants the shot when the game is on the line ... Has three point range on his jumper ... Long arms and solid leaping ability enable him to be a decent rebounder ... An explosive scorer who can take over a game ...Understands how to create his own scoring opportunities ... Rarely seen in his age he is a capable mid-range shooter ...

Weaknesses: Defensively he has a bad habit of playing over aggressively which can lead to him picking up quick fouls ... Has yet to develop into a consistent player ... Needs to become a more efficient shooter off the dribble ... Shot selection is in need of improvement as he can get caught up in the moment ... Ball protection is below average as he tends to be careless with the ball ... Court awareness isn't always there and his concentration level can vary from game to game ... Needs to use his feet on defense instead of swiping at the ball ... Poor decision making on the court makes for costly mental mistakes ... When driving to the basket he has problems finishing after contact ... Could stand to improve on getting teammates involved on offense ... Ball movement without the ball is decent but could get better ... Needs to become more efficient shooting off screens and picks ... Outside shooting from beyond the three point line remains streaky ...

-Matthew Maurer

Strengths: Extremely athletic swingman, with great size, long arms and great explosiveness. His size and athleticism make him a very interesting prospect. This is a guy who has everything to be a star in Europe and a “player” in the NBA. He is playing his first season at a high level and has already earned an important role on a team with other young stars like Cabarkapa and Koljovic. He has great ball-handling ability for his size and he's a force offensively. He's unstoppable when he's on, because of his great arsenal of moves. He can penetrate with both hands, using his speed and crossover. And if you leave him space he can shoot in your face, off the dribble, with the pull-up jumper. He's pretty fearless about going inside, and has a great knack of finishing in traffic with acrobatic moves. He plays very aggressively and he wont hesitate to dunk on people. He can score a lot in spurts. His offensive game is complemented with nice passing skills, and court vision. He's basically a complete package on offense. The sky is the limit.

Weaknesses: His biggest problem is that he needs to learn how to use his skills. He is too aggressive with the ball, he looks to go 1 on 1 every time he touches the ball. He forces some shots and, more important, he lets the defense concentrate on him every time he has the ball because they know he will go 1 on 1. Defense is still an area for him to develop. He can be a effective defender, with his athletic abilities, but right now perhaps he is too confident he can stop every one and block every shot. He needs to gain poise.

Notes: Buducnost is a team in Europe with one of the better junior programs. Has emerged all of a sudden as a top NBA prospect. Where did he come from? It is extremely difficult to emerge in Yugoslavia. The talent is very thick, and in order to stand out a player must be very good, and it usually takes some time.

Cristian Biagini

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If Hayes is still around by some miracle, he would definitely get the nod over Diaw as well I think, but I believe there may be some sentiment in the organization over getting a French PG after we missed out on Tony Parker.

[KB21]

I just don't think Pavlovic falls that far. I know Boston loves him and will probably take him at 16 if he's there. He most definitely won't fall past the 20th pick to Boston. He could go as high as Memphis at 13 if Pietrus is off the board.

Justin Young at NBADraft.net says there is a lot of buzz about Hayes going to New York at 9.

[Guest]

is there really any way the Knicks don't take Kaman? Assuming the Clipps pass on him...the Knick's have to go big.