Billy Knight's comments on Diaw

[dickaufan12]

Andre Miller leads teams that score 85 points per game. He doesn't move the ball around quickly enough to allow for any more points. That's not something that we'd want to get into.

[KB21]

What you read on the internet and what you hear from the likes of Jay Bilas are not scout's words.

Diaw admittedly gets caught watching his teammates on offense, but defensively, he always draws the opposition's best perimeter scorer. And he usually shuts them down.

I saw some clips of him offensively though. Those clips showed me that when he wants to, he can score. He drove the baseline and made a nice little reverse lay up on one clip. The next clip, he had the ball at the top of the key. He dribble penetrated into the lane and nailed a pull up jumper at about 7-8 feet. He then hit a three pointer.

Diaw has what you can't teach. He's got length and athleticism. You can't coach that into a player. You can coach a player to become a better shooter.

[thescout10]

Think Diaw can guard Kobe or Mcgrady..if he he as good as many say he is defensively then it should be interesting seeing him guard the top scorers in the league. Also it is interesting from reports that he is an outstanding leaper maybe that will bring some excitement to the game since fans love big dunkers.

[Traceman]

of the world because JT sure can't do it. I don't think his D is going to be the issue. If he can take care of the ball, share the ballhandling duties, make open shots and play aggressively on both ends of the floor, I think he will be just fine.

[Traceman]

likely drafted different player had he been here and not JT. If we had Miller instead of JT, we WOULD be more of a half court team but we have 2 very good halfcourt scorers in Reef and Dog who would benefit from Miller's skills in the half court game. I'm not saying I would rather have Miller than JT, just that Miller's skills would not require us to go out and find a specialized backcourt mate as we have to do with JT.

[KB21]

The thing is, the Kobe's and McGrady's of the league are going to get their 25+ points. There aren't any players that will stop them.

DerMarr Johnson was a guy who slowed them down some though. I think Diaw could be a similar defender on the perimeter with his length and long arms. Together, those two could cause some serious match up problems for other teams.

[KB21]

I don't necessarily think that is the case. Knight stated himself that he likes long, athletic players on the wing. I think Diaw would have been his target all along, with or without JT, because he is 6-9 and athletic.

Now, Josh Howard may have been a possibility, but I really think that either way, Diaw's 6-9 would have trumped Howard's 6-6.

[Traceman]

more scoring if Miller were here in place of JT. Don't get me wrong, Miller CAN score, but that is not his best attribute. His ability to run a team and set up his teammates are what make him special. Actually, I think a guy like DJ would be great playing alongside Miller because he can shoot the 3 off Miller's penetration and he can also get out on the break quickly and Miller will get him the ball on time for the strong finish. Wes Person, Lamond Murray and Ricky Davis all had breakout seasons playing alongside Miller. Glover would probably have benefitted from playing with Miller as well.

[Gray Mule]

----- If we had Miller instead of J.T."

"If aunt Minnie had a beard, she would be your uncle Fred."

Ludlow Porch.

We ain't got Miller, so there! We've got Jason Terry.

With ownership changing soon, no word on who will be

the G.M. or the head coach, still the Hawks did what we

thought they would and took the player that best fits

the needs, as most of us have stated, over and over again:

"Get us a guard who can play against big guards and who

can handle the ball"

Most here seem pleased with the choice, whether we keep Big Dog or not. Some will find an excuse to gripe, even if

we had gotten the first three picks taken, they would want

us to have taken someone else.

I hope we keep Ira Newble, DerMarr Johnson and we know

J.T. has been given an offer.

I still want Hawks to trade for Battier. There is talk of a

trade for Spreewell.

Hurry and close the ownership thing -- I'm getting a

terrible case of nerves, just waiting to see what really

happens before the season starts.

[Traceman]

I was simply making an observation that our choice at #21 would likely have been different if we had a different type of player at PG. I LOVE JT! I don't want to trade him for Andre Miller. JT is my favorite Hawk not named DerMarr. Still, I recognize that he has limitations and I accept that we have to get a certain type of player to team with him in the backcourt.

[Guest]

biggest problem is that I haven't heard anything alluding to Mr. Diaw being able to/having played in the backcourt recently.

[KB21]

I think the Hawks will try to move Big Dog before the season and place Diaw at small forward. I think that is the position Diaw will ultimately play.

[Traceman]

in the backcourt first (whether at PG or SG) whether we move Dog or not. I don't know what you guys are reading or thinking but it is obvious that this guy was brought here to team with JT in the BACKCOURT. We already tried the ballhandling SF thing with Kukoc here and it was still PAINFULLY obvious that we needed another guard who can handle the ball and help initiate the offense to take pressure off JT. If Diaw is moved to SF, its because the team determines LATER that he will be more effective there. Even if we keep Ira and move Dog for an ending salary, Diaw will be the one who plays SG (or MAYBE PG but I doubt it).

[Hawksman]

Congrats to Billy Knight! He drafted two great players. Many people thought Hansen would go in the first round! I think Knight is a very good GM. Lets just hope this works out well for us.

[Guest]

oh no, I know that he'll be tried in the backcourt with JT, and given our current lineup, should be. It's our best option...but I'm curious to see who's coaching the team and how they decide to utilize Diaw in the offense (we know how the D's going to plan out).

[Gray Mule]

Diaw will be either a 1 or 2 guard on next season's Hawk

team if projections are right. He may start there or come

off the bench, but I believe he will be used as a guard.

Hopefully, he will be as good or better than advertised.

We desperately need another ball handler. If he plays

a two guard on defense and a one guard on offense, with

J.T. playing opposite him, they should do O.K.

We still look for that HUGE body to come off the bench

occasionally and bang with the big boys. He might be

an eleven or twelve on the chart, but we need him,

whoever he is. Someone thinks it might be an old guy just

wanting to be here for a season or two. Works for me.

With DerMarr coming back, hopefully keeping Neuble and

our center and power foreward, we should have more

defense than before. Stop those unnecessary turnovers

and we could gain 10 or 12 more wins, which would put

us in the playoffs. {I hope so, any way!}

[Traceman]

[Diesel]

About Miller.

Miller is not that slow. I would even say he's as fast as Jason Kidd. However, the reason that he's not a good fit with LAC is because LAC doesn't use the PG in a traditional way. They route their offense through the SF and SG position. Most of the time, Jaric and Odom were the main ball handlers. JT would absolutely flourish for LAC. Just like McInnis did. However, Miller wilts with LAC because he needs to be the primary ball handler to be effective. Lastly, Miller would be on top of the world here in Atlanta. I was almost hoping for a JT for Dre' trade at Midseason. Even a SNT deal for the two PGs would have worked before us getting Diaw.

[HAWKSFAN]

Andre Miller isn't real slow or anything, but he's got terrible quickness. Its horrendous and really hurts his defense and shot creating abilities. His assist total was greatly inflated when he was in Cleveland and I tried to tell everyone. Now most people realize that he's not very good but many like to blame it on the clippers. Andre Miller just isn't very good and contrary to popular belief he is nowhere near as good as Terry.

[Diesel]

Just wait and see what happens when Dre' gets to Utah. The structure will make him what he was again.

IF it was just being in Cleveland that inflated his assists, what happened to Juanny, Parker, Coles, and Palacio. Between the 4 of them they couldn't manage the numbers that dre' put up while playing PG.

The truth is that LAC had NO structure and their ball handlers were Odom and Jaric. Lack of Structure and Lack of touches kills the work of any pure PG. Even Kidd would have suffered in that offense.