What were you wrong about?

[Wretch]

And Wretch, Adam Morrison? Seriously? I lost all belief in him after he broke down crying after his Gonzaga team was beaten by UCLA in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, one of the most awkward and uncomfortable moments in sports history in my opinion. I mean it was terribly awkward just watching it on TV, him collapsing to the floor in a flood of grief so intense that the UCLA players actually broke away from their victory celebration so that they could come over and try to offer him comfort and help him to his feet. I had an extreme gut feeling right then and there that Adam Morrison was not going to have much if any of an NBA career, because the NBA is a dog eat dog place filled with alpha males, and a player so sensitive as that would be eaten alive in that kind of environment, and he was.

Yeah man... I'm not one to put it out there, just to be able to say "HEY I SAID THAT FIRST!!!" So I do a lot of watching, listening, and thinking before I take a side on something. For years I have studied the draft. In the 80's and 90's, I was obsessed with it. I loved watching players come into the league and grow into superstars. I couldn't stop watching Morrison. AND OMG....and that commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr7VMLG5W44

R.......O......T......F.......L......O......L............!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh man, that was it for me. I bought it. I bought that sh!t and I wanted him here badly. lol

I thought this Hawks team would start out slow and improve as the year went on. I figured the new offense would take some time for the team to fully learn and perfect. It seems like the complete opposite is happening. The team started out well at the beginning of the year is is slowing down in the past few weeks. The level of competition seeming to have more of an impact than the level of understanding of the new offense.

True...I thought the same thing too and it does seem like just the opposite has happened.

Edited March 15, 2011 by Wretch

[AHF]

I thought Marvin was on his way to being a plus SF after his 4th year with the Hawks. He had improved every season and was only 22 years old. Then he faded back into mediocrity.

I thought Josh Smith had an epiphany last season and realized he is most effective around the basket and would take his game to the next level by limiting the long jumpers he took.

I thought Mike Bibby was a good resigning because he was still a useful PG and would bridge us to when Law was ready to start.

I thought Salim Stoudemire would have a 10 year career as a sniper/role-player in the NBA.

I thought Shareef Abdur-Rahim was a rising star that we snagged at a great time when we traded the #3 pick for him.

I thought the Shareef/Big Dog/Ratliff/Terry squad would be competitive enough to make the playoffs.

I think I could keep going.

[macdaddy]

Me? I've NEVER been wrong! :P Just kidding...

I was on board with most of your thoughts here at the time, NJHawk. I bought into what all the scouts, analysts and mediots were saying about Marvin, and that he might have the highest career peak out of all the players chosen in the 2005 draft. I also bought into the consensus about Shelden, that physically he and his game were the most 'NBA ready' out of all the players in the 2006 draft. I didn't see tremendous upside in him as his body and game were already fully mature, but I thought he could be a real banger type force and low post presence that we could surely have used in Atlanta. I disagreed with taking him that highly, as nearly everyone thought that he was somewhat a reach at #5 due to lack of future upside potential, but I did not disagree with drafting that player.

I also agreed with re-signing Bibbs, Zaza and Marvin. I thought Sund did a pretty good job locking up those three 'essential' players at what I considered to be a fair value, DOH! And I thought that Smoove would have developed into a first-tier superstar by now too.

I was also extremely wrong about Mike Conley. After watching him play his freshman season at Ohio State, I was convinced that out of the PG troika of Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Mike Conley, Conley would clearly prove himself to be the best of the lot, and that has not happened. He's a good player, but nowhere near either of those two, and he's not even as good as #21 pick Rajon Rondo.

And Wretch, Adam Morrison? Seriously? I lost all belief in him after he broke down crying after his Gonzaga team was beaten by UCLA in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, one of the most awkward and uncomfortable moments in sports history in my opinion. I mean it was terribly awkward just watching it on TV, him collapsing to the floor in a flood of grief so intense that the UCLA players actually broke away from their victory celebration so that they could come over and try to offer him comfort and help him to his feet. I had an extreme gut feeling right then and there that Adam Morrison was not going to have much if any of an NBA career, because the NBA is a dog eat dog place filled with alpha males, and a player so sensitive as that would be eaten alive in that kind of environment, and he was.

Hey the dude has two championship rings so how bad could he be.

[Lascar78]

I thought Eddy Curry was worth gambling on to get a legit offensive big man in here. Ouch.

[Joker]

I thought resigning Marvin at that price was a damn steal, I was wrong.

I thought Acie Law would be a lot like Sam Cassell, I was wrong.

I thought Zaza should be resigned, I was right. I still like him at that price but we better ship his *ss out in a package for a superstar.

I thought Josh Smith was going to be a bum but I changed my opinion the season before his contract year.

I thought Hinrich was the perfect fit. He was till I seen how he plays with Horford which is who we need to build around. He's a poor fit for Al. He hasn't played PG for a meaningful team in 3 seasons so I will give him time but I don't see it w/ the PnR.

I thought Horford potential was Vin Baker during the draft. Now as it stands, it is but he can really become the Karl Malone some were trying to convince me he has potential to be. This is what I thought would happen to Horford with our roster, dumbass Hawks can't seem to get an elite PnR PG but that's easier said than done. If the Hawks want to build around Horford, get CP3 or Deron.

I thought Gerald Henderson would be a star, as it stands, he's making progress but we will see.

I really like and still like Hasheem Thabeet.

I thought O.J. Mayo would be able to overcome his size issue in the NBA, I was wrong so he's a PG type who's not a good PG till he gets a lot of PT at the position.

I thought Shelden Williams would be out of the league by his 4 year in the NBA, I was wrong.

I felt Marvin when he got his ext could become a Jamal Mashburn type with his talent but he never had the drive to improve.

I thought Solomon Jones was a scrub when he took him in the draft, I was wrong, he was even worst than that.

I somehow have faith in Sund still and believe he has the pieces to make amazing happen. I might be wrong about that but we have the pieces and could given our team roster after a trade to sign a elite player to an ext.

[GST]

I originally liked hiring Woodson, that one didn't last long.

I liked the Marvin pick. Note to self: give more weight to intangibles when evaluating talent.

I wanted Conley over Horford, even though Horford was a sure thing.

[Guest]

I was sooo wrong when I heard the Hawks were thinking of picking Sheldon Williams and I was telling everybody who would listen it was a smoke screen (and I like Duke)..boy was I wrong. I just kept sitting on the edge of the bed shaking my head over and over and over.

I was wrong about Marvin, thought he would be a consistent contributer (after realizing he would not live up to #2 pick status) on offense and defense, nothing spectacular but just solid.

[sillent]

Don't know if we've ever had a thread like this before. Everyone is very quick to point out how right they were about something or how they were the first to realize something. But my question is...what were YOU dead-@ss wrong about? Anyone willing to step forward and eat crow?

For me...I was DEAD *ss wrong about Bogut. lol Well, maybe half wrong. I thought he would be decent, but I really wanted nothing to do with him. I would have taken Chris Paul in 2005, but back then...if I had a choice between Marvin and Bogut, I would have taken Marvin. I was actually happy that we didn't get the first pick.

I was also wrong as a velvet painting of a whale and a donkey gettin' it on about Adam Morrison. I just saw the "IT" in him for some reason. If I was a GM (thankfully I'm not, lol), this dude would have gotten me fired...

I was also wrong about Childress. Yeah...I was pretty sure he was the next Scottie Pippen. Chill is an average journeyman. He wasn't my pick in 2004, but in hindsight, he was not worth all the defending I did of him. I still have faith though that he'll find his place. (Sorry for all those bounced checks I told people to write on his career after the Hawks! lol)

Anyone else? Or were you all pretty much right about everything you predicted? lol

I thought that I should give you a +1 on this post. It was creative honest and fun. I've been so optimistic that I don't have too many crows. I though and still think Marvin has (underated on defense) and will be key to our success from here on out (playoffs).

[Superiorblogman]

I was wrong about Hinrich being a lateral move. He is a backwards move as Jordan shows he is a rotation guy and I know we will not resign Jamal and should not. Also we don't have a 1st round pick or money to add a quality SG next year. Kirk also added salary to our cap next year. I now realize Kirk was a backwards move.

[Eddielives]

I was wrong about Shelden Williams. I thought he was close to the perfect pick as Ben Wallace was playing like a madman as an undersized center in the league at the time and Shelden I thought could be as good as he was. Oh well!

[spotatl]

If we are going further back- I was wrong the summer that Josh Smith was going to be a free agent. I would have traded him at the trade deadline because I was convinced a team would grossly overpay him trying to get the Hawks to not match. I thought that the Sixers would 100% be throwing a huge pile of money at him to try and make the ASG blink and not match an offer. They threw the money at Elton Brand even though he had a serious injury (And we all knew how that worked out for them... I do think they badly regret not going after Josh). Then the Clippers had the caproom and I thought that THEY would throw their money at Josh Smith- instead they just pretty much absorbed Marcus Camby.

I consistently have overestimated how much it would matter when a PG was a poor shooter coming out of college.

Jamal Crawford last season was far more effective than I ever thought he would be.

I honestly never thought that the ASG would pay the money for either the Bibby or Crawford deals. THose were "open the checkbook to improve the team" deals I never thought they would make.

[coachx]

Last season I was wrong about Jamal. I thought he'd be a slight upgrade over Flip but he was much more than that. Of course this season I was right about Jamal....just sayin.

You know Bogut's a good player but look at the Bucs. They have one of the best centers in the league, some decent other pieces, a good coach and are 13 games under .500 in east. I'm not sure Bogut is who I want my team built around but maybe i'm missing something.

The Bucks were a #4 seed last year with a healthy roster that pushed us to a 7 game playoff series.

Bogut has been playing with a hurt elbow all year and Jennings missed alot of the season due to injuries. Those are their 2 best players hands down.

[coachx]

I was wrong about Woody. He obviously did discipline Smoove more then I thought when it came to shot selection. Still not a fan of Woody's offense but at least he disciplined Smoove some.

I was wrong on Corey Brewer. I didn't think his skinny frame would hinder him as much as it has.

I was wrong on Acie Law. I loved his game coming out of Texas A&M.

I was wrong about Marvin after the 2008-09 season. That season has proven to be an abiration. He was coming off a 14 ppg season where he was shooting 35% from 3pt range. Then Crawford came in and stole his shots.......where I thought it would be Marvin's normal production for years to come. Marvin has been the invisible man on offense ever since. I still repsect Marvin's defense but I did not expect his offense to get worse. I did not expect him to lose his 3pt touch. I was wrong about resigning Marvin for the amount of money we gave him.

Where are all the Yi lovers that wanted him as the #3 pick back when we took Al Horford ?

Edited March 16, 2011 by coachx

[NJHAWK]

I liked Al but loved Corey Brewer. I thought Greg Oden would be a super bust, turns out he isnt even that good.

[macdaddy]

The Bucks were a #4 seed last year with a healthy roster that pushed us to a 7 game playoff series.

Bogut has been playing with a hurt elbow all year and Jennings missed alot of the season due to injuries. Those are their 2 best players hands down.

Just for the record the Bucks were the #6 seed in the east last year. I'm not saying Bogut's bad, I'd love to have him, but he's been in the league for what 5 years now and doesn't have much to show for it. I'm not sure they are using him right but whatever it is he's not dominating.

[Sothron]

I'm not trying to sound immodest but I haven't been too wrong in relation to the Hawks or what some draftees will do.

The biggest thing I was wrong about with the Hawks that I can remember is thinking, really believing actually, that Dion Glover had the potential to be a 20 point a game scorer once he got healthy from his ACL tear. Every summer league that he dominated I would rub my little Sothron mitts together and grin in glee thinking about what he'd do in the regular season. Alas how quickly those little Sothron mitts curled in anger as Glover just couldn't do anything in the games that mattered.

The biggest non Hawks I was wrong about was Chris Paul. And that is only partially wrong. I knew he'd be good offensively but I worried about his ability to withstand the NBA schedule including playoffs. It looks like I was at least partially right about that.

I was right about Marvin, Shellhead Williams, Deron Williams, Josh Childress (I still don't know what anyone saw in him other than the slowest wing player ever with the worst looking slowest shot ever), Al Horford and Joe Johnson.

[Diesel]

I was wrong about Shelden and Chillz

[coachx]

Just for the record the Bucks were the #6 seed in the east last year. I'm not saying Bogut's bad, I'd love to have him, but he's been in the league for what 5 years now and doesn't have much to show for it. I'm not sure they are using him right but whatever it is he's not dominating.

I was wrong on saying the bucks were #4 seed last year.

Bogut's 2.65 bpg are leading the NBA.

Bogut's 11.5 rpg are 5th in the NBA.

His offense is obviously down this season b/c he has played the season with a hurt arm.

He is stuck in Milwaulkee where this no national media coverage. Stick him in a larger market and he would get more props.

Bogut is definately a top 5 player at the center position. I don't think he has dissapointed anyone.

Edited March 16, 2011 by coachx

[MaceCase]

Just for the record the Bucks were the #6 seed in the east last year. I'm not saying Bogut's bad, I'd love to have him, but he's been in the league for what 5 years now and doesn't have much to show for it. I'm not sure they are using him right but whatever it is he's not dominating.

To add to that, Bogut's "impact" was really only over the final stretch of 30 games where the Bucks won 22 of them to end the season after being 3 games under .500 over the previous 52 despite Bogut's career year. This stretch of games just so happened to also coincide with the arrival of John Salmons. Of those final 30 games Bogut missed 6 games, 7 if you include the Suns game where he was injured early and the Bucks won 5 of them so basically an equal percentage of games without him as with him. Despite people always trying to coronate him as a top center in the league his only two playoff appearances were the results of Michael Redd and Mo Williams and then Brandon Jennings and John Salmons carrying the Bucks and not him. This current season can again be attributed to Jennings being injured and Salmons regressing back to his norm than anything wrong with Bogut. The whole "his arm is still injured" excuse is more of a cop out or lazy way to explain their season in a blurb when he really is just playing closer to his career norms again. Though nice to have as a legit center and anchor on defense he really has not been worth more than a 4th option on offense throughout his career. The winners of that draft were mostly those that picked after the first two selections.

[Hawkxan1]

should have known...