Was Drafting Josh A Success?

[benhillboy]

Much has been said about BK here even years after his departure. I think it was pretty shrewd of him to take a chance on Josh if he indeed forsaw nights like Saturday, even 8 years down the road. Simple question, as it stands today at 2:10 pm: Was drafting Josh 17th overall, out of high school, raw as crawfish, being able to easily match the Grizzlies offer to retain him, a success or failure?

[WraithSentinel]

It was a success. I still remember his 1st game vs the Suns and he missing so badly on his first shot. I think we have wanted a successor to Dominique for so long now. We as fans basically force that on Smoove. To a certain degree he embraced it. Then when reality sunk in he was probably not going to be Wilkins. The patience with Smoove started wearing thin for a lot of us. The guy has worked his *ss off to become a better player. That I have no doubt. No matter how frustrated I may get with him.

[AHF]

How could anyone view taking a popular borderline All-Star with the 17th pick in the draft as a failure? That is one of the highlight moments on BK's resume.

[Bawse]

Yeah.

With our draft pick it was a success. No one else could have matched his talent at the 17th pick, it was the best choice.

[sillent]

What do you think? Seriously he has done everything to breaking records in the block shots department to regularly filling up the stats in all departments. High school kids just take awhile to develop sometimes. Jermaine Oneal spent about 4 years in Portland on the bench until he blossomed in the Pacers trade. Some, like Darius Miles,Jonathan Bender and Gerald Green (if he doesn't step up to the plate this year) have all of the talent but just don't pan out for different reasons. It took Kobe, Tracy and Garnett just a couple years to put it all together. It took Al Harrington coming to our team to look like a star and be a solid contributor from then on out.

These last two or three years we saw Josh being a borderline all star. He should have been an all star honestly. This year he is more focused than ever and you can see it and hear it with his demeanor. “It’s not over with,” Josh said. “We have got to keep playing together. We’ve got to keep doing whatever it takes to win. We’ve got to stay focused and stay together.” This is his comments after the game versus the Bulls. This sounds like a leader to me that has his heart with the team and in the game.

Kudos to BK for all four of our core. As the season progresses and if we stay healthy physically and mentally we might just understand what makes our team so deadly with our length,speed and athleticism.

[Jody23]

I'm probably in the minority, but I think the drafting had more to do with him being a local product (trying to generate interest in the team) than it did with any foresight on Billy Knight's part.

As far as Josh is concerned, I think he's been a success. What's been a failure is the situation he's been placed in. So many have wanted Josh to be the second coming of Nique or Shawn Kemp when in reality, he's never been close to being either. Josh is an energy player far more so than a skill player. Thus, when he plays with energy, he plays pretty well. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to bring that type of energy every game while being undersized (yes he's a tweener). In addition, he's a fourth option on offense on a title contender. However, due to poor management and drafting, he's thrust into being a second option on offense on a slightly above average team.

[falcsforlife]

Of course it was a success...kind of a silly question. The guy is an All Star and was drafted in the middle of the first round. I'm not the biggest Smoove fan but you can't argue that he has far and away outpreformed the average 17th pick.

[lethalweapon3]

Success!

~lw3

[Diesel]

Much has been said about BK here even years after his departure. I think it was pretty shrewd of him to take a chance on Josh if he indeed forsaw nights like Saturday, even 8 years down the road. Simple question, as it stands today at 2:10 pm: Was drafting Josh 17th overall, out of high school, raw as crawfish, being able to easily match the Grizzlies offer to retain him, a success or failure?

As opposed to who? Kevin Martin, Jameer Nelson or Tony Allen?

I think Josh has panned out. I think only one thing has gone wrong with that... Coaching. We needed a harder coach to coach josh. Somebody that could get through his head that that Jumpshot is "bad for his health".

[PureGreatness]

Yes it was a success. We got him at pick #17. Josh is a guaranteed 16 points and 8 rebounds on any CONTENDING team such as the Lakers, Bulls and Thunder and would be a rock solid THIRD option. Unfortunately we want him to drop 24 points a night like he is Wilkins which he is not. Josh is a energy player. He is at his best when he plays with energy. He want look pretty and lots of night but if he plays with energy on both ends is when he is at his best.

[Randy]

Josh was certainly a success based on BK's (and Hawk GM's before him) track record. Better than Acie at 10 (?) Chilz at 9(?), SheWilliams (5), and MaWilliams at 2..... Also beat the heck out of Cal Bowdler, and the long list of the Hawks prior No. 1 picks.

But, that's not a very high standard for sure. But the guy is a heck of a player for being 17 for just about any team, any year. Not sure how much credit BK deserves, but he did pick him. I don't think the problem with Josh so much is that people want him to be Dominique, but rather he is in love with his own jump shot, but it doesn't love him back, and leaves him when he needs it most.

[Deeman]

Of course it was a success. We got one of the top 5 players in that draft at 17.