nastalgic moment that is bitter sweet

[DrReality]

One of the few things that I remember in my early days on HS in 05 was one of the few things to get excited about was the draft. Finishing at the bottom brought lot of jeers and the draft brought hope.....a lot of which was false. I'm excited that we are again in the mix with two first round picks and this time we're not at the bottom. Look forward to a lot of jousting about who is the best player and who we should draft. Don't even want to think about who we drafted, more interested in looking forward. Here's to the new regime leading the Hawks. Any good/bad memories from those earlier days?????

[Gray Mule]

Hinsight is always 20-20. We all remember.

And, this time, regatrdless of who is taken, not everyone will be happy.

"Hawks blew it! They should have taken - - - -- -- -- - - "

You fill in the name. It will happen. Guarantee it.

[Buzzard]

Hinsight is always 20-20. We all remember.

And, this time, regatrdless of who is taken, not everyone will be happy.

"Hawks blew it! They should have taken - - - -- -- -- - - "

You fill in the name. It will happen. Guarantee it.

Being a fan and arm chair quarterback, coach, GM is synonymous :)

[Wretch]

I dunno man...

I guess, I'm just...patient and more optimistic than most. I don't fear the draft. I don't expect that we'll land Kevin Durant or Michael Jordan 2.0, but I've been a BIG fan of the draft for as long as I've been a basketball fan. That's where the talent comes from. People like to throw that "hope for a top 3 pick" line out there, but the sweet spot is anywhere in the upper half of the lottery. There's gems to be found late lottery too. You just have to be smart and patient about it...and you need to TRADE that talent and not sit on it like we did until it was exposed.

I personally have a lot of good memories from the rebuilding years...

Like I said, I was a huge fan of the draft for years and the Hawks were just never really in there. I watched them since 1985 and we were always picking mid/late 1sts. Babcock made it a POINT that we would have nothing to do with the draft...and I watched superstars get plucked out of there year after year. Man...I was so excited when BK said he was clearing the slate and building through the draft!

Bummed as hell when we allowed Sura and Co. to screw us out of the top of the draft, but I was overjoyed when Smoove fell to 17. I remember watching the summer league games and following the draft stock of guys. I was PISSED that we passed on Chris Paul, but I will admit that I was fairly excited about the Marvin hype. Mostly, it was just the fact that we were *gasp* picking 2nd in the draft! I was also doing cartwheels when we moved up in the 2007 lottery and our pick was saved! OMG...I remember sitting there thinking..."Were getting the 2nd pick! OMG! Portland is taking Oden...OMG!!!! WHAT IF WE GET DURANT!!??!!?"

Yeah...I do miss the rebuilding stage. More than a little. I really miss 2008 when our baby birds made the playoffs...that shit was EPIC.

Really looking forward to a fresh start and a new look to this club - regardless of what route we take.

Edited May 15, 2013 by Wretch

[Buzzard]

I dunno man...

I guess, I'm just...patient and more optimistic than most. I don't fear the draft. I don't expect that we'll land Kevin Durant or Michael Jordan 2.0, but I've been a BIG fan of the draft for as long as I've been a basketball fan. That's where the talent comes from. People like to throw that "hope for a top 3 pick" line out there, but the sweet spot is anywhere in the upper half of the lottery. There's gems to be found late lottery too. You just have to be smart and patient about it...and you need to TRADE that talent and not sit on it like we did until it was exposed.

I personally have a lot of good memories from the rebuilding years...

Like I said, I was a huge fan of the draft for years and the Hawks were just never really in there. I watched them since 1985 and we were always picking mid/late 1sts. Babcock made it a POINT that we would have nothing to do with the draft...and I watched superstars get plucked out of there year after year. Man...I was so excited when BK said he was clearing the slate and building through the draft!

Bummed as hell when we allowed Sura and Co. to screw us out of the top of the draft, but I was overjoyed when Smoove fell to 17. I remember watching the summer league games and following the draft stock of guys. I was PISSED that we passed on Chris Paul, but I will admit that I was fairly excited about the Marvin hype. Mostly, it was just the fact that we were *gasp* picking 2nd in the draft! I was also doing cartwheels when we moved up in the 2007 lottery and our pick was saved! OMG...I remember sitting there thinking..."Were getting the 2nd pick! OMG! Portland is taking Oden...OMG!!!! WHAT IF WE GET DURANT!!??!!?"

Yeah...I do miss the rebuilding stage. More than a little. I really miss 2008 when our baby birds made the playoffs...that shit was EPIC.

Really looking forward to a fresh start and a new look to this club - regardless of what route we take.

I like the draft as well and always think there is a gem or two late, even in the 2nd round. Does not always work out that way but I think there is a Boozer or Manu out there in every draft until it proves not to be. I don't like the losing part, so hoping for lottery chances is not my favorite part.

Edited May 15, 2013 by Buzzard

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

I consider myself clueless when it comes to prospects and the draft... I was pissed when we took Horford and Jenkins and was excited for Acie Law. The only thing about this draft that makes me excited is knowing that there will be two new faces joining the Hawks and that free agency is right around the corner. Still think McCollum is going to be a stud and Dieng too. Not sure about Adams (which means he'll be a stud)... lol

[Buzzard]

I consider myself clueless when it comes to prospects and the draft... I was pissed when we took Horford and Jenkins and was excited for Acie Law. The only thing about this draft that makes me excited is knowing that there will be two new faces joining the Hawks and that free agency is right around the corner. Still think McCollum is going to be a stud and Dieng too. Not sure about Adams (which means he'll be a stud)... lol

I can just about quote you on the prospects we may have a shot at, and it means nothing to be honest. I get my info from other sites and watching the NCAA Tourney. Draft express is my favorite site because the guy who started it up was a NBA scout. But they are still wrong a lot. While giving themselves a wide miss area with their best case and worse case comparisons.

The draft is a lot like gambling to me. It is fun while you are playing, fun when you hit and win, but sucks when you miss and lose. I like free agency better but a new draft is fun every season.

[Buzzard]

My worse moment in the draft was taking Shelden Williams. Nothing else is even close. My biggest long term disappointment was taking Marvin. I really thought he would be solid if not great. Dean Smith recruited his ass, how could we go wrong?

Horford was a feel good pick but given our earlier disappointments, I was not going to go crazy with the hype.

Edited May 15, 2013 by Buzzard

[Admin]

Nastalgic makes me think of something nasty I regret doing in my late teens and early 20's. Something truly nast-algic!

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

I can just about quote you on the prospects we may have a shot at, and it means nothing to be honest. I get my info from other sites and watching the NCAA Tourney. Draft express is my favorite site because the guy who started it up was a NBA scout. But they are still wrong a lot. While giving themselves a wide miss area with their best case and worse case comparisons. The draft is a lot like gambling to me. It is fun while you are playing, fun when you hit and win, but sucks when you miss and lose. I like free agency better but a new draft is fun every season.

I was going to add that I like free agency so much more because they are a proven commodity. The draft is a lot like gambling and the NBA is a lot more susceptible to busts than any other league. The MLB and NHL have farm systems and the NFL have 53 man rosters plus a practice squad to hide busts on while busts like Sheldon and Marv stick out like sore thumbs...Oh and I love reading and watching draftexpress's analysis of prospects, but it really doesn't mean a thing until the rooks hit the pine and perform. Otherwise their just big question marks.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Gray Mule]

I try to remember how many players there are out there who qualify

for the draft each year. How many college teams are there? Now,

multiply that by how ever many players, on average, all these teams

have, both great and small schools. Add to this all the players from

over seas who are willing and able to come here and play NBA ball.

There has to be a lot of players out there. Some great. Some good.

A lot that are not so good by NBA standards. Still, that's a lot of players

to choose from.

When we, as individuals, play the lottery, what are the odds that we are

going to hit the big one? Not very high. Yet, people play and dream.

What are the odds that our favorite team hits the big one in the NBA draft.

Odds have to be a lot better than the lottery. No player comes with a

written guarantee. Look at the many Hawk failures. These are not machines.

They are all human individuals with their own greatness and weakness built

in and we can't know what they are.

I remember when, many years ago, there was this super great prospect that

was taken, I believe, as the #1 pick. The picking team and all their fans were

estatic. That same week this great prospect was dead from a drug overdose.

Remember that great line in the movie - - "When you have a box of chocolate

covered candy, you never know what you have until you bite into them."

(Not an accurate quote, but you get the idea)

Another famous quote from a baseball player, when ask to explain something

about the game: "You can explain it in two words - -'You never know'!"

[DrReality]

Was wondering if we've been defined more by the players we've taken or not taken. Seems like a toss up

[Randy]

I don't follow college ball enough to have any idea about the draft but I always enjoy watching it. One thing I always remember - Pacer fans watching the draft boo'd the pick of Reggie Miller because they wanted Steve Alford, from Indiana. Alford went on to having a good college coaching career, while Reggie Miller was probably the best player the Pacers ever had. So sometimes the teams do get it right.

Hawks drafts have gotten a lot better in recent years. For years most of our first round picks were useless (Cal Bowlder anyone). Then they improved from useless to just being major disappointments (Sheldon, Marvin, Acie...) Now we've actually picked up some guys in the past few years who are at least useful or interesting and even sometimes good players (Jeff, Jordan, John Jenkins, Mike Scott.).

Edited May 15, 2013 by Randy

[Guest]

My worse moment in the draft was taking Shelden Williams. Nothing else is even close. My biggest long term disappointment was taking Marvin. I really thought he would be solid if not great. Dean Smith recruited his ass, how could we go wrong?

Horford was a feel good pick but given our earlier disappointments, I was not going to go crazy with the hype.

I hated the Sheldon pick more that anything, I was like - wtf? And I'm a Duke fan.

[Guest]

I was upset about the Shelden promise more than actually picking him. Smh. I still thought he would be the landlord and come in and get crazy boards and be a fixture in this league for 12-15 years. Oops. In 05 I wanted cp3, then Marvin, then Deron. Thought cp3 was a lot like zeke Thomas and Marvin a lot like big game James worthy. Oops. In 2007 i was drinking black label during the draft and when we got into the top 3 I hammered 2 shots during the commercial break. So many images of Durant and Oden in hawks uni's went through my mind. When we landed Horford I was upset thinking we drafted a bust. Oops. Obviously the 3rd pick turned out better than the first but we were literally one pick away from Durant. Wow. Nostalgic memories from my late teens early 20's might be too much for the board but Dolf might get a kick out of a few of them lol.

[Plainview1981]

One of the few things that I remember in my early days on HS in 05 was one of the few things to get excited about was the draft. Finishing at the bottom brought lot of jeers and the draft brought hope.....a lot of which was false. I'm excited that we are again in the mix with two first round picks and this time we're not at the bottom. Look forward to a lot of jousting about who is the best player and who we should draft. Don't even want to think about who we drafted, more interested in looking forward. Here's to the new regime leading the Hawks. Any good/bad memories from those earlier days?????

I couldn't care less about these two draft picks.

[gsuteke]

One of the most epic threads ever was watch Yi suck live

[Dejay]

I try my best not to think of the draft because it reminds me on what they missed out on. Deng. Iguadala. CP3. Deron. Roy. Those are the guys I wanted them to take instead of the jabronies they ended up with. But then again, I wanted Acie Law so that just about kills any basketball prowess I have a wannebee scout.

And I also think of what would've been if the ping-pong balls had gotten us Durant. Imagine him, JJ, Smith, and CP3....must look away...too much to take....

[Guest]

I try my best not to think of the draft because it reminds me on what they missed out on. Deng. Iguadala. CP3. Deron. Roy. Those are the guys I wanted them to take instead of the jabronies they ended up with. But then again, I wanted Acie Law so that just about kills any basketball prowess I have a wannebee scout.

And I also think of what would've been if the ping-pong balls had gotten us Durant. Imagine him, JJ, Smith, and CP3....must look away...too much to take....

If we had drafted CP3 we probably would not have been in position to draft Durant. Just saying...lol.

[Wretch]

Thinking about this topic, I wanted to weigh in on something else. First, let me say that I personally don't care how we build a team as long as we build a winner. I don't have a preference for growing talent or trading/signing free agents. I do need to put this out there though...

Yes the draft is a gamble, but people act like free agency and trades are sure things by contrast. No, they are not. They are often just as much a gamble, but more expensive. Seriously. How many times has a guy been given a ridiculous contract only to flop later? I mean, look no further than our own Joe Johnson, Jon Koncak, or Marvin Williams (who is both a draft mistake and an extension mistake)l. Happens ALL the time and you end up with something much more costly. Trades are not exempt either, because how many times has a guy been dealt only to blow up for another team? Like we stole Mookie for example

So it's not guaranteed that you're going to hit a homerun on the open market. Moreover, you're looking for proven assets. Teams that have those just don't give them away. So, by default...you're doing lateral moves and gambling that they pay off. You have to give up to get something when it comes to trying to trade for a cornerstone - and that's IF you can get a team to come to the table. Good luck with trying to convince the Thunder to trade Durant or Westbrook to us for Ivan.

You can wait for free agency, but then again...you're still gambling because it's you and X other teams that have the money to spend and Y other teams that have the assets to work a SNT. The danger in trades/free agency is perpetual averageness - because your 2nd tier guys will always be available for over-market value. Which...again...is a gamble. They could break out for you...or they could become Joe Johnson. You don't know for certain (else you would never see a bad contract). Meanwhile, you make the playoffs with your B-List squad, get bounced in the early rounds and end up picking...Cal Bowdler, Dion Glover, Alan Henderson, & Doug Edwards...

Like I said, I'm comfortable with going through true rebuilding and losing seasons and I'm comfortable chasing trades/free agency. But either way, we have to be smart about it and NOT do what we've done for the past 30 something years. Hopefully, Ferry can look at our past and see what is we've done wrong...and avoid that.