NBA Draft Winners and Losers (Hawks/Losers?!)?

[Guest BraveHawk]

I was reading an article this morning about the NBA's recent Draft's WINNERS & LOSERS and I went to it expecting to see the Hawks in the WINNERS group but to my surprise this Reporter actually put them in the LOSER category.  He went on to explain how Adreian Payne was not a good choice for the Hawks.  I am certainly not a College Basketball or NBA player expert but from what I have read and seen of Adreian Payne I think the Hawks made an excellent choice!  He seems like a very good player who also seems to be a very quality person who should help the Hawks!  While there are some experts that think the Hawks might have to stash Walter Tavares for a couple of seasons (personally, I hope not but I am guessing they probably will) he sure seems to have a huge upside and could be a future star for the Hawks in the hopefullly not to distant future.  And, I also think Lamar Patterson could be a very pleasant surpise for the Hawks as well.  Overall, I personally think the Hawks had an excellent Draft and should had been listed in the WINNERS group (But, then again I am just a LITTLE bit biased!)!

 

 

[Guest]

Most of the other articles/writers/talking heads etc gave us a solid B.

[Guest BraveHawk]

Most of the other articles/writers/talking heads etc gave us a solid B.

 

   Thanks for the information!  I guess a B would be a fair grade (But, I won't be surprised to see that grade go up in a few seasons!)!  I guess I just picked the wrong article/evaluation to read!

[pimp]

Yahoo: A

Yahoo's Kelly Dwyer loved the Adreian Payne pick.  As he pointed out, Payne will fit perfectly into Coach Bud's system as a big man who can spread the floor.

CBS Sports: A

Assuming Payne can step in and fill a frontcourt role player position immediately, Zach Harper will have nailed it with this perfect grade.

Bleacher Report: B+

The only thing keeping Adam Fromal from giving Atlanta an A here was the need for a wing player.  Getting it with Lamar Patterson late in the second round earned high praise.

SB Nation: B+

The only knock on Payne (the only player analyzed in this report) is his age. Somewhat ridiculous that we mark a player down for graduating, but it makes sense considering the opportunity younger players have to develop.

FOX Sports: B

They liked the Payne pick, but they're worried about Tavares, calling his pick a bit of a risk because it's all upside. Time will tell.

ESPN: B

Chad Ford, like many others, sees nothing wrong with any of the picks.  He thinks Edy Tavares will stay overseas, but if he develops and can come over eventually, this grade may end up being low.

USA Today: C+

USA Today's Adi Joseph didn't dislike any of the picks but said he wanted to see the Hawks fill a need on the wing before adding to the frontcourt.

Sports Illustrated: Winner

A bonus for Adreian Payne's outfit, which was deemed as one of Sports Illustrated's wins of the night.

[Guest BraveHawk]

Yahoo: A

Yahoo's Kelly Dwyer loved the Adreian Payne pick.  As he pointed out, Payne will fit perfectly into Coach Bud's system as a big man who can spread the floor.

CBS Sports: A

Assuming Payne can step in and fill a frontcourt role player position immediately, Zach Harper will have nailed it with this perfect grade.

Bleacher Report: B+

The only thing keeping Adam Fromal from giving Atlanta an A here was the need for a wing player.  Getting it with Lamar Patterson late in the second round earned high praise.

SB Nation: B+

The only knock on Payne (the only player analyzed in this report) is his age. Somewhat ridiculous that we mark a player down for graduating, but it makes sense considering the opportunity younger players have to develop.

FOX Sports: B

They liked the Payne pick, but they're worried about Tavares, calling his pick a bit of a risk because it's all upside. Time will tell.

ESPN: B

Chad Ford, like many others, sees nothing wrong with any of the picks.  He thinks Edy Tavares will stay overseas, but if he develops and can come over eventually, this grade may end up being low.

USA Today: C+

USA Today's Adi Joseph didn't dislike any of the picks but said he wanted to see the Hawks fill a need on the wing before adding to the frontcourt.

Sports Illustrated: Winner

A bonus for Adreian Payne's outfit, which was deemed as one of Sports Illustrated's wins of the night.

Awesome! Those were the type reviews I was expecting to see for the Hawks! Your post is greatly appreciated!

[tbhawksfan]

Draftnet gave us a C or C-. They didn't like that we drafted a PF when we have about 6 of em

[Jizzle]

What really pisses me off is they get up set by a guys age but want to up the age limit

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[Buzzard]

Payne should fill a role with solid minutes off the bench; and if lose Horford or Milsap to free agency or via a trade he is a possible future replacement as a starter. I think TJ Warren may have been our pick if he had been there and James Young going to Boston is worrisome. I like Young for his pure upside over Payne but I am no expert. Payne is a now a Hawk; so cheers to our new sharp shooting, defensive playing, rebounding big man!

 

If we can a fill a need with a wing in free agency we should be good to go with a healthy Horford back in the mix.

 

On a side note: I think the Suns had the best overall draft. Taking into account where they picked, getting what I think are two future starting caliber players in Warren and Ennis is just off the charts kind of good.

Edited June 29, 2014 by Buzzard

[Gray Mule]

Adreian Payne was a terrible pick.  Why?  Because he's not a 2 guard and

because he stayed in school for four years.

 

That's some of the dumbest reasons anyone can give for not liking him.

 

Question:  Can he play in the NBA?  Answer.  Yes.  Is he the type player

and character that Bud wants on the roster?  You betcha!  Does he have

the skills to improve our bench immediately and hopefully, in a year or

two, become a starter for the Hawks?  Without a doubt.

 

So, the Hawks waited until the second round and picked Lamar Patterson

as a shooting guard.  He's expected to be on the opening roster and to

contribute meaningful minutes this upcoming season.

 

Hawks also bought a lottery ticket when they chose Walter Tavares in the

second round.  He will be left overseas to develop for a couple of years.  If

he does well and stays healthy, Hawks win big time.  If he's a complete flop,

what did Atlanta lose?  One second round draft pick.  Is the gamble worth it?

Odds for success a lot better than the Georgia lottery.

 

I may not know near as much as come of there "Experts" that gave us a C grade

but if this is a "C" then I'm pleased with our grade.

 

GO HAWKS !!

[Randy]

Look at all the Drafts we got F's in, so even a C is at least a passing grade.  My main concern is he doesn't really fill a need, though he seems like a good guy and has the right ingredients to be a good player.  As we have learned the hard way - players get broken a lot (maybe more often than race cars), so sometimes you need a lot of depth. 

[frosgrim]

My take is Payne gives us depth to make a very nice trade.  grading drafts right after they happen is fun but ultimately a silly exercise as it is all guess work

[Guest BraveHawk]

Adreian Payne was a terrible pick.  Why?  Because he's not a 2 guard and

because he stayed in school for four years.

 

That's some of the dumbest reasons anyone can give for not liking him.

 

Question:  Can he play in the NBA?  Answer.  Yes.  Is he the type player

and character that Bud wants on the roster?  You betcha!  Does he have

the skills to improve our bench immediately and hopefully, in a year or

two, become a starter for the Hawks?  Without a doubt.

 

So, the Hawks waited until the second round and picked Lamar Patterson

as a shooting guard.  He's expected to be on the opening roster and to

contribute meaningful minutes this upcoming season.

 

Hawks also bought a lottery ticket when they chose Walter Tavares in the

second round.  He will be left overseas to develop for a couple of years.  If

he does well and stays healthy, Hawks win big time.  If he's a complete flop,

what did Atlanta lose?  One second round draft pick.  Is the gamble worth it?

Odds for success a lot better than the Georgia lottery.

 

I may not know near as much as come of there "Experts" that gave us a C grade

but if this is a "C" then I'm pleased with our grade.

 

GO HAWKS !!

Great Post and I totally agree!

[IBelieveInFerry]

Almost half of those lottery picks will bust because they were chosen purely on Athleticism and upside.  I am going on record right now to say that there is no way Wiggins lives up to his hype and might no become a 20 ppg scorer in the NBA.

[DrReality]

Grading this draft will depend upon what we can do in FA.  If we get our wing that meets our need.  It's clear that DF is looking a year or two down the road in developing this team .......which makes it difficult in the mean time to patient. I think our draft is a solid B plus

[Brokentree]

We literally have 3 pf/c types with guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts for next year in Horford, Millsap, and Muscala.  Horford missed most of the year with injury and Muscala played in 20 games averaging 10 minutes per.  I look at the roster and think "Good pick!" and laugh at the sites out there that randomly throw out grades based on a teams roster from 4 years ago.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

We literally have 3 pf/c types with guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts for next year in Horford, Millsap, and Muscala.  Horford missed most of the year with injury and Muscala played in 20 games averaging 10 minutes per.  I look at the roster and think "Good pick!" and laugh at the sites out there that randomly throw out grades based on a teams roster from 4 years ago.

 

That's not true.  They're looking at exactly what the Hawks have and don't have.

 

The vast majority of fans have been crying about a wing player ever since Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams got traded.  DeMarre did a great job in stepping up last year, but we do need an upgrade over him.  Hopefully our GM will get us that high quality wing player in free agency, although it's going to be a lot harder to achieve that, than Hawks fans realize.

 

Payne is just an OK pick.  He's a guy that should be able to play and contribute right away, if we get a guy like Pero off the team.  I don't even want Bud to have the option to play him, if Payne is here.   At some point, the on the court development of these 1st round picks need to occur.  That means playing Bebe and Payne this season.  And if Elton Brand wants to come back for the vet minimum, or maybe a 2 mill contract for one year, I'd take that.

 

PF - Millsap - Payne - Muscala . . . ( although I'd basically get rid of Moose and keep Scott )

C - Horford - Bebe - Brand . . . ( if Payne can adequately play center, I'd split time between he and Bebe )

 

Antić has to be the odd man out, IMO.

 

We still need 2 wings on this team though, preferably one that can start right away, and one that can provide depth off the bench.

 

The big 7 - 3 guy ( Tavares ) will probably never play for the Hawks.  If you're 7 - 3, and you have real upside, you're not going in the middle of the 2nd round.  You're at least going at the end of the 1st round.

[Buzzard]

Grading this draft will depend upon what we can do in FA.  If we get our wing that meets our need.  It's clear that DF is looking a year or two down the road in developing this team .......which makes it difficult in the mean time to patient. I think our draft is a solid B plus

DF is looking at both sides of the coin; but drafting another Power Forward type when we already have two who have proven they can put up 18 and 9 is also a best player available pick. I have no problem with that strategy, but Payne has to deliver. No doubt about it.

Edited June 29, 2014 by Buzzard

[DJlaysitup]

The fact that we drafted another PF - when we should technically have two all-star(ish) PFs on the team already - tells me that something is up that we don't know about.

Enquiring minds want to know. :^)

[AHF]

The big 7 - 3 guy ( Tavares ) will probably never play for the Hawks.  If you're 7 - 3, and you have real upside, you're not going in the middle of the 2nd round.  You're at least going at the end of the 1st round.

 

Check the starting centers for the Clippers and Grizzlies for a couple of 7 footers who went in the second round.  I wouldn't write Tavares off that quickly.  Granting that all second round picks are low % propositions, there have been some centers who have fallen through the cracks.

[coachx]

Check the starting centers for the Clippers and Grizzlies for a couple of 7 footers who went in the second round.  I wouldn't write Tavares off that quickly.  Granting that all second round picks are low % propositions, there have been some centers who have fallen through the cracks.

A few foreign centers taken in the 2nd round that I remember:

Marc Gasol, Manue Bol, Mehmet Okur

 

There is a chance.