Atlanta would have a top 3 pick.....

[KB21]

.....at this point. Right now, the Hawks sit in the 3rd lottery spot. Orlando has the top lottery spot, with Cleveland second. The Hawks are only percentage points above Cleveland. If they lose tonight to Golden State, the Hawks will claim the #2 spot.

I don't think there is a consensus top 3 players in this draft, but the names you see the most are

Dwight Howard PF 6-10 225 Southwest Atlanta Christian

Emeka Okafor PF 6-9 235 Connecticut

Kosta Perovic C 7-2 240 Partizen Belgrade

There are some other names that get mentioned a lot for the lottery:

Ivan Chiriaev SF 7-1 235 Ontario, Canada

Josh Smith SF 6-8 210 Oak Hill Academy

Tiago Splitter PF 7-0 235 Tau Vitoria

Luol Deng SF 6-8 220 Duke

Andris Biedrins PF 7-0 240 BK Skonto Riga

Hakim Warrick SF/PF 6-8 210 Syracuse

Uros Slokar PF 6-11 230 Benetton Treviso

Whatever we do, we should not trade our picks. Had we simply attempted to build through the draft the last time instead of making the trades we did, we could have come out of the last three drafts with these players:

2001 - Shane Battier

2002 - Amare Stoudamire

2003 - T.J. Ford and Boris Diaw-Riffiod

Now, how much smarter and more effective would a team of

PG - T.J. Ford

SG - Boris Diaw

SF - Shane Battier

PF - Amare Stoudamire

C - ??

be?

[Playmaker0017]

KB21,

They would still lose with this coaching and bench.

Our starters tend to get the job done at first and then our bench comes in and gets cleaned... then our starters come back lethargic.

That is coaching.

But, out of this draft ... I believe we should look at getting Howard first. Howard will evolve into a C, I think. And currently is the same size as Theo. We could get him in at C and develop him.

Okafur will be an alright pro. I don't think he will be a stud. I could be wrong, but he doesn't "do it for me".

I like what I've read about Chiriaev. He has an AMAZING workout routine and supposedly has GREAT ball handling skills. He played guard all his life... and even at 7'1" he will play PG at times for his team. That is the type of player we need.

Imagine if we could get him with an early pick. We'd have height at SG and SF. Then you have a thin Reef at PF, which doesn't hurt as much. And a small JT is also minimized by having Diaw next to him.

We need to avoid the urge to pull out a PF. Reef is this teams PF, and plays AWFUL in the SF role. We either need to get a good SF through FA or the draft (Battier, anyone?)... or get a PG. If not a PG, then a center.

But, I think in terms of urgency, we should look like this:

#1 - SF spot

#2 - PG spot

#3 - C spot

SG is locked down by Diaw. PF should be locked down by Reef. The SF spot can add the most to the team. If you get a good SF, with an ability to pass... and you negate most of JTs weaknesses and maximize on Diaw.

The PG should be looked for if we want to dump JT. We pick up a PG and then shop JT around for some players to play backup roles.

A legit C would be nice.

Play.

Play.

[Dukegotgame]

Luol Deng would the perfect fit for this team. As a duke fan i do not want him to come out because I would love to see him and last years class run it up with shaun livingston(2nd coming of magic), but if he comes out I think we take him. It would be extremely hard for me to take him over Dwight because he will be special, Deng would fit perfectly. He is a more athletic version of grant hill and I think overall he is better. He would come in able to start and contribute right away. We need that becasue as this team is situated around 05 we can really start to think about winning big. I don't know if we could let dwight develop in that role. Their would be a lot of pressure on him and it may end up like kwame brown.

[TheDude]

Hey Duke, I'm an FSU alum(we have a good bball team this year finally) so as being in the ACC, I keep hearing about this Deng character. I mean he's got more pub than any Duke player in a long time, including Jason Williams. What is this kid's deal?

What kind of stats was he putting up in high school and what seems to be his specialty. I heard Duke players were saying he was the best player on the team already. What special talents does he possess? I guess what I'm asking is why is he the shiznit?

His pub makes me want him for the Hawks but I don't know much about him.

-also we would move up to 2 automatically cuz the only reason we're behind orlando is their losing streak. that won't happen again.

[Blunt91]

Ithink we will probably be in a position to pick this Deng kid. The Hawks always have a better second half of the season than the first. I predict we finish with a record of 28 wins 44defeats. That would probably net us the 5th or 6th pick. Deng would be a justifiable pick at that number.

[Dukegotgame]

Okay I will do my best to answer your question. He is 6'9 around 225 with the length of Boris Diaw. He causes havoc on defense because of this length getting in passing lanes and altering/blocking shots. He actually understands the concept of help side defense which would be a refreshing idea with our hawks. He is an excellent rebounder on both offense and defense. His best attribute is his how verstile he is. He can play any position expect for center. He is extremly athletic and strong as well.

On offense he plays a very smart game. He has great court vision to find the open man. Has an excellent drive with a knack of getting to the line. He can create off the dribble, pretty much do everything. Great ballhandler as well.

Really the only weakness I see in his game is his 3 pt shot if were going by NBA range, but most players shots improve once they get to the NBA.

He played HS ball last year at Blair Academy in Jersey with Charlie Villenuva( UCOnn's stud frosh). I don't know his exact averages but I know he dominated and was considered a close 2nd in his class behind bron. The fact that he went to Blair Academy is important though. I believe they have class on the weekends there. What I am getting at is that is is extremely mature for his age and will be able to handle the transition from college to NBA with ease. This is evident in that the numerous McDonald's All Americans at Duke have already established this guy from day 1 as the BEST PLAYER ON THIER ENTIRE TEAM.

[TheDude]

sounds real good. i know for awhile that villanueva was considered by SOME sportswriters to be the 2nd guy behind lebron.. plus that telfair guy in highschool right now...

if we deng, i'd be happy....

[Weez]

Blair does have saturday classes at points during the year, and I'm assuming he was a boarder there, not a day student. If you want to watch him play, he's on tv tonight against my alma mater...who I don't get to watch on tv too often.