There are 46 days till the draft.

[KB21]

There are a few things about the Hawks that we definitely know going into this draft.

1. There are only 4 players under contract with this team (Jason Terry, Boris Diaw, Chris Crawford, and Alan Henderson).

2. The expansion draft may or may not effect the Hawks current roster.

3. We know what types of players Billy Knight is looking to add (i.e....long, athletic players who are versatile).

What we don't know:

1. What is the future of Stephon Jackson and Bob Sura with this team? We know that we can pretty much trump any other team's attempt to sign Jackson, and we can probably keep Sura cheap. Billy Knight alluded to the idea that this might be the initial plan, because during the last game, Billy stated that the Hawks needed to add some length down low that could impact the game on both ends of the floor.

Does Billy Knight go into this draft with the affirmation that he will be able to resign Stephon Jackson? This could effect the draft plans in a big way. If Jackson is in the fold, do the Hawks take a wing player like Josh Smith if he is available? I don't know that they do, and they may opt to go big with their pick.

We have an idea that the Hawks are hot for Dwight Howard. I feel like the Hawks will take Howard if they land one of the top two picks, and I feel they will actively try to trade up to get Howard if they don't land one of those top two picks. Any deal to get Howard will likely include the 17th pick, one of the 2nd round picks, and a future 1st round pick. I feel that a deal will get done if things fall the way the records indicate. There are two teams sitting in that 2nd and 3rd worst record spots that have no desire to take a high school player, so both will be looking to trade out of that #2 spot if they get it. Atlanta can jump in and deal either the 5th or 6th pick (whichever they get) along with the 17th pick, one of their 2nds, and a future pick to get the deal done. The Bulls might be willing to take a scrappy player like Chris Crawford in lieu of the future pick.

In the end, I feel Billy Knight will come out of this draft with Dwight Howard.

[Blunt91]

That is way too much to give up for Howard. Our lotterypick plus the 17th pick, 1of the 2nd rounders and a future first? No way. I will give them our lottery pick, 17th pick and 1second rounder(not the highest one) for the 2ndpick pick and a future 2ndrounder. I still hate to give up the 17thpick.

[capstone21]

If we have 4 players under contract does that mean we have to protect them all from the expansion or can we leave all or some of them avaiable to Charlotte. I would love for them to take Hendu and his contract off our hands.

[hawkster411]

way too much value to give up for Dwight Howard....maybe

1st pick = hawks 2004 lottery pick, 17th pick, and 2nd round pick (preferrably the last)....

No way the hawks will give up a future first. Billy Knight is not a Pete Babcock. I'm confident Billy will not cripple the Hawks future on a high school player.

Can someone please find me evidence where Billy Knight traded a future 1st for a player/draft pick????

[Lascar78]

I agree that's way too much for howard. He's no sureshot superstar, and giving a mid first-rounder alone to move from 6 to 2 is tough. I mean he could be Kwame. Look at players in the 16-18 range in recent history:

A. McKie

J. O'Neal

R. Nesterovich

R. artest

H. turkoglu

D. Mason

Q. richardson

J. Welsch

D. West

And it's not like we have alot of players and we only need an exta piece or 2. We need alot more players. I'd rather have two 1st rounders than 1

Also, Howard has expressed alot of interest in Atlanta, but have the hawks expressed any interest in him? Everyone has set it up in a Lebron kind of way, but who knows what the hawks' scouting department thinks of him? Maybe they'd rather have Okafor, Livingston or Smith.

[DominiqueWilkins]

If we have to give up that much to get Dwight Howard I perfer to draft another power forward instead.

Tiago Splitter is a guy I really like, who can do just about everything, and we may be able to draft him with our 17th pick.

Lets not trade the entire future for Dwight Howard. Say we end up with the 2nd - 6th pick I would trade our lottery pick along with Jason Terry to be in postion to draft Dwight Howard.

[KB21]

From what I've heard, Splitter will pull out of the draft unless he gets a team to guarantee him that he will at least be a lottery pick. I don't think he will be an option for Atlanta at 17.

If the Hawks don't make a move up, the guy they look at might be Andris Biedrins. I don't know if they will take Josh Smith if available.

I think moving up to get Dwight Howard is what this team has to do from a marketability as well as ability standpoint.

[Wretch]

We are in a very flexible position right now. We don't know what kind of team we're going to be in 3 or 4 years...probably not even next year. We don't have to draft based on need.

Besides, the Hawks need help everywhere and we've got nothing but open roster spots to fill it in. Why not just keep our picks...? No matter where they land? We definitely need a PF or a Center. We're looking at Kobe or TMac as FA's, so obviously we're in the market for a swingman or 2 guard - even if we retain Jackson, Sura, or both. And I don't think there are many of us who would argue about drafting a true point guard...

...

I am inclined to believe that we'll be drafting in the top 3, but I'm not going to go into the whole "is it real/fake" debate again. Regardless, we've still got a pick in the better part of the draft. And with so many hssr's declaring, I have a feeling that there will be A LOT of "sleeper" talent that gets scooped up in the middle to late 1st round. IMO, this isn't the year to be trading up in the draft. This is the year to have multiple picks.

I hope BK sees this and that our owners don't have ideas to do otherwise.

[Lascar78]

Quote:

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I think moving up to get Dwight Howard is what this team has to do from a marketability as well as ability standpoint.

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I'm not so sure that's even true. Yes he could be really talented. But is he that marketable?

I mean they tried the hometown hero scenario with Reef and that failed miserably. There was no real boost in attendance that I recall.

Also Howard is a good kid, but his personality isn't necessarily that marketable. I mean if you look at the personalities that sell in the NBA, it tends to be your 'street cred' types. i.e. AI, KG, TMac etc... you know what I'm saying. Those are the guys who sell Philips out too. A kid who mentions God in every sentence isn't necessarily that marketable, even though some parents might prefer it.

I personally can't stand it when athletes bring up religion unless specifically asked about it. and this kid seems to bring it up twice per sentence. Like it or not, I don't think it sells that much.

[KB21]

I think the Reef situation was a completely different situation. He simply was not an exciting player to watch.

Dwight Howard is a guy who will bring a complete game to the Hawks. He can run the floor, handle the ball, shoot from the perimeter, and has excellent athleticism in the post. No matter what his beliefs are, people are going to want to see him play.

[Lascar78]

ok. I guess I the only games I've seen howard in are the all-star type games so I don't know how exciting his game is in normal situations

An exciting player is EXACTLY what this team needs. I know Smith is a pretty exciting attack-the-rim type guy

[Wretch]

There are so many questions surrounding Dwight's value to the commercial market, but whether or not he has game will be one of the biggest determining factors in Dwight Howard's marketability. The other is whether or not he has a personality. If he's trying to market his faith, he will only succeed in other-worldly currency. Selling shoes, burgers, or gear won't be hard at all. Creative marketing can spin anything...

If they can successfully market LeBron as a "basketball" savior, complete with hoops church, choir, and "good book", then they can work with Howard. No question. As a matter of fact, I could see a commercial...where he walks into a dark, abandoned, run-down gym with the windows boarded up...filled with hissing, unsightly, wicked creatures that tell him he doesn't belong there. ...and as he battles them on the court (ala Vince Carter vs. the "raptors"), he slams the basketball against the boards over the windows, breaking them out, bringing the light in...which causes the demons to scream and shrivel.

Religious undetone, marketable concept, with the general public clueless that Howard's making a statement. That kind of thing works, but there are also standard athelete presentations where he doesn't have to do anything but look sweaty and demonstrate physical ability.

In the end it will come down to two things...if he's got no game and/or personality, then he's got no commercial, no marketability, and no fans.

[DominiqueWilkins]

Quote:

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I think moving up to get Dwight Howard is what this team has to do from a marketability as well as ability standpoint.

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I don't think Dwight Howard will become a marketing standout. I compare Dwight Howard to a Tim Duncan personality, and that wont get him to far in the market.

Dwight Howard may prove me wrong, but from my understanding the sky attitude doesn't get you to far in the market.

Tim Duncan has his share of t.v. air time off the court, but I don't see Dwight Howard becoming as great of a marketing sucess as some may believe.

I wouldn't compared Dwight Howard to Shareef Abdur-Rahim being the "hometown hero" because I have seen Dwight Howard become more flashy then Shareef could ever dream of. In the few times I have seen Dwight Howard I saw him throw down more hard slams then I have ever seen Shareef do.

[pathway23]

I think Dwight Howard's ability will bring fans out...he definitely has more athleticism than Reef ever had. He can run the break and handle the ball, has court vision on both ends, is a natural shot blocker.

[Weez]

I keep hearing people say "he can run the break" and crap like that. Two things you have to realize. One, and this is a minor point, but he was playing HS ball, and not even against the larger populations of schools in Atlanta (AAU is different, granted)

two: who cares if he can run the break. How often do you see a 4 running the break? every now and then KG, by far the most athletic 4 in the NBA (ever?) does it...but it's not often. Sure, you want him to be athletic and swift afoot....but that skill's not worth too much in the NBA for a big man. fact of the matter. It's left to the guards and swing men...

[Wretch]

So we don't really know what his on court or on camera presence is. We all know that he's a nice kid, but we don't know that he doesn't have any charisma. Duncan isn't without a personality, he just doesn't have a forceful personality.

...and you don't have to be tough or flashy to have a forceful personality. You just need charisma. If you can sell a smile, then you have marketability. Watching a Tim Duncan commercial (of the 3 or 4 that he's made) you get the feeling that someone is hovering over him pulling strings. It just doesn't look genuine. He plays with emotion on the court, but his personality just doesn't project itself. His persona is calm and FOCUSED on basketball.

I've seen Howard talking and the kid's got charisma. He can sell himself and he can probably sell a product. It is faith that he'll have a hard time selling because people don't want to hear it. It will take a company that is willing (doubtful) to give their product some religious and representation some really creative and artistic vision to get it across.

[DominiqueWilkins]

Quote:

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I keep hearing people say "he can run the break" and crap like that. Two things you have to realize. One, and this is a minor point, but he was playing HS ball, and not even against the larger populations of schools in Atlanta (AAU is different, granted)

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I played aganist Dwight Howards AAU team before he joined a few years ago, and let me tell you playing aganist AAU teams alone made me gain more experience. High School ball is a breeze compared to AAU ball, and I would like to see Dwight Howards career averages from his AAU team.

I think Dwight Howard has good court vision, but the NBA is a totally different ball game. You don't know the style you will have, because you don't know who your coach will be. People need to understand it doesn't matter what he knows right now until it is tested in the NBA, because of what I just listed. Does Dwight Howard know what type of offense or defense he will be running. NO!