Rafael Araujo

[jezmund]

If we go with one of the following with our lottery pick (Harris/Gordon/Deng/Smith/Livingston/Iguodala/Childress), what do you guys think about picking up Araujo with our next pick. I'm not sure if he'll still be around at #17 but we desperately need a banger on our team. I hope Billy Knight has toughness in his list of things to add to this team. Top 2 things on his list need to be toughness and fundamentals. My draft:(All possible picks according to nbadraft.net)

#6- Josh Smith (Going strictly by what I hear from you guys)

#17- Rafael Araujo (We need size and toughness)

#35- Chris Duhon (Defense/Leadership/Fundamentals)

#38- Luka Bogdanovic (No room for 5 rookies/future player)

#43- Romain Sato (Experience/Defense/Athleticism)

Free Agency/Offseason:

-I can't say I've been a big Kenyon Martin fan in the past but, for less than the max, I think he'd be a solid pickup as long as he doesn't have any lingering health concerns or we pick up Dwight Howard in the draft.

-Hire Mike Fratello

-Resign Bob Sura to 3yr./$6M

-Resign Jason Collier to 2yr/$2M

-Chris Crawford taken in expansion draft

-Move Jason Terry(Scroll Down)

-Waive Alan Henderson (JT/Hendu/CC represent the last 5 years of the Hawks and I want to forget about that)

Jason Terry:

-We need his shooting/scoring ability but it almost seems like his lack of PG skills and Defense hurt us as much if not more than his scoring. The question is, what could we get for him? Looking at the roster below, trading JT may be tough b/c SF/PF are already locked up and I don't see someone dealing a guard we want with a decent contract for JT. So maybe with Fratello coaching, JT will be more productive in all facets of the game.

Jason Terry

Bob Sura

Chris Duhon

Romain Sato

Boris Diaw

Josh Smith

Kenyon Martin

Jason Collier

Rafael Araujo

There's a young core with some talent but still holes to be filled. The SG position is open but Bob Sura could fill that hole until we find the replacement we really want. SF/PF are the only positions set with Boris Diaw, Josh Smith, and Kenyon Martin. A veteran C would be good so Araujo wouldn't have to be thrown into the fire too early. An experienced PG/SG who could help tutor our young guards. Just imagine for a moment that Kobe looks at Atlanta and says "Wow, Fratello as coach, signed Martin as a solid inside player, team isn't bogged down with future cap problems, passionate ownership, great city of Atlanta with a state-of-the-art arena...I might like to join that."

Sura/Duhon

Bryant/Sato/(vet?)

Diaw/Smith

Martin/Collier

(JT trade?)/Araujo

If that were to come through than we'd probably want to move JT for a big man.

Future:

Chris Duhon

Kobe Bryant

Josh Smith

Kenyon Martin

Rafael Araujo

6th man- Boris Diaw

I'm going to stop teasing myself now.....

[thescout5]

The Hawks certainly need a big man but I believe Araujo will be gone before 17th.Only way I see is to trade up.I guess I want a center with more potential even though there is a chance for a bust.If Jin is still there in low 1st or 2nd I would take him.We could use the a few seconds to package to move up.

I think the Hawks could build a team capable of making the playoffs for years but is that what we want to just make the playoffs.I realize the Hawks need a core of players to build around then maybe a top free agent superstar in the future may want to sign.Kenyon Martin is a good player I would still like a taller guy at power forward that can produce,but I wouldn't mind Martin.I am tired of the Hawks teams being undersized(shooting guard,center,power forward).You also have to realize that drafting a big man just to draft one over a more skilled smaller player may not be the way to go.

I hpe in the lotto the hawks have more chips to play with than staying at 6 or 7 in the draft.I like the idea of resigning Sura and maybe jackson only if the hawks go in the right direction. A possible lineup maybe:

small forward S.Jackson

power forward D howard or Biedrins

center Jin(rookie) or Dampier,Harrington

shoot guard Luke Jackson or JR Smith

point guard Sura

The other lineup

small forward J Smith

power forward Kenyon Martin

center Jin,Dampier or Harrington

shoot guard Terry

point guard Sura

I could list other possibilities bt I think besides the draft Terry needs to be traded just to rebuild he is not the answer at off guard or point.I wouldn't mind Terry for Bender but the hawks should get some value off him.I would hope the hawks explroe the possibility of packing picks/players to move from 17 to top 10 or move up to get Howard.

[jezmund]

I'm really getting tired of the 'potential' talk. I know that we need a superstar and some of these young kids have incredible 'potential'. And Josh Smith filled the 'potential' column in my draft. I know the nbadraft.net comparisons don't mean anything, I just thought a player like Brad Miller would be perfect for our team. I haven't been able to watch Araujo play so these are just random ramblings. I wasn't just putting him down b/c he was big. From what I've heard, he's a pretty tough big guy.

[Diesel]

I guess that real predictions can't be made until after Wed. Night...

I just hope we get Fratello!!

[DominiqueWilkins]

Rafael Araujo isn't the man we need to be looking at, and we need to think bigger. I don't think Rafael Araujo is going to be a solid player in the NBA. He maybe able to do alot of different things, but I hope we get a better talented big man, and I much rather add a bigger project.

We have time to hope/wait for a project to pain out, and I much rather have Peja Samardziski, Peter John Ramos(doubt he will be there), Ha Seung-Jin, Jaber Rouzbahani with the 17th pick/second round.

[Admin]

If you say that you think those other guys are better prospects. Araujo is a VERY skilled big man and perhaps will be the best big man in the draft this year as far as full fledged centers go. He loves to bang and has an arsenal of moves in the post, something those other big bodies scrubs dont have. He may not end up being the best of all the centers in this draft in the long run, but he is a seasoned veteran big bodied player who could start right away. Harrison is probably the only other center in the draft that we could potentially draft that could do that for us this year.

[jezmund]

Exactly, I'm guilty of this, too. Just looking at the size of the player (7'3 compared to 6'11) makes you want the bigger player more. I'd rather have a tough/skilled 6'11 guy than a guy that relies on his size to do anything.

[DominiqueWilkins]

I have watched Rafael Araujo play many times, and I realize he is a very good player. He has alot of heart, hussles, and bangs with the best of them.

I perfer the Hawks to draft one of the players I listed, so we can develop them. We have alot of time and i'm willing to see the Hawks take a few chances. I think the players I listed have a better chance of becoming a better center in the league, and there size is amazing. I didn't mention guys like Pavel, and others because I don't think they will slip to our 17th pick.

I'm sick of the Hawks having a center that is just below 7-foot, and it has hurt us for awhile now. We need a solid big man who is capable of doing many things, and a guy who can hold is own aganist someone like Shaq.

Shaq would slap Rafael Araujo into the front row of the crowd, and would be dominated. Ya Rafael Araujo maybe a solid center in the East, but I would laugh at Rafael Araujo going up aganist Shaq or even Yao Ming.

Get out from under Babcocks underarm, and take a few chances for crying out loud. Babcock went by the book, and didn't do much research.

Quote:

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If you say that you think those other guys are better prospects. Araujo is a VERY skilled big man and perhaps will be the best big man in the draft this year as far as full fledged centers go. He loves to bang and has an arsenal of moves in the post, something those other big bodies scrubs dont have. He may not end up being the best of all the centers in this draft in the long run, but he is a seasoned veteran big bodied player who could start right away. Harrison is probably the only other center in the draft that we could potentially draft that could do that for us this year.

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[DominiqueWilkins]

Sorry I hate to reply to my own post, but here is a link, and the Bobcats brought him in.

http://www.nba.com/bobcats/news/draft_cent...ael_araujo.html