AJC Article on Hawks and the Lottery

[Weez]

Lottery luck has eluded Hawks

By MICHAEL LEE

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 5/25/04

If the Hawks get in the top three, who should they draft?

Emeka Okafor 42.28% 326

Dwight Howard 36.96% 285

Ben Gordon 2.08% 16

Luol Deng 4.41% 34

Shaun Livingston 1.82% 14

Trade it 12.45% 96

Draft lottery

When; where: 8 p.m. Wednesday; Secaucus, N.J.

TV: ESPN

Back in 1985, when the NBA's draft lottery began, representatives of the Hawks and six other teams convened at the Starlight Roof ballroom of New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

They prayed for luck, for a franchise changer, for the right to draft Patrick Ewing.

Then-Hawks general manager Stan Kasten couldn't think of a more fitting location -- "On the roof," Kasten said at the time, "so six of us can jump off if we don't get Ewing."

Kasten brought a Hawks jersey with Ewing's name on it, but the ping-pong balls bounced in favor of the New York Knicks.

Kasten managed to stay clear of the ledge that night. The Hawks' lottery luck, however, has continued to take a dive.

They have played their way into the lottery eight times, including each of the past five seasons, but they are among 14 teams that have never won the top pick.

There is no Ewing, Shaquille O'Neal or Tim Duncan in this year's draft. There's not even a consensus No. 1 pick. But there's still a lot riding on Wednesday night's lottery in Secaucus, N.J.

The winner is expected to choose Connecticut center Emeka Okafor or Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy center Dwight Howard as the first pick in the draft June 24.

"It's about time for us to get a little luck. Don't you think?" Hawks vice president of basketball Dominique Wilkins said.

The Hawks have a 10.4 percent chance of acquiring the No. 1 pick. They tied the Los Angeles Clippers for the fourth-worst record in the league but lost a tie-breaker drawing on April 15.

"We're sitting at six now [the expansion Charlotte Bobcats automatically select fourth], so obviously, we'd like to do better," general manager Billy Knight said about the Hawks, who can finish no lower than ninth. "I'll take anywhere in the top three -- or it could be the first time in the history of the Hawks that we get No. 1.

"People say, 'Oh, do you have a rabbit's foot?' I tell them, 'Well that rabbit's foot wasn't too lucky for that rabbit.' I don't believe in rabbit's feet or nothing like that. I'll just say a short prayer. That's the way I'll handle it."

Last year, Hawks spokesman Arthur Triche sat in the back room where the draft order is arranged, with each team getting a four-digit code for each of the top three picks.

The Hawks got the first three numbers for the third and first pick but missed on the final digit in both cases. Those choices turned out to be Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James, respectively.

"That we were even that close, that's the most frustrating," Triche said.

Former Hawks general manager Pete Babcock never understood why teams agonized over the lottery. "I'm not a believer in luck," Babcock said. "I never had any lucky charms -- maybe I should have, in retrospect."

Babcock left the charms to Triche. In 1992, Triche brought a tomahawk to the lottery, hoping the magic of the Braves' miracle run to the 1991 World Series would rub off.

Didn't work. They stayed at No. 10.

Triche collected the Hawks' ping-pong balls from previous lotteries and carried one with him when the team returned for the first time in eight seasons in 2000.

They dropped from fifth to sixth.

Babcock eventually grew tired of attending the lottery.

"I would always say, 'Let's just send Harry the Hawk up there' -- no disrespect to Harry the Hawk," he said. "But I thought it was an embarrasment to be in the lottery. I didn't want to be there."

Wilkins represented the team in 2001, and the Hawks jumped from fifth to the No. 3 pick -- the highest the team has drafted. "It worked out pretty good," Wilkins said.

But Babcock traded the choice and Lorenzen Wright to Memphis for Shareef Abdur-Rahim and the 27th pick. Knight, then-general manager of the Grizzlies, used that No. 3 selection to take Pau Gasol, the eventual rookie of the year.

So much for luck.

The Hawks had a similar experience in the first lottery, which moved them up two spots to No. 5. They chose Jon Koncak. Golden State, the supposed lottery loser, picked seventh and chose Chris Mullin, who became the team's career leader in games played and a member of the first Olympic Dream Team.

"There is luck involved in this business," Knight said. "We're hoping for the best."

Hawks in the lottery

Year Record Finish Pick Selection

1985 34-48 Seventh Fifth Jon Koncak

1990 41-41 Eighth 10th Rumeal Robinson

1992 38-44 11th 10th Adam Keefe

2000 28-54 Fifth Sixth DerMarr Johnson

2001 25-57 Fifth Third Pau Gasol (traded to Memphis for Abdul-Rahim)

2002 33-49 Eighth Eighth Pick traded to Los Angeles (Chris Wilcox)

2003 35-57 Eighth Eighth Pick traded to Milwaukee (T.J. Ford)

2004 28-54 -- -- --

[Lascar78]

Have they said who's going tonight? I'm assuming it's billy knight again right?

Would be funny if it was harry the hawk. that would be hilarious

I can just see all the GMs shaking his hand if we won... lol

[HawkTodd]

Quote:

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Have they said who's going tonight? I'm assuming it's billy knight again right?

Would be funny if it was harry the hawk. that would be hilarious

I can just see all the GMs shaking his hand if we won... lol

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Yes it is Billy Knight according to Hawks.com.

That would be enjoyable however to see Atlanta's mascot representing the team at the lottery.

It would be all these respected NBA general managers and owners and then all of a sudden you see "Harry the Hawk."

[DominiqueWilkins]

LOL

Harry is a big part of the team, because no kids would come to the games if it wasn't for him, jk.

We would be looked at as a JOKE, not that we aren't already.

Quote:

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Quote:

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Have they said who's going tonight? I'm assuming it's billy knight again right?

Would be funny if it was harry the hawk. that would be hilarious

I can just see all the GMs shaking his hand if we won... lol

---

Yes it is Billy Knight according to Hawks.com.

That would be enjoyable however to see Atlanta's mascot representing the team at the lottery.

It would be all these respected NBA general managers and owners and then all of a sudden you see "Harry the Hawk."

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