Hawks

By james jones

June 6, 2007 1:50 AM | Link to this

Conley(1)/JJ(2)/Josh Smith at the 3 is nice I must admit. u’re right B’easy that sounds good. but notice how u stopped at 3? that’s y we need yi. doesn’t this sound better. speedy/lue/law at 1, jj at 2, m. williams at 3, smoove at 4, zaza/yi at 5 (and thats only if yi needs time to fit in) we cant have 1,2,3 and be stuck at 4 n 5. wen we can hav all 5. conley is definately not better than law. the fact that he left shool at the same time oden did is the biggest part of his dirty hype and nothing else. i thought he was crazy for declaring now some crazier GM is actually gonna draft him in the first round? please!!!!!!!

By james jones

June 6, 2007 1:42 AM | Link to this

we shudunt pay brandon wright what we can’t pay smoove when he’s not going to produce what smoove produces, maybe never even. the only player after the top 2 that has the skill and can sell tickets is yi. i remember wen i brought up the ticket thing someone dismissed it on the last sekou post but it’s motivation for the team whether we like it or not. some stupid mock draft has us picking wright at 3 and green at 11. that wud be bunkers… i’ld start packing my things now then to move to milwaukee, boston or memphis. if we ain’t drafting yi at three we might as well waste the money on law cause i still say draftin conley is going to be a big bust. even royal ivey played better than conley in college. today i noticed that it’s really a fact that it’s ncaa fans that have us pickin conley at 3. listen to scouts tellin us we don’t have guts to pick yi… shudunt that tell us somtn? all these analists want to see memphis or boston pick yi bcos they r bigger basket ball cities and they’d want to follow his career. yi is the third best. the top 3 drafts shud be drafted by their stock and after that the draft can kick rocks. conley is not better than lue or claxton now. so please let the kid slide to the 6th round for all i care. yi at 3 and law at 11. leave wright and green alone. wright is not only another bootlegged smoove but he’s 6’ 9? nobody’s scared of that. yi wud put presence in that key. make opponents think twice. we need yi and do whatever with 11.

By B'easy

June 6, 2007 12:54 AM | Link to this

Its got to be Yi or Conley BK!!

1) Conley(1)/JJ(2)/Josh Smith at the 3 is nice I must admit.

Some PF will fall at #11 in this draft I think. Hawes/Noah preferably..

2) My whole thing is if BK is thinking about B.Wright you might as well get Yi. Yi is no Durant but if you had the second pick you would draft Durant and not worry about the PG and draft it at 11. Yi plays the same game as Durant! A big who likes to play around the perimiter. Plus Yi adds intrigue and fills the seats at Phillips Arena more than B.Wright and both have the same upside. B.Wright had 1 measley double double game at UNC this past year. BK, he needs to be passed on seriously.

By travis

June 5, 2007 5:39 PM | Link to this

*• What’s the difference between Al Horford and Brandan Wright?

They are both roughly the same height. They both have a 35.5-inch maximum vertical. And their standing reach is within one inch of each other. But that’s where the comparisons end. Horford has 44 pounds on Wright. He benched 185 pounds 18 more times. And he’s much more skilled as a post player right now. I think this may put more GMs in the Horford corner.*

Word is out that the Hawks are taking Braden Wright. According to ESPN, dude could do only 2 benchpress at 185lbs and we are picking him at #3? Conley got good reviews…

By james jones

June 4, 2007 8:49 PM | Link to this

and after sekou’s post i’m sure everyone that thought i was jus riding yi’s wagon sees that i was right about him being the third best player in all the draft regardless of position. he is really good so if u r going on what u saw in college, think again. u can’t make him slower than he is, u can’t make him a worse shooter, u can’t make him a worse shot blocker, he can only get better… that’s really up 2 the hawks. they shud aske the players what they think.

By james jones

June 4, 2007 8:42 PM | Link to this

everyone’s saying mike woodson’s style is slow… mike woodson is knight’s homeboy or somtn cause there’s no way in hell some other coach wudunt have been out the door. if we watch the games last season over we see that the games we won were more of the uptempo ones and not that stagnant crap that detrit just lost to. we need people that can do stuff (like shoot) conley is a pure point guard ok…. chris paul is a scorer and so is daron williams so stop that crappy comparism. yi at 3 cause we don’t really have a center or a real pwer fwd cause smoove is a small forward, the most underpaid starting small fwd in the league (speculation). and then we have 2 point guards that played brilliantly on championship teams. for conly hu did what? he wasn’t even the third best player on that ohio state team now we wanna pay him how much to bench 4 2 years. yi will give us fire now and he runs the court like speedy, joe, smoove, chill and even law do. so th eonly reason not to take yi would be gettin jermaine not even gasol i love gasol but yi would be gasol in half a season a faster more aggressive gasol. bottom line is yi at 3 and law or whoever at 11. the 11 knight can do whatever he wants but yi at 3. and all u jack and aldridge wagon guys look at their stats please and then shut up. and stop this muscle riding crap.

By care8free

June 4, 2007 1:38 PM | Link to this

Atlanta should take Noah with the 3rd pick and Acie Law with the 11th pick.

Both players are proven leaders and both can make the big play.

Atlanta, please don’t mess this up!

By mykhalc

June 4, 2007 12:54 AM | Link to this

travis, this is what i found….

**The Cap

The league’s salary cap for next season won’t be set until just before the free-agent negotiation period begins July 1st. The formula for determining the cap is complex, but it is essentially set at 51% of projected “basketball-related income” for the league, with some adjustments.

The salary cap for the current season is $53.1 million. This is an increase from the 2005-2006 season, when the cap was $49.5 million. If you assume a similar increase of $3.6 million this season, then that would put next year’s cap at $56.7 million for next season.**

does not leave the team much…that’s for sure.

SPEEDY and WRIGHT…$10million NOT PUT TO GOOD USE!!!!

By michael m.

June 4, 2007 12:27 AM | Link to this

doc, like i said in the post, those are not the exact pieces that i would use in a trade. they are just examples of things to think about as possibilities if we decided to move up from 11 the grab noah or hawes. splitter, i do not want.

By Hawksfan

June 4, 2007 12:16 AM | Link to this

Just to let you know guys, Hawes is considering returning to college and pulling out of the NBA draft before June 18th. He said he needs another year to improve himself, and he thinks Hibbert made the right choice. I received this information from “Google Alert - 2007 NBA draft” that automatically gets sent to my email address.

By travis

June 4, 2007 12:00 AM | Link to this

mykhalc, what is the salary cap the league? I see the Hawks’ payroll is about 48mil for the 07-08 year.

By doc

June 3, 2007 11:58 PM | Link to this

also seems like hawes isnt going to be coming to atlanta for a pre-draft workout according to a site i just read. if we hadnt experienced the sheldon fiasco where he doesnt come here for a workout and end up as the pick anyway, hopefully, we learned that it helps to see a guy close up as he interviews for the team. maybe gets a close lok by his future team mates. at least that is the way id go to learn as much as possible about a guy.

i see five guys that could help this team within the first half of a year, conley, crit, yi, hawes and noah. any two of that five i’d think we got a pretty good chance at becoming a playoff contender for real.

michael, i am all for a trade to the bobcats as long as if it is for a real need for this team and it doesnt give them what they need. your idea to give them our best man off the bench who can play three positions when this team has so little flexibilty just doesnt get it. now if you tell me his foot is not healing well or is prone to reinjury then rob them blind but it really makes even less sense to get another point guard if you are still wanting conley with a three pick, now if you could get one of their wide bodies for the trade instead of chills and dump speeedy on them then ill give you a vote of confidence otherwise it really makes zero sense as you fashion it

what will bk do next?

By bob61

June 3, 2007 11:53 PM | Link to this

If the Hawks take Conley at #3, at least one mock draft shows all top bigs gone by #11 (including Noah, Hawes, and Splitter). Then the Hawks take another small player at #11.

In past drafts, good bigs have often gone higher than projected. So if the Hawks take Conley at #3, they may well miss out on all of the good bigs.

Which will improve the team more:

1. Conley and another small forward or guard, or

2. A big (e.g., Yi or Horford or Hawes) and Law or Crit?

It would be safer to take a big at #3 and then a point guard at #11. Every mock draft has Law or Crit or both available at #11.

By mykhalc

June 3, 2007 11:25 PM | Link to this

man, i look to the workouts for help and all it does is add to the confusion!!!LOL

here is a link to whose under contract for next season…hawks salaries

seems like HAWES will get his guarantee for somebody!!??!!

By michael m.

June 3, 2007 11:04 PM | Link to this

conley is comparable to chris paul in a lot of ways, even down to their idolization of isiah thomas. i would say conley is definitely better defensively while chris paul is a bit better offensively.

travis, 3 of those 5 guards are in the last year of their deals. lorenzen is also in the last year of his. batista and medvedenko are free agents and are most likely not going to be part of the hawks next year.

shelden and marvin may not have been the best picks, but i wouldn’t call them mistakes. they are both serious talents who will bring alot to the hawks in the coming years. i don’t want to lose either of them. last year there were a lot of people on this blog ready to trade smoove while i (although i was not the only one) would then say he is still developing and will continue to progress from year to year. smoove and marvin are like 20 years old. we don’t want to do what boston did a few years back in trading joe johnson and billups early in their careers before they truly developed. we just need to get the right pieces in here to grow and peak with the supremely talented youngsters we already have. conley at the 1, noah or hawes at the 5. then we get woodsen to install an uptempo offensive or we replace him with a coach more in line with the versatile racehorses on our team. and look, with conley our guys are going to play uptempo anyway. woodsen won’t be able to stop them. and the hawks will look consistently more like the way we played last year against western teams like golden state and phoenix. it’s going to be more exciting to watch and we are going to win a lot more, too. eastern teams are going to be scared of playing us because we are going to run them up and down the court.

By michael m.

June 3, 2007 10:51 PM | Link to this

a-ville, glad to see you are considering conley. he’s just the best fit for us and is the player who will most make on a dent on our team in year in that he brings something to the table that we do not currently have. if brandan wright was 6’11 or 7 feet and weighed at least 230, i would strongly consider taking him as our center with the #3 pick. but with smoove and shelden, there’s just no reason to take him considering all the past moves the hawks have made.

also, conley may have had a bad shooting day, but he’s not like rondo, who doesn’t have good form on his shot. conley is a streaky outside shooter who has range, albeit not currently nba 3 point range. he can hit jump shots and the fact that he has such good form bodes well for his future. right now, he is much better when he gets his feet set. when he is taking jumpers off the dribble he is not as accurate. he is so fast with his feet that when shooting off the dribble, his footwork isn’t always consistent which lessens the percentage. a good jumpshooter keeps their mechanics the same on a consistent basis. also, just so you know, law did not shoot very well from the outside either at the orlando workout.

a-ville, i would be happy to have either noah or hawes @ 11. i think there is at least a 50% chance one of them with be there. i doubt both will. and i am really hoping that jeff green and julien wright have amazing workouts because it’s imperative that they impress teams like the bucks, bobcats and kings. the reason i would take noah over hawes is because we already have zaza, whose strength is more offensive. hawes has the most developed inside game offensively. he’s a serious talent. i just don’t think he would immediately bring the defensive presence we need inside. but listen, i will be happy with either him or noah @ 11. i think hawes will probably go first, to chicago @ #9 if they keep their pick.

i hope bk is already having talks with smoove and chill’s agents regarding extensions. 5 years/$50 mill for smoove, 5 years/$33 mill for chill.

doc, while trading within the division is not the preferred route, it does happen. if it makes the hawks a better team, i do it. i never said i would actually trade childress just to move up to #8, i really want to keep chill, but it’s an internal discussion i would have. even if it becomes something along the lines of the #8 pick and brevin knight for the #11 pick, childress and speedy. pretty sure brevin is in the last year of his contract. that would also give us another expiring in the event that we wanted to trade for a player of value to a team who was looking to lower their payroll. it just brings more flexibility. but doc, if you are saying you would never ever trade within your division just on principle alone, i think that is pretty stubborn and dare i say… dumb. not calling you dumb, i don’t think you are. i’m just saying it’s dumb to be closeminded to the possibility if it brings the hawks something they need.

By travis

June 3, 2007 10:47 PM | Link to this

I hear every one going back and forth about who we pick with the #3 or #11, but no one has said what we do about 5 guards:Stoudamire, Lue, Ivey, AJ, Speedy or what to do about Lorenzen, Batista, Medvedenko. JJ, J-Smoove, to me, are untouchable. Could we get anything for Chills? To trade Sheldon or Marvin now would be admitting that they were a mistake. These are the real issues that need to be discussed.

By A-ville Ranger

June 3, 2007 10:23 PM | Link to this

If we don’t go big with the 3.I’m thinking more and more Hawes could be worth trading up from 11 to get.Last year I kept going back to Roy’s video and seeing the skill and coordination.Hawes is shaping up the same way,his game just grows on me.

By shortypro

June 3, 2007 10:03 PM | Link to this

In my mind,Mike Conley Jr. seems as if the only logical explanation at #3. Both Oden and Durant will be gone.Brandan Wright doesn’t appeal to me.6’11 stiffs don’t usually fare well in the NBA.There have many floating around comparisons to Chris Bosh and possibly Amare Stodamire,but Wright doesn’t seem to have the work ethic nor the raw power and strength to reach to his maximum potential.At first glacne,Yi Jianlian seems as if a reasonable option at 3,but he is likely to not have the time or system to develop his game in Atlanta without a true point guard.Horford in my opinion outside of Oden and Durant is the best big man available,but his bruiser and powerful game is too similar to Shelden Williams,who we reached disgustingly high for last year at #5 over Roy and Foye.Jeff Green and Corey Brewer are swingmen…Enough said when pertaining to the Hawks,and Joakim Noah is a career bench warmer for a championship team playing 10 minutes a game and racking soaking up minutes when the starting center gets in foul trouble. The best strategy for the Hawks is take Conley at 3 and Spencer Hawes out of Washington at 11.Immediately you get a push the tempo type point guard and an NBA-caliber big man capable of grabbing 10 boards a night.In the best case scenario,the Hawks get an all-star point guard with excellent drive and kick skills and a big man with posterior defense and an amazing mid-range game.

*As for the scouting report above on Conley,that diagnosis seems eerily similar to the one given to another underclassmen and undersized point guard the Hawks passed on just a few years past who went on to win Rookie of the Year.Point guard is always one of the toughest positions to scout in the NBA draft,but when your franchise has repeatedly passed on franchise changing players for the “safe pick” year in and year out in the lottery,there has to come a point and time when the right player is selected.Conley seems like the odds on choice.

By A-ville Ranger

June 3, 2007 9:03 PM | Link to this

Mike I’m not against taking Conley at this point.Noah over Hawes though ? I’m sure I’d take Hawes.First of all Hawes(if he comes out)won’t last past Chicago at 9)Noah will probably be gone as well.Just for the sake of conversation say they’re both available,Noah is an interesting defensive player,it’s hard for me to believe a guy that pushes the ball two handed off his chest when shooting will ever have much offense in the league.The only question I have with Hawes is how strong can he be.His skills are top notch, not just for big men.He’s one of the most skilled players at any position.His outlet pass is just special,he has a very good jump shot as well as good low post moves.

By A-ville Ranger

June 3, 2007 8:46 PM | Link to this

I’ve never been on the take Conley right or wrong band wagon.Even so not taking him because of limited range on his jump shot would be a bad reason.Just from the work out report as listed above the important things sounded good.Judgement,crisp movement,good floater and penetration,etc.I’m still not jumping on the wagon,we’ll see how it shapes up.

By ray

June 3, 2007 8:32 PM | Link to this

Reading from what draft express had to say, Spencer Hawes shouldn’t be ignored. I kinda figured that would be the case anyway, but I wish I’d seen him play more. At least they say he’s very, very fundamentally sound and took the workouts quite seriously.

What is it with the prospects this year? Half of them act like they don’t want to be there (or so the article states) and the rest simply don’t show up. Do they think they’re owed something (you ain’t been signed yet, fool) or is it their agents (and any other “advisors” on hand)? I don’t care for the way this is being conducted, but nobody asked me, now did they…

By hooligan

June 3, 2007 8:31 PM | Link to this

If a point guard can’t knock down jumpers outside 16 feet, he’s useless in the NBA. You can’t get many points on floaters in the NBA…defenses just doon’t give them to you.

Law or Crit would be just as good as Conley simply because they’re bigger, and we already have an undersized guard rotation. And we could get either of them at 11.

Use the 3 on a PF/C, and then draft either Law or Crit at 11, and/or go after a free agent (Billups, Williams…).

By ray

June 3, 2007 8:01 PM | Link to this

Oh, well then I guess that’s it, then. We should definitely not draft Conley. Let’s get two small forwards and call it a day. No, seriously, if Law turns out better…then it’s obvious what should be done, right?

By hooligan

June 3, 2007 6:52 PM | Link to this

From DraftExpress:

Mike Conley shot the ball very poorly throughout the workout, not looking to have any range at all outside of 16 feet. Expanding his shot to the NBA 3-point line is going to take him quite a bit of time and effort. In terms of his demeanor, he looked very serious and business like, executing the drills crisply and picking up on everything he was told to do almost instantly, as the first player in line. His floater looked terrific and did his quickness getting up and down the floor.

Leave Conley bhind and go after a big.

By doc

June 3, 2007 6:31 PM | Link to this

michael m, have to come back to the statement about possibly trading up to 8 with the bobcats even if it meant sending chills. you dont ever do that within your own division. i think you called me dumber earlier. well, that means you can get the dumbest award. you and me buddy …. dumber and dumbest. heh heh

dont get me wrong guys i really like conley and right from the start, but am leary as to what he brings immediately and to what he does to the vast (under)balance on this team, undersized at both guard and the forward/center positions in a division that has gotten big and athletic at the same time. look only to the cavs, we put them down earlier as incomplete but they have many components that alllow them to have many looks even though it took a great game by labron to do it. they have some big bodies to protect labron and a seven footer that doesnt hesitate to jack up a three or something form the outside. donyell along with the other bigs in gooden, and the two centers mean that labron is free for several types of mismatches. it isnt all about him though he is a wonderful star.

what is most surprising is atf hasnt spoken up to give the big man credit as he has for two years caled the kid the mvp of the league.

now as far as the draft i would be pleased to have conley if we can pick up a big later and then get say a magliore or better in free agency. if not i would be even more than pleased to get noah and then maybe assure hawes that he is our guy if he falls that far. the only question for hawes is not whether to stay in but whether someone will pick him in the lottery bracket, top 11 or 14 is what he waants to hear. he seems to be a good kid and very confident of his own skills and his growth potential.

hopefully our guy sekou will continue his excellent coverage and give us more insights into the budding superstars. good story on conley, no doubt bred well and brought up right and he even seems to listen to his elders which is an anomaly in todays world.

By cp

June 3, 2007 5:25 PM | Link to this

If Sean Williams problems are behind him then add me in. He is a shot blocking monster and can rebound. If and only if his problems are behind him and both Noah and Hayes are off the board take Williams. This is a very deep draft with small fwds. We dont need another one and that will probably be the only thing left at 11 if we take Conley at 3. I hope the Hawks do a lot of research on Williams to see if it was just some bad choices he made or what. If everything is on the up and up and Noah and Hayes is gone then by all means take a chance. I dont know if he will be there later as some have pointed out he might have a guarantee to go top 10 or 15, you never know with the NBA.

By mavid

June 3, 2007 5:09 PM | Link to this

Mitch

I’ve been hollering about Sean Williams for awhile now.

The kid is exactly what we need on the court. A shot-blocking big who can rebound and showed much improvement in his offensive game.

You’re right. If he played out the season, he’s probably in the top 5.

The problem is, he really IS a head case. Its a huge risk to give this guy a lottery type contract of 3 years at 2 million/per.

I mean, if he meets with our front office and can prove that he has “changed,” than it may be worth it.

But it would be a very BALLSY pick.

By JJ

June 3, 2007 4:45 PM | Link to this

look at where conley gets his genes from. http://youtube.com/watch?v=dKDDJH_aU9s

By smartguy

June 3, 2007 4:21 PM | Link to this

A point guard with only one year college exerience is not going to help us right away. In fact, I doubt whether he could help very much in the first year at all. Too small and just not ready.

On the contrary, AC Law has great college experience, and has the size needed for a point guard in today’s NBA. On top of that, he said the reason he wanted to go to Texas A & M was because he wanted to help turn around a program that hadn’t been traditionally successful. De ja VU!

Go big early, get Law later.

mykhalc, good points about Woodson. I really doubt how much these two picks will help us when we don’t have a coach who knows how to effectively run a team. We had two decent picks last year, and they never really got a chance. Hate to see the same this year.

By J-Mo

June 3, 2007 3:34 PM | Link to this

By the way … not only did Conley have a 3:1 Asst to TO ratio, but he did it in probably the most defense-oriented conference … the Rugged BIG TEN. Night in / Night Out … he had to go against tough defensive TEAMS. I’m not at all worried about his size. He’s the second coming of Chris Paul. Let’s fix the mistake of 2 years ago!!!

By smh

June 3, 2007 1:32 PM | Link to this

Well I forgot about that Mitch and I had just read about him moving up in the draft so your right. If we trade down we might not be able to get him. If his problems are behind him and both Noah and Hayes are gone Id take a chance on him at 11. Ive been on every site i can think of related to basketball just looking for any kind of new information on the players . Im starting to run out so I will be glad when the draft finally gets here.

By tony

June 3, 2007 1:24 PM | Link to this

Mitch, nice analogy. However, the hawks were 5th in the league in block shots, 9th in the league in steals and 22nd in rebounds. We should be seeking a center or power forward who has the ability to pull down a lot of rebounds. Herbert Hill 6’10 240lbs out of the University of Providence score 18PPG, 8.8 rebounds a game and 91 block shots for the season. Aaron Gray 7’1 270 score 13.9PPG, 9.5 rebounds a game and 62 block shots. If possible we can trade our 11th pick to move down and grab those guys. Both are excellent rebounders.

By Mitch

June 3, 2007 1:14 PM | Link to this

smh…the Hawks may not get Sean Williams if they trade back. According to scources close to Williams he has some mid first round guarantees, which is why he elected to schedule private workouts instead of participating in the games in Orlando.

One has to wonder if Williams might crack the top ten. He is a unique talent. The issues at BC, such as marijuana use and skipping classes (knowing he was going to declare for the draft this year anyway) are most loikely far behind him.

By travis

June 3, 2007 1:10 PM | Link to this

Since 2000, here are the Hawks 1st round picks:

2006 Shelden Williams Duke #5 2005 Marvin Williams North Carolina #2 2004 Josh Childress Stanford #6 Josh Smith Oak Hill Academy #17 2003 Boris Diaw Pau Orthez (France) #21 2001 Pau Gasol (a) Spain #3 Jamaal Tinsley (b) Iowa State #27 2000 DerMarr Johnson Cincinnati #6

Only Josh Smith has shown some promise, the Hawks did not know how to use Diaw, but he is shining out West, we had Gasol and got rid of him…

I am not sure that the Hawks organization know what they are doing. Please pick Conley with the #3 and Noah with #11.

Package a trade with Salim, Speedy, Childress, AJ, and bring in a vet pg to groom Conley…

By smh

June 3, 2007 1:03 PM | Link to this

I don’t like the idea of trading for Bibby. He has a high contract, around 14 million if im correct. I also think he can opt out after one year so we would be still stuck with no pg. Speedy will never be healthy people. The guy has a chronic knee issue so I seriously doubt he will be able to contribute anything to this team. The more people talk about the kid Sean Williams the more im starting to like his potential. The only concerns are his off court issues. We really dont need a guy with issues especially with a coach like Woody. I can see Wood yanking him after a mistake then grilling him to the point where he wont get off the bench again. Like some others said, we have to get a new coach. We have the talent but thc lack of direction the coaching staff has is going to hold this team back. If Noah or Hayes is gone at 11 Im all for trading down to get Sean if I knew his issues were not serious and he will be ready to go.

By JJ

June 3, 2007 12:51 PM | Link to this

text to be linked look at acie law’s description. It says his ability to help teammates is a concern.

By Mitch

June 3, 2007 12:44 PM | Link to this

Do the Hawks really want to run the ball? If the answer is yes—-and with their youth and personnel it should be yes—-then this draft is a no brainer.

At #3 the pick HAS to be Mike Conley, Jr. He’s by far the best coast to coast point guard in this draft—-and he’s been a winner everywhere he’s played. Yes, he’s had Oden with him and that combination has been formidible, no doubt. But still, even when Oden was out early in the year, Conley had the Buckeyes running and winning with relative ease.

What’s the best way for a team to run?

To create steals and blocked shots.

What kind of team can create the most steals?

Teams that know they can gamble overplaying because they have a shot blocker in the paint.

Therefore #11 is a no-brainer as well. There’s a shot blocker in this draft who is better than Oden at shot blocking…it’s Sean Williams of Boston College.

Williams has uncanny timing…he doesn’t get upfaked because he plays vertically so well and creates a little space so well that he can wait for the shooter to commit himself and still have ample opportunity to block the shot. His vertical reach off his jump extends to the top of the backboard.

Had Sean Williams not been dismissed this year…I guarantee you he would be the #3 player in this draft and the Hawks would be committed to him there right now.

Therefore it’s incredibly lucky for the Hawks that they are in a position to draft both Conley, the best point guard in the draft, and Williams, the best shot blocker in the draft…in a draft where, with some poor luck, they could have had no picks!

With Willams and JSmoove swatting shots inside…with the wings playing more aggressive defense because of the shot blockers behind them…and a fast point guard to dart to swatted balls and lead the break…the Hawks would be absolutely dynamic.

By JJ

June 3, 2007 12:42 PM | Link to this

text to be linked look at acie law’s description. It says his ability to help teammates is a concern.

By JJ

June 3, 2007 11:58 AM | Link to this

First I would like to say the Spurs are going to win the championship. Cavs are probably up there with the worst teams to reach the finals. They have gotten a pass to the finals. Wizards were eithout their top 2 scorers, The nets were just disjointed and j kidd was the only one really competing, and the pistons were not the pistons that won the championship a couple of years ago. Larry Brown would have had them playing better than that.So like I said the Cavs have had the easiest road to the finals I have ever seen.

By tony

June 3, 2007 11:37 AM | Link to this

Ernest, I respect your opinion. However, how could anyone judge how athletes will perform in the NBA based on their age. Their high school and college stats and performances are the only analysis you got to measure these kids potentials. Kids these days are preparing themselvse more so today than they have in the past so they can make $$$$millions$$$$$.Magic Johnson was 20 and Isiah just turn 21 before he was drafted. Their age aren’t that for off from 19. Mike Conley will lead someone to a championship 1 day - I just hope he’s a hawk when he does.

By Mike

June 3, 2007 11:32 AM | Link to this

Take Conley at #3 and then with eleven take Noah first if available, if not him take Hawes if available, if he is not available take Splitter, if all he has is a $1million buyout then take him. He is supposed to be really good. What is $1million to these owners???? That is chump change to them!!!! Besides that is about what Slava and Royal make so just dump them and there you go there is 1 million freed up. We Won’t be missing out on anything!!!

By Ernest

June 3, 2007 9:51 AM | Link to this

Tony, note you did not name any 19 y/o’s that played PG in the NBA. I agree, for some positions, especially big men, age is less a factor. PG is a different story and that should be considered. Again he may demonstrate he is mature beyond his years in the workouts. If so, and BK thinks he can help us get to the playoffs next year, I say go for it.

I also understand the frustration many fans had with Speedy but we must remember he was injured most of the season last year. When healthy, he did contribute. IMO, his health will also be a factor in determining how we proceed with the draft.

By tony

June 3, 2007 9:28 AM | Link to this

ATLHOME, age doesn’t mean nothing. Mike Tyson was 19 when he knockout a grown man in the 1st rd. Kobe Bryant was 17 and LeBron James was 18 - neither one made the playoff until their 3rd season. If Charlotte had known Kobe would turn out the way he did, he would be a Hornet today. Mike Conley carried the Buckeyes on his back through the NCAA Tournament. He has a better FG%, and Assist percentage than other player in this draft. If that’s not enough to make you believe that he is the real deal, then you’re not using you head. The hawks do not need to make any trades until they become a playoff contender. If they do trade for anyone - they should for someone who has been a huge part of an championship team - someone like Shaq or Tim Duncan. If they can’t land someone like them, it wouldn’t be a good thing to trade for anyone who doesn’t have a winning background of leading their team to a championship.

By j-rock

June 3, 2007 8:32 AM | Link to this

Is it me or is there no one talkin about mike bibby.I believe he could do for the hawks what Baron Davis did for the warriors.They are obviously different types of point guard with baron being more athletic but both are veterans with playoff experience.Trade down from 3 to 9 with the kings.Give up marvin williams,speedy claxton and lo wright for salary cap implications.This way you can draft hawes or noah at 9 and still draft crittenton at 11 to learn under bibby.Maybe he could be the next monta ellis.With (pgBibby,Crittenton,lue)(sgJJ,salim,J-chill)(small forward Chill,j-smoove)(pfJ-smoove,Sheldon,S.jones,noah)(noah/hawes,pachulia,S.jones) these moves and the signing of Milicic or Magloire I believe the hawks will make the playoffs next season.I would not be disappointed with conley at all but I wanted to bring a different idea to the board since I am a bibby fan.Cross em up like bibby,let me know who wit me(sorry I had to steal that line from gucci mane)!

I hear alot of talk about Splitter but lets not forget about Sean Williams.I know he got kicked off his college team but him with josh smith would be a nightmare for opposing offenses.One of my favorite players in this draft actually is al thornton.To bad we have so many forwards that it would be foolish to draft him.Go Hawks!!!!

By AtlHomer

June 3, 2007 7:51 AM | Link to this

Was Conley considered one of the top HS PGs the year he graduated? I’m skeptical of ANY 19 y/o playing PG, especially given the track record of others who were drafted around this age. I hope he has a GREAT career but not comfortable at this time with him being selected by the Hawks at #3. I reserve the right to change my mind based on the outcome of the workouts.

My thoughts? Package the #3 pick with some of our ‘assets’ to get a big man (I’d sure like Gasol if available) or some combination of big man/pg (maybe we could work out something with Portland or Boston). I’d take the best remaining PG at #11 between Law and Critteton. I’d prefer Law because he played 4 years of college and could be a second coming of Deron Williams.

By tony

June 3, 2007 5:31 AM | Link to this

When David Stern call Mike Conley as the 3rd pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, the city of Atlanta and the state of Ga is going to rock!! I don’t care what nobody say, but Mike Conley is the best player in this draft in terms of his versatility and ballhandling skills. That’s why the Trailbazers want him so bad - otherwise they would be trying to get Acie Law or Jararis Crittenton if they were good enough to play at the next level. The hawks was 28th in the league in FG% and 26th in the league in assists - Conley will improve those areas. We were 22nd in the league in rebounds so we need to draft a strong rebounder - someone like a Dennis Rodman. Noah should be gone so I would trade down with the 11th and take Aaron Gray 7’1 270lbs, PPG-13.9, RPG-9.5 and take Herbert Hill 6’10 240lbs, PPG-18.1, RPG-8.8 in round 2. These players will take us deep into the playoffs

By GHook

June 3, 2007 2:09 AM | Link to this

Volman, haha we’ve got a seat for you on the Conley train man.

By mykhalc

June 3, 2007 12:45 AM | Link to this

VOLMAN, LOL think about it…it could be a good thing!!!LOL

By Volman

June 3, 2007 12:39 AM | Link to this

sigh

How much do the “Conley at #3” T-shirts cost? Are we all getting together for the draft party at Philips?

Man do I hope a big is available at 11.

By A-ville Ranger

June 3, 2007 12:02 AM | Link to this

What happened to the Pistons defense ? As big a a-hole as Larry Brown is,no way would these guys give up layups like a rec league team with him as coach.Still this shows again that the team with the superstar almost always wins in the playoffs.The Spurs are waiting with their own superstar though,and he has better players around him.Spurs in 5 or 6

By mykhalc

June 2, 2007 11:13 PM | Link to this

another young cat showin’ up at point…GIBSON for the CAVS!! i’m all for the young cats gettin’ the burn right now…cats with some fire and hunger…got a feelin’ CONLEY might do the same for the HAWKS!!!

By OddJob

June 2, 2007 10:17 PM | Link to this

Hawes hasn’t said if he’s coming out yet.If he does Chicago could take him at 9.The kid has skills and length but he doesn’t have a frame to add a lot of weight.

By A-ville Ranger

June 2, 2007 6:46 PM | Link to this

I’ve said that Yi looks to have the best offensive skills of anybody I’ve watched in this draft.I went back and looked at some video and there’s a player who seems to have disappeared from the conversation.The center from Washington Hawes is very skilled at both ends of the floor.He has post up moves,a good jump shot,he passes well,and he’s long.One thing that really grabed me was how he throws the outlet pass.He grabs the rebound and turns as he’s coming down,looking down court the whole time,and his pass is accurate like a guard’s.He isn’t fleet of foot but the outlet pass is very important in starting a break.

By John

June 2, 2007 6:15 PM | Link to this

The Hawks should trade one of the picks this year for a pick next year and try and get the Georgetown big man. This year trade down and take Crittendon and allow him to take his lumps early.

By St. Bernard

June 2, 2007 5:50 PM | Link to this

Are you guys satisfied with the point guards we have? Are you satisfied with Law as our starter? How do we solve the pg problem?

By St. Bernard

June 2, 2007 5:44 PM | Link to this

Doc, Who should start at point next year?

By ray

June 2, 2007 5:29 PM | Link to this

Tell you what, it’s a good day in Hawkesville when we can discuss the actual ability to pick guys like Conley and Law. Not even a couple of months ago, we were worried about even having a draft pick. I wonder if Law is as jazzed about possibly ending up in the ATL as Conley appears to be. He’s certainly confident, proclaiming himself to be better than the other pgs in this year’s draft. Again, I like the idea of getting Conley, but wouldn’t cry over gettin Law.

By doc

June 2, 2007 5:27 PM | Link to this

one more thing, before you draft conley remember two more teams will eat the hawks up because of their size alone in the east with about five i have listed earlier. we cant even stay with the bobcats or the raptors unless two more bigs are added. if you can get size in the free agent pool fine but think about it cp didnt get to the playoffs this year with a big and a few side kicks why do you think conley can get us there?

By GHook

June 2, 2007 5:15 PM | Link to this

Nice videos Michael M..

Just in case anyone didn’t see his post:

do we have a pg who can do the following:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=P3VZrTEq7GY

http://youtube.com/watch?v=W4ThGBn9NcE

Notice who claps for Conley from the bench with 12 mins left in the first half. I wonder who’s keeping the team going?

For anyone who doesn’t believe Conley can start, I don’t remember who said it earlier, but he can immediately come in and play 20 minutes a game. He’s a good decision maker and has such a high basketball IQ that after 10-15 games of outplaying our other PGs he will be starting and playing 28 minutes a game. By the time the All-Star break comes he will have been starting and playing 35 mins a game. I predict this only because of the old fashioned coaching style of Woodson. I can tell Woody would resist starting Conley off the bat because he’s a rookie, but as Conley’s high FG% and asst to TO ratio show, he’s a smart, consistent, efficient player and will eventually earn the right to the starting job.

Also, judging by his performance during March Madness, he doesn’t feel the pressure from playing on a bigger stage, so this should not be a factor.

By mykhalc

June 2, 2007 5:11 PM | Link to this

DOC, at 19 yrs old he might still have one last spurt of growth in him!!!!LOL

By St. Bernard

June 2, 2007 5:02 PM | Link to this

Yes, Conley starts for US. No one is arguing whether or not Conley is better than Speedy, Lue, or AJ. He may not be an all-star, but he would be the best on our team and he’s only 19. All of these other guys are proven back-ups which means that we probably ship Lue and/or AJ somewhere and hang on to Speedy (only because he has a big contract). Not to mention he did a pretty good time getting CP up to speed as I remember. (Pun intended)

By doc

June 2, 2007 5:02 PM | Link to this

btw if the you tube is conley’s dad, i have seen it after i heard him tell dan aptrick about it during th finals week. again, i liked the kid but that was before knowing our draft position or if we would even have a draft pick. i have done due diligence on him and if he is concensus then so be it. i could live with it. conley’s dad has done all the right things to bring both his son and oden up in aau ball and now as their rep.

to keep both oden and his son humble he would show the film of him out doing MJ on a soaring dunk from 5 ft beyond the foul line … in high school. of course he was an olympiam triple jumper and 6’5”, dont blame him at all for being proud of it, his olympic career and how he has developed a couple of really polished guys. just wish his son was as tall is all. heh heh

By mykhalc

June 2, 2007 4:55 PM | Link to this

DOC, as you said, all good posts fellas!!!!

By mykhalc

June 2, 2007 4:44 PM | Link to this

DOC, well knowin’ how WOODSON coaches or should i say DOES NOT coach, i’d say if CONLEY is picked then he would not be just handed the job. but i don’t think they handed the job to CP, DERON, nor PARKER!!??!!! and remember WOODSON’s somewhat surprised comments regardin’ SOLO after he was gettin’ consistent mintutes at the end of the season??? WOODSON was like, ‘maybe i should have been playin’ him more???!!’

i think if the team is WILLINGLY to take its’ lumps and bruises, then i’d DEFINITELY allow CONLEY the REAL CHANCE of truly earnin’ the startin’ position at the beginnin’ of the season!!

and DOC as you know, there is just noooooooooo safe bet or anythin’ when it comes to our beloved team!!!!! i’m just ready to gamble on CONLEY at this point!!!! what REALY scares me is that WOODSON is STILL COACHIN’ the team!!! now that’s not good news!!!!

By michael m.

June 2, 2007 4:43 PM | Link to this

i think conley could start after coming off the bench for a month. due to us having vets, i think it is smarter to start it that way even though conley would get 20 minutes a night from day 1.

draft conley and noah.

and then the hawks should play the way phoenix did the year before last when they didn’t have amare. remember how they played boris at center. noah would be that guy (a better version of) in that he can pass well out of the post. we’ve gotta get smoove, marvin and chills running the court and beating other teams in transition. it’s called taking advantage of our strengths. with conley, we have the nash-like pg who can do that. you guys undermine his court vision. and while i am not saying he is going to be as good as nash from the getgo, he would be doing it with better wing players. we have a deep enough team to run this kind of system. obviously woodsen may not be the guy to get it done, but i don’t think woodsen is long for our atlanta hawks unless he shows a true ability to adapt. either way, we need to bring in an assistant who can help him run a fast system. drafting uptempo wing players and then saddling them with halfcourt pg’s makes absolutely no sense to me.

By cp

June 2, 2007 4:42 PM | Link to this

Like I said before I dont even think the workouts matter when you have BK making the decision. Ill say it again. He didnt work out Sheldon and drafted him. He didnt even let Roy come in for a workout. He had Foye, Rondo, and Marcus Williams in at damn near the last minute and passed on all three of those guys. People say Chris Paul best workout was with the Hawks and we passed over him. Hell Marvin came into the workout badly out of shape and we drafted him. In the end I really have no faith in this guy what so ever. Knowing Bk he wont have many players come in to work out and if he does he will probably have his mind set on some player who never came in no way. I hope he gets it right if not im done.

By doc

June 2, 2007 4:37 PM | Link to this

good dialogue guys, as someone earlier said this blog is tops as we avoid the ugly and stick to “our” facts pretty well. i cringe when i go to some of the others.

we are all passionate about the product and hope somehow things fall our way. since the balls did in a sense then maybe things have turned a bit. would really like to give the suns a pick in the range of 15 to 20 next year, if so we have done our job. heh heh

next year we sit out this part of the game whether we win or not.

By ray

June 2, 2007 4:35 PM | Link to this

Michael M, I gotta admire your conviction. And the fact that you don’t really care about being right. That’s better than some people can claim. I hope you are right about Conley, and subsequently that if you are, that we also end up with him. History is not on our side of course, especially when it comes to pgs, but we shall see.

Although you may not agree with this sentiment, I have to say that I’d be okay with not getting Conley provided we do end up with a young pg that is at least a solid starter for years to come and we still get a very solid big for years to come. It would be nice if that big became a star as well. I’m hoping for the best, though I’m still not absolutely certain what that might be, and worrying about the worst. Want to see and hear more about the workouts.

By Volman

June 2, 2007 4:34 PM | Link to this

Doc, thanks for the response to Michael M’s book. Right on.

By doc

June 2, 2007 4:27 PM | Link to this

mykh, has anyone said conley is ready to start? if not then he is a liability as the top draft pick as we would only reproduce the mediocrity of last year.

i differ in my opinion of hawks forwards as they are undersized and are not going to do well against the list i mentioned above and you can add the obvious oeversight to that list as the heat and the bulls as well. now the bulls give you the best look at what happens when you have three of your top gaurds in smirf land, they get overmatched in the long run.

i’d be very happy to pick up two bigs this draft in the best one at three and the residual at 11 UNLESS you can convince me conley is ready and heads and shoulders above the others that are big boys to play in a big boy game.

By ray

June 2, 2007 4:24 PM | Link to this

I have to say a couple things about Conley. I watched Ohio State mostly because I wanted to know what this phenom Oden was all about. I kept seeing this Conley guy. He was everywhere, usually right in the bleeding heart of the defense. I remember wondering why they weren’t throwing it in to Oden all the time. Kept wondering what was wrong with Coach Matta. Then I saw what and who was running this offense. Fearlessly. Conley even had Lewis looking rather good. Not that Lewis is bad, but he was feeding off of this blur that kept getting to the line…otherwise known as Mike Conley. Oden seemed to play (either wonderfully or half-heartedly), then get a foul or two, then go to the bench and breath out of his mouth for a while (you could heart it all the way in my living room, I swear). Am I bashing Oden? Hell no, I’d take him over even Durant any day just about. But if you think Conley is a result of Oden’s presence, you haven’t seen many games or don’t understand b-ball. Oden can’t even keep up with Conley. He’d need a half-court head start to run the break with him. The only thing that would change my mind about what Conley can probably do would be a series of bad workouts/scrimmages. And then I’d want to know every contributing factor involved in such results. What remains to be seen is whether Conley is that much better than his pg peers.

A-ville Ranger,

I’m not down on Brandan Wright or even Yi Jianlian. But are they the best fit for the team? I keep hearing how Wright can be one heck of a power forward due to wingspan and what not. Maybe he can. But you can’t judge on potential alone. We need a stopper and scorer in the post. Remember, this is the guy that Jeff Green abused badly in the tourney. Yeah, that was one game, but something’s got to give us a reason to believe that this won’t be a typical night for Wright. Of course, it’s stupid to judge him based on one or even a few games. I just wouldn’t want to take him if he’s not going to be any better than Marvin is when we need a better defender. His skill set has to compliment that of Josh Smith better than Marvin’s does. Smith can score down low but isn’t a low post scorer. Wright has to be able to do that and be a decent post defender. He has to be what Zaza isn’t. Same for Jianlian.

I watched some video clips of Jianlian. Whoever said he’s a 4 with a 3’s skills is pretty much dead on. The guy can definitely shoot and obviously likes going to the bucket and throwing it down. And he’s freakin’ tall. I like that.

I guess it comes down to one of these two guys being good enough to make us want to move one of our current forwards for a low post presence that will give us the defensive anchor we need. Zaza apparently isn’t going to be that guy for us. If you could tell me that we will be able to acquire a guy like Magloire or some other post defender, then I’d be ok with Wright or Jianlian as long as we got a pg too. Otherwise, we ARE talking in circles again.

We just can’t get past the fact that we need a healthy, young solid pg that can be our pg for several years. Nor can we get past the fact that we need a solid defensive presence in the paint. And the simple fact is that WE HAVE NEITHER RIGHT NOW. So while it’s not an absolute “written in stone” fact that we must take either one or even both in this upcoming draft…we must take someone who will enable us to either plug these two holes or move pieces that will get us what it takes to plug these two glaring holes.

And let us not forget something else: we have these two lottery picks this year. Who knows what next year brings, regardless of how our record turns out. Leave us not forget what happened to “tank teams” Boston and Memphis this year. They weren’t big lottery winners. So, we must “carpe diem” and get it done. Who knows when we’ll have another chance like this to really build for the present and the longer-term future.

By michael m.

June 2, 2007 4:24 PM | Link to this

do we have a pg who can do the following:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=P3VZrTEq7GY

http://youtube.com/watch?v=W4ThGBn9NcE

By michael m.

June 2, 2007 4:19 PM | Link to this

doc, i can see into what conley is, has done and how he is going to develop and state he is what the hawks need. he fits perfectly with our swingmen in creating an uptempo game. we should be bringing some of that western ball flavor to the east. conley can do that. he doesn’t shy away from competition, he stands up to it. he’s a winner who we would be lucky to have. i only hope bk can look past his stubbornness and/or listen to the owners in order to make that a reality. no crackpipe necessary. and doc, when he has a 20 pt, 6 asst., 3 rebounds, 4 steals game followed by a 13 pts, 11 asst., 5 reb, 6 steals game in the first half of season one, you can say i was right then. but i dont really care about being right. i just care that the hawks get it right finally and right the wrong. passing on conley if he works out the way i think he will would be a more egregrious sin than passing on cp and deron given our current roster configuration. and i say that even though i think i might really, really like this brandan wright kid and kind of think he could play some center in the east once he packs on a few pounds. all things considered, i just think that for the hawks there is a greater separation between conley and the other pg’s than some of you guys think. conley is crunchtime.

By mykhalc

June 2, 2007 4:14 PM | Link to this

right now this is where i’m at…the workouts still will determine a lot for me. but with that said, CONLEY seems to be the obvious choice. our strengths last season were JJ and the forward spots, mainly JS and then MW. so those spots don’t NEED to be addressed as a priority UNLESS there is a trade in the works with MARVIN bein’ the logical candidate, and CHILLS bein’ next. but for now let’s say the 2,3, and 4 spots are somewhat solid right now. that leaves us with the 1 and 5 bein’ the issues (and we all know that to be true) so now, lookin’ at the 1 and 5 spots from last year, what spot produced the worst????? IMHO, there is NO DOUBT the 1 spot was our downfall!!!!

on any given nite, we’d get a more consistent showin’ from ZAZA than we would our PGs!! and yeah i know he’s a liability on defense. but at least he brings SOMETHIN’!!!!!! so as much as we can knock ZAZA for what he DOES NOT bring, i’m gonna recognize that he does bring more than the PG rotation that we currently have!!! and for those that know me and my posts, they know i was a big supporter of playin’ JC, JJ, JS, MW, SOLO as a unit as far back as in january!! so with that said, and givin’ SOLO real and consistent minutes this upcomin’ season, then the 5 spot is now heads and shoulders above the 1 spot!!

we need to face the fact that the current PGs JUST ARE NOT GETTIN’ IT DONE…NO MATTER HOW HEALTHY!!! sure they can suit up nitely if healthy and give minutes but they will never be difference makers!!! NEVER!! SPEEDY was given the chance, only to hurt his wrist but SOMEHOW that affected his cardio and legs!!! HUH???!!!! AJ was soooo motivated that he stayed in GREAT SHAPE in DAL!!??!! and tho he did the best of of runnin’ the team, he still is what he is…a serviceable backup!!! LUE, as much as i like his heart and effort, he just DOES NOT run the team efficiently nor effectively. i see LUE as the HORRY of this team right now. he can give you big plays, at big times, but he is NOT the answer nite in, nite out!!!

after watchin’ DERON and PARKER, i’m just ready for a young cat to be given a chance to run this team!! sure it could blow up in a bad way, but i’d rather take the chance than stand on the sidelines and wonder, ‘what if???’!!!! or to take the chance on another VET that might not be past his prime physically but be past his prime from givin’ the ALL OUT EFFORT that it will take to turn this franchise around!!! and that effort could be as simple as the mental effort it takes to motivate oneself to physically stay in shape!!!!

PG should be the NO.1 priority right now. and it seems like the #3 pick is the EASIEST way for the team to CONTROL its’ own destiny at correcting the weaknesses at that position!!!**

**note…opinion subject to change as a workout results come in!!!LOL

By doc

June 2, 2007 4:01 PM | Link to this

just dont think either conley or crit will be ready or given the chance to start is my sense this season; think both will grow into it. deron sat a full year after four good college years playing at the top level, cp came to a very bad team after his second year in college to start in front of our first teamer.

how many other points have come in before the age of 20 after one year of college to run a team? zero?

do you really think conley is game ready? is that what the pros are saying or just the regulars and a few jump ons here on the blog?

is conley better than cp therefore is ready earlier to jump right in and run a team like the hawks?

these are the questions to ask.

if you can answer with a straight face, yes, then go after him; just think you got ando’s crack pipe probably if you do. his press hasnt been that good or he would be moving into the number two or even one range if you thought he was truly that good. otherwise, he will develop and we will be short again next year and get no better than 38 wins UNLESS management makes other significant moves; which i am on the train to think they wont. whereas, we should be thinking that the next two additions should put is at 44 if we were really as good as they say we were without the injuries last year.

By ray

June 2, 2007 3:56 PM | Link to this

Michael M, where did you get that info from? Not trying to be a smart-a$$, really. I’m just asking. It’s interesting info.

Doc, I gotta hand it to you on some of your points. Thing is, we don’t need to take a pg just because he has the size we like (not that you were saying that), unless said player demonstrates the skills and tendencies to improve and be what we need them to be.

We can argue all day long about what kind of “floor general” is needed to win championships and what not. First of all, this team has to be built to make it to the playoffs. Then learn what it takes to make it past the first and second rounds. Then proceed from there. If you think it all happens over one or two years (considering where the team is right now) then you’re missing a few things. So, it stands to reason that what is really needed is a solid pg. The floor general doesn’t necessarily have to be a pg. It wasn’t the case with Michael Jordan, isn’t the case with guys like Lebron, Wade (really…is he a pg, sg, or combo guard?), McGrady, Kobe, and many more. Although JJ is yet to be considered or proven a superstar (although he IS a star), he’s a floor general…and not a pg.

I think in reality you end up with different kinds of point guards, all of which contribute to success depending on what your team make up is. It is the responsibility of the GM to decide what kind fits each individual team.

You could have an undisputed offense leader pg: such as Baron Davis, Gilbert Arenas, Allen Iverson, or Chris Paul. This pg can rack up assists, but their main and usual value comes in their ability to score and put pressure on the defense. This kind of pg is an aggressive, hard charger. To be effective, they usually need to score early and often. While this isn’t absolutely always a necessity, it is the staple of this pg-type’s game and can be a problem if disrupted for long periods of time in a game or for a number of games in a row. This kind of player is semi-rare and cannot guarantee championship-level success, although they may contribute to it with an equally talented/effective teammate.

There is also the far more common contributor/distributor types that are steady, bring the ball up most of the time (unless a floor leader like Lebron takes it) and either initiate the offense, or help to initiate it. Guys like Larry Hughes (if you consider him a pg), Eric Snow, Kirk Hinrich, Steve Blake (as a starter), Luke Ridnour, Andre Miller fit this category. This kind of pg will contribute to a championship team, but must have more talented pieces to work with. Most teams need a clear-cut star player or two, and if your other players are no better than this pg, then your chances at championship aren’t so great. Exceptions to the rule are rare, and usually require the next category of pg (crossover pg), as well as a fairly dominant post player or two and/or swingman.

Then there’s what I like to call the crossover pgs. These are the hardest to find. Guys like Tony Parker, Chauncey Billups, Mike Bibby, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Deron Williams. This kind of pg is a heavy contributor, but not necessarily the main scorer, nor does the offense have to run through them on most plays. They nearly always initiate the offense and distribute the ball when and where it should be, and to whom. However, what sets them apart is their ability to “cross over” that line and become the main focus when needed. They can just take over a game. We’ve all seen how each of these pgs demonstrate this ability, keeping up the assists and then dropping 25-30 points or more on any given night. All that, and they are capable of hitting the switch again, getting right back to just contributing and making sure the right guys get the ball at the right times and in the right places. Their ability to go from undisputed leader of the offense to mostly contributor/distributor and back at any given time in a game and/or series is what makes them so valuable. This is the kind you pray for, and have the worst time predicting which pg in the draft will be that kind of guy. Who knew Billups would be this kind of guy? I didn’t.

Anyway, that’s my viewpoint of the pg situation. I feel like the team we have needs either the second or third type. We probably wouldn’t do well with the first kind I mentioned. The first and last kinds tend to be labeled “elite” more often than any other kind, but an elite pg is just not necessary. It simply changes your options. The real point is we just need a steady one. We can get one in the draft.

By michael m.

June 2, 2007 3:53 PM | Link to this

horford is going to memphis. noah doesn’t want to go live in wisconsin (he’s a city kid) and he doesn’t want to back up bogut and villanueva, plus they already have gadzuric as a backup big as well. not a good fit for him or them. it’s not that he has a promise because he is going to be working out for teams picking after milwalkuee. i just hope the bucks take julien wright or jeff green. we need the small forwards to come off the board. charlotte and sacramento are two other teams that might pick small forwards, especially if the current winds saying that artest and gerald wallace won’t be on their current teams continues to hold sway.

By JJ

June 2, 2007 3:48 PM | Link to this

I just wanted people to see this video of mike conley jr’s dad. i know it has nothing to do with anything but i just wanted to show you where he gets his genes from.http://youtube.com/watch?v=dKDDJH_aU9s

By michael m.

June 2, 2007 3:45 PM | Link to this

doc, just saying that aj isnt small and the fact that he’s slow and that smaller, quicker pg’s blow by him doesn’t make him a smurf. if anything, it would be the opposite. not trying to say i know everything, i’m just pointing out the facts.

do i have strong opinions on what the hawks need to do in this draft? yes. and i know how important it is to get it right here becaus this offseason will set the tone for the next two years. so when people start talking about conley without having the faintest clue what they are talking about, i am going to call them out on it. no one wants to talk about the court vision he possesses and the smart, decision making which, when you add in his speed, should be the clincher considering where the hawks are currently at. i am just dumbfounded how many bloggers here are overlooking the clear facts of our situation. hell, we all discussed it during the last two years. and now some people want to perpetuate the crime. why?

conley doesn’t have a poor jumpshot. is he a 3 point shooter? no. but he’s got good form and isn’t the kind of point guard that defenders and lay off of and not get punished.

look, i like both law and critt as well. i like brandan wright a lot, too. and i’m sure yi has tons of potential. one thing that scares me though is del harris, who’s been a coach, gm, and asst. coach with dallas of late, coaches the chinese national team and he said yi was not an elite talent. i feel the hype on him is a bit out of control, not to mention his agent is fegan who is going to control the process to steer yi to a team they think is a better fit. they don’t want him sitting on a bench. and yi isn’t a center. he’s considered more of a 4 with 3 skills. i would love for the hawks to work him out if he’s willing. but doc, he’s just not a good fit on the atlanta hawks right now. where do you play? do you want to trade smoove? yi is not going to come in and make a big difference in year 1, probably not year 2 either. if the hawks were an expansion team i would probably go for brandan wright because he could be a great power forward and defensive presence. i would consider yi as well. but conley is right there in the discussion as well. let’s say his potential as a standalone player is a bit less than those guys, so what? we already have what we have. you guys want to reach on critt at 11 even though no one has him ranked that high, but you don’t want to reach on conley who most have ranked below b. wright and yi? let’s work from what we have and see how we can fix this scenario. for those who think noah or hawes will not be there at #11, there is at least a 50% chance that one of them will. noah fits us better because of his defensive acumen while hawes is stronger offensively with his back to the basket game.

i might even be willing to trade childress to charlotte to move up 3 spots to the #8 pick if it guaranteed us noah. don’t really want to give up chill, but it’s something i would consider if that’s what it took to keep from drafting b. wright or yi and trading smoove. i cannot see how adding another 4 to our squad when we have smoove and shelden, plus marvin @ the 3. it just doesn’t compute. what do you guys want to do with the rest of our roster if we draft wright or yi + critt…? i really want to hear the logic behind it and see the chess moves that you want to make. no one seems to be making any longterm sense from the side of the bloggers who favor drafting more forwards. help me out here, doc and the rest. what are you seeing?

By St. Bernard

June 2, 2007 3:40 PM | Link to this

If we have too many point guards, the answer isn’t to not draft one that will be your starter. The answer is to get rid of the back-ups. I feel like we’re talking in circles. Would you rather have Lue, AJ, or Speedy as the starting point guard going into next season? To be very honest, Salim doesn’t play enough to be brought up in the argument. That’s not to say he shouldn’t play more, but for whatever reason, he doesn’t get in the game. So, our reasoning for not drafting Conley is that we have 3 sub-par point guards already who he would replace immediately (All have proven to be good back-ups.)Oh, and add to that the fact that we have a very small shooting guard on our bench who plays every third game, and if they happened to be on the floor together on one of those third games during the 10 minutes or so Salim plays, we’d be undersized. THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE!!!!

No it doesn’t. The workouts may reveal that Conley isn’t what I think he is. Law or Critt may blow him away. If they do, then we don’t draft him at #3. He may not be the tallest pg in the world, but he has a wingspan of 6’7”!!!His dad won an Olympic gold medal in the triple jump!! And no matter what anyone says about Oden, it was Conley who was the motor to that team. Remember Oden missed several games with his wrist, played in more with only one arm and spent almost all of the season in foul trouble.

On another subject, Noah isn’t working out for anyone Milwaukee at #5 and neither is Horford. What does that mean??? Have they received promises?

By St. Bernard

June 2, 2007 3:21 PM | Link to this

Noah turned down a workout from the Bucks at 6! Has he gotten a promise?

By GuyFromUruguay

June 2, 2007 3:04 PM | Link to this

Splitter is better than Batista: he has more experience (playing for one of the best teams of the ACB), he’s taller (a legit 7-footer), hell, DX has him as the third-best center in the draft (after Oden and Hibbert which won’t be). Yes, he did very badly in the Euroleague Final Four (I didn’t watch that so I can’t comment) and he has a one-million dollar buyout, so maybe Hawes or the best player available fits the Hawks better (I wish Noah falls to the #11 but that won’t be).

By doc

June 2, 2007 3:04 PM | Link to this

thanks mike though salim isnt tecnically a point he ueses up that “role” size when he comes into the game, you nailed the point. it would be reallyy hard to put him along side of conley and not face serious match up issues unless you dont have a big point to fill the difference. chills and jj were the options there and neither play their best at the point though servicible for short stints until the next timeout and the opposing coach matches up in a different way.

another short player limits options unless he is the best and that is clear cut. that changes if you can or are willing to dump salary (not this ownership) or assure yourself you can trade someone off the roster before you make the move to avoid losing value and leverage for the player.

By michael m.

June 2, 2007 3:00 PM | Link to this

mechanic, i assume you are counting salim amongst those 5 even though he isn’t really a pg. understand that adding the 2 lottery picks will bring us to 14 guaranteed contracts. most likely one of the vet pg’s will be moved before the season starts because otherwise one of them will be sitting on the inactive list on game nights. of course it will be probably be a rotation of which one is injured, since as we all know speedy lue and aj are certainly not immune to injury. lue, aj, salim, and lorenzen all have expiring contracts this upcoming season. also, smoove and chill are eligible for extensions this offseason.

please guys, dont let the long list of mediocre pg’s who cannot lead us to the promised land prevent you from seeing the big picture, which is that we need a true pg with superior court vision to come in here and be the engine that grows with our core. that’s conley.

By michael m.

June 2, 2007 2:53 PM | Link to this

• Texas A&M senior guard Acie Law, who was in for the physical-only portion of the camp, said he is convinced he’ll likely land at either No. 11 Atlanta or No. 14 L.A. Clippers. He’s also working out for Philadelphia (No. 12), Chicago (No. 9) and Sacramento (No. 10).

• North Carolina freshman forward Brandan Wright said he is only going to take two or three workouts, isolating Atlanta (No. 3) and Memphis (No. 4) as the definite stops. He said he thought he was maybe going to Boston, which picks No. 5. But Wright said he was not going to Milwaukee (No. 6), which could be a mistake since Wright could fall and the Bucks are interested in him

• Florida junior Joakim Noah said he is definitely working out for Minnesota, Chicago, Boston, Charlotte (No. 8) and maybe Atlanta (for either No. 3 or No. 11).

• Washington freshman center Spencer Hawes continues to say he hasn’t made up his mind about whether he’s staying in the draft.

He said he’s going to work out for Minnesota (No. 7) and Chicago (No. 9) after the physicals here at the pre-draft camp on June 6 and 8, respectively. He said he continues to field calls from agents but isn’t getting pressured.

“The ultimate thing I’m looking for is a guarantee,” Hawes said. “I’m trying to get feedback of who [would take him in the lottery].”

Hawes said he understands that no one in the NBA believes he is returning to school. He has until June 18 to withdraw from the draft. He said he is ready to contribute to an NBA team too.

“I want to see how the workouts go,” Hawes said. “I don’t want to rush the decision.

“My skill set is unique since there are so few back-to-the basket scorers. Just look at the teams in the playoffs with Tim Duncan [Spurs] and Rasheed Wallace and Chris Webber [Pistons]. You can see that those teams are successful.”

The Bulls definitely do like Hawes, but he clearly wants a guarantee before he makes up his mind since he could be a fit player after Chicago at No. 9 and conceivably could drop a few spots if the Bulls pass on him.

By doc

June 2, 2007 2:50 PM | Link to this

matt, beat you to the punch and we found common ground. how is the kid?

m michael glad to know some how you have seen so much of this yi character to know he isnt the one for the hawks. you are the really smart guy here arent you, must do a lot of travelling or have a heck of a cable contract?

darko, represents what we dont have SIZE and that is that comparison. do i think we should trade the three for him? well no, but it was an afterthought prefaced by “even” in my statement. guess you are sooo smart you dont have to read or interpret. yeah and maybe aj is 6’3”, huge difference when he is slow, so it makes him play a lot smaller dude. watched him get blown by on too many occasions to not see it otherwise.

i like what you bring but please dont think by “the clips” you see that you represent hawk blog scouting heaven. be civil and maybe a bit more humble. the only one that could pull that stuff off was andro. heh heh!

for another sad subject, funny how a few of us who were pushing for two of the names that have already filled two of the jobs in the nba at houston and memphis were ignored by the broken atlanta spirit. maybe collectively we get it right in pointing out quality. truly sad neither one will be the coach of the hawks this coming season.

By Joe Blazer

June 2, 2007 2:45 PM | Link to this

The Bucks didn’t get pilfered when they traded Nowitski. It was a pre-arranged deal where both teams got who they wanted, just like Aldridge for Tyrus Thomas last year.

By Mike The Mechanic

June 2, 2007 2:45 PM | Link to this

St. Bernard, the argument wasn’t that we had 5 starting pt. gaurds, it was the fact that a roster has 12 players on it and that 5 of them are pt. gaurds….That is ridiculous! and to pick another one at 3 without subtracting at least 3 of them is ridiculous.

By St. Bernard

June 2, 2007 2:41 PM | Link to this

Micheal, I agree with your whole book, except for one thing….I think conley and Noah could start for us from day one and be an improvement.

By travis

June 2, 2007 2:39 PM | Link to this

Mark my word…I am the 1st to say it…Mike Conley Jr. will be Rookie Of The Year and we all will be amazed again at how the Hawks passed on 2 ROTY’s in a 3 yr span. The Hawks will take Branden Wright with the 3rd pick. How do you all feel about this?

By Neil

June 2, 2007 2:32 PM | Link to this

I do like that possibility also. I believe I was the first to bring up Tiago Splitter on one of the first draft blogs that came out. He is posted around the 15th pick so that wouldn’t be that much of a reach. Just please don’t draft Spencer Hawes he would be a replica of Zaza or probably worse. Then we could still get conley at 3 and make EVERYBODY happy. But I still like the possibility of trading to portland for jack and one or two of their bigs. With Oden they will have a plethora of centers and that would make one or two of them expendable. I forgot about Pryzbilla which someone mentioned. So they have Pryzbilla, Magloire, Randolph, Aldridge and Lafrentz. Surely we could do something worth while with one or two of them and still get Law or crit at 11. But regardless of what BK does all I know is he better address the center position and the point guard position or there needs to be a mutiny!!!

By St. Bernard

June 2, 2007 2:32 PM | Link to this

First, Magloire is an unrestricted free agent 7 footer. So, if we have to have a big guy, he’ll come here for the right price and start immediately. Second, the argument about having 4 point guards already doesn’t work, because none are starters. Conley is a starter. We also have to think (when comparing Conley and Noah) who makes the other players around them better. A pg that pushes and gets the ball to JJ, Marvin, and Josh. Improves the team more than a shot blocking center. Conley adds 5 points to the average of Josh and Marvin just by pushing the ball up the floor.

For my friend from Uruguay, I saw Splitter play as well (living in South America right now). He doesn’t look head and shoulders better than Chris Anderson, who we have the rights to already. The problem with Anderson, is that even if he came right now, he wouldn’t play. I think Batista may be better than Splitter, just because of how he bangs and goes after people. But, do we really want to spend the #11 on someone I can compare with Batista. Pick the best available…yes, even if it’s a forward. Look to pick up Magloire, and deal Childress for more inside help.

FA - Magloire Trade Childress for more inside help.

By Matt

June 2, 2007 2:29 PM | Link to this

Gmoney-

*There have been teams that have won without a dominant big, but there have NEVER been teams that have become champions without a great floor general.

That’s just plain wrong, and I’ve been making the opposite point for a long time. Every single team that’s one a title in the past 25 years has had a dominant defensive presence at the 4 or 5 (Parish, Kareem, Rodman/Laimbeer, Horace Grant, Hakeem, Rodman again, The Towers, Shaq, and Wallace).

On the other hand, no team that’s won a title since 1990 has had an All-Star at PG (although that’s about to change). And just ask the 90’s Bulls/Rockets and the Kobe/Shaq Lakers - you can have mediocre players at the point and still win multiple titles.

So yeah…you’re just plain wrong.

By michael m.

June 2, 2007 2:27 PM | Link to this

conley and jj are a perfectly sized backcourt. in fact, the new nba that keeps defenders from using their hands to impede the progress of quicker pg’s has led to many teams putting multiple pg types on the floor together.

doc, if you cannot look at what we currently have and see that conley is the player who can give us a style of play and make the biggest impact on the hawks this season, then you need a checkup. this smurf thing you are currently running with is bogus. lue and aj (who is 6’3, by the way) are in the last years of their contracts, so is salim. speedy is signed for 3 more years. so using that as your reasoning for why we shouldn’t draft conley is laughable. to each his own, but i’m just surprised to hear you talking about yi and comparing him to darko milicic. i thought you knew more about basketball than you are showing of late.

critt’s size and skills are exciting, but he is more a developmental prospect that isn’t ready for the nba. (if we had andre miller, critt would be a nice player to develop and take over in 3 years.) we need a leader who doesn’t turn the ball over, not one who turns it over more. we need somebody to break down defenses and create tempo; that’s conley

i really like a lot of brandan wright’s skills. didn’t see him play much but have started watching some on youtube. i can only get excited about us drafting him if he could play center, however. in time he might be able to play it in the east. he just needs to put on 40 pounds and that is going to take a couple years. if he’s truly 6’10, he’s a contender. he has an incredible wingspan and seems to be a low post player who could be a defensive anchor. this guy might just be the 3rd most talented player in this draft in terms of superstar potential. in the clips i saw (mostly defensive plays), there were hints of okafor, camby, josh smith, etc… he oozes potential.however, it is going to take him a couple years to develop his body and skills. the idea of taking him and trading josh smith only sets the clock back a couple years. it doesn’t take us to the next level like conley will. this decision is a chance to right the wrong tht occured when we took marvin over paul and deron. i really like marvin but considering our team, time has shown that it wasn’t the correct pick for the atlanta hawks.

this draft is extremely forward heavy when it comes to the lottery. and the fact that portland leapfrogged other teams to nab oden has thrown gm’s and execs across the league for a loop because portland was going to draft a small forward, but now they are taking the one true elite center. the order that the rest of these players come off the board is going to come down to teams examing their rosters and needs, and the smart teams will pick the best fit for them.

so here we are with two picks in this forward heavy lottery. no team in the nba is as forward heavy as the atlanta hawks. it’s already a running joke in the league. smoove, marvin, chill, shelden. and there’s only so many minutes to go around. we have painted ourselves into a corner. but billy knight is in love with them the way robert deniro will only date african american women. only difference is the hawks are a team, not an individual who exists in a vacuum.

we can no longer treat our team like an expansion franchise that is simply picking players without regard to what ingredients are already on the roster.

billy knight needs to be made to understand this. he is the one who put us in this situation. he can draft conley and tab noah or hawes with the #11 pick to fix the issue, or he can confound the problem and keep us unbalanced forever. but what do you think the forwards already on our roster are thinking when they see this? what do you think joe johnson is going to be saying to himself when he has already come out and said publicly that we need to get a 1 and a 5? or dominque, who said the very same thing after the lottery revealed where are our picks were going to be? chad ford asked him this very question, and he said we needed a pg and center. i think it makes the forwards coming up for an extension more likely to enter their prime years on another team. bk is going to make us even more of a joke if he keeps this up. OWNERSHIP NEEDS TO STAND UP AND REPLACE BK AND WOODSEN IF THEY STILL DO NOT GET IT. i’ve met woodsen before, he’s a nice guy, but we have not been built to play halfcourt, detroit pistons basketball. and while bk was correct a couple years ago in his assessment that the league was moving towards athletes who could play multiple positions and create mismatches, he forgot that to run the race you need a real point guard who can push, penetrate, creat tempo, and lead the charges into battle. we have a bunch of racehorses standing around while our mediocre pg’s pound the ball into the floor while the 24 second clock moves down into single digits. it’s disgusting that management refuses to fix the problem. and for those of you who want to pretend that conley doesn’t have a jumpshot, you have no idea what you are talking about. comparing his shooting skills to speedy is lazy blogging on your part and completely untrue. so while brandan wright and crittenton are great prospects, what the atlanta hawks need right now are mike conley and joakim noah, players who can come in and make a difference in their rookie years. conley and noah can do that, i promise. and by year two, they will be starters at the 1 and 5 positions. we will have a real team, something that complements each other and makes the whole even greater than the parts. otherwise the hawks are just a great assemblage of talented forward ingredients that when you put together to bake a cake, you end up with a frustrating mess. PLEASE ATLANTA SPIRIT, i know you want to draft conley and do the right thing. GET BK INTO A FORWARDS ANONYMOUS MEETING BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!

By doc

June 2, 2007 2:20 PM | Link to this

g money you have made the point to not get a point guard, unfortuantely it is contrary to what you were arguing. many of the teams you suggest didnt have great or even tremendous points. the bulls, lakers, heat, mavs, among a few of the recent title contenders along with the cavs this year do not have true stars or generals at point guard. the pistons and the spurs with what many then called a developing but mistake prone young guard was the description in parker are the exceptions to the rule of a point having a significant impact in the finals of the nba.

maybe this year if the commish hadnt gotten in the way it would have been different to have a team truly be lead into the finals by the point in nash but even billips isnt or wasnt the major force on the pistons when they won it. not even the greatest of all time in oscar robertson could get there without a big man. maybe, jason kidd a few years back with the nets was the exception but he is huge for a point and rebounds as well as he dishes.

By GuyFromUruguay

June 2, 2007 1:58 PM | Link to this

The more I read and see, the more I’m convinced we should draft Conley. As I mentioned, DraftExpress did a statistical comparison, and him and Law are the two best in the draft.

For the 11th pick, I’d really, really like the Hawks to draft Tiago Splitter, a polished and proven defensive center with some scoring ability. If Noah falls to 11 by all means draft him, but it seems unlikely. I saw Splitter play at the South America qualifier tournaments, and he was amongst the best players in a team with Varejao and Barbosa. The problem with him is his buyout, not something about his play.

No-one else would like to draft Jared Jordan with a traded-for 2nd round pick? The Suns sold their pick last draft so there’s that possibility.

By smh

June 2, 2007 1:55 PM | Link to this

Actually all I was saying is Jameer is not very good at all not that Jameer is better than Conley although Jameer isnt very good. Conley will be better than Jameer and that wont take much. Jameer is a classic example of a great college player who’s college came didnt transfer to the NBA game. Jameer does not have Conlye’s atheltic ability, speed or passing ability so im sorry I didnt make your point. If Jameer was in this draft Conley would easily be drafted before Jameer. For some reason Conley doesnt seem to get enough credit for how good he is on this board. People seem to want more fwds but no pg. Whats the use of having all these talented swing men but nobody to get them the ball. Law is a combo guard who is a scorer first. Crit is too turnover prone and he lets his mistakes get to him then you add in the fact of how Woodson will handle him (on the bench for any mistake). Not saying Conley will not make any but look at his assist to turnover ratio. I can see it now, taking another fwd passing over anotehr damn pg. Im about to give up on here because making sense doenst seem to matter.

By JohnD

June 2, 2007 1:32 PM | Link to this

smh,

You make my point. If Conley is not as good a player as Nelson, or likely to be, why draft him at #3 nust because he is “the best PG in this draft”.

By Volman

June 2, 2007 1:21 PM | Link to this

Do you guys remember, the Hawks had the lowest scoring PPG as a team in the NBA? (I think that’s right, without checking.)

Some of you are wanting to just throw Zaza out of the picture in place of Noah and his “defensive presence”. Can Noah score around 15 ppg (Zaza averaged around 12 I believe, but he usually got around 15) and average around 10 rebounds? Yes, I like how Noah is a Varejao clone (they HAVE to be long-lost brothers) but I don’t see him coming in and being very offensive minded (something the Hawks NEED DESPERATELY INSIDE- Zaza likes to shoot elbow shots and can’t finish around the rim).

What’s my answer? I don’t know.. that’s why I’m not a GM. I do know, however, that Noah doesn’t come in at the #3 pick and takes Zaza’s spot. No way.

By doc

June 2, 2007 1:15 PM | Link to this

ghook, sorry if you were offended. i know all the stats on conley because i have been on the wagon for him before most. go back and see that i was one of the first here to bring his name up as a potential point, if you want to do the research. most that read here regularly can probably vouch for it. i like his heart, his pedigree, his prepararation to be going to the next step and know how far he got his team this year as the guy who ran the offfense. one thing i couldnt defend was that he isnt bigger when that is what we need.

now, before i fall completely in love with the guy i have to look first at the team he is coming to and it is small by convention and he is only going to make this club smaller. the smurf like hawks had three major problems last year in personel and he does little to solve them. first, whenever a team had the hosses all they had to do was bring out the trees and the hawks were dead. the teams that beat the hawks like a drum were the teams with size and depth of same coming off the bench. we didnt stand a chance against teams like the spurs, jazz, mavs, cavs, bucks or knicks for that matter, as they just beat up on our smaller forwards and “centers”.

second, any team could add major misery by throwing in a big guard to do the dirty work in there by either driving and dishing or shooting over the undersized guards. we had as the only response chills and jj, certainly not enough to balance things. so we do nothing to correct those flaws in design by drafting conley early since we are pretty sure there is no one to spend money on or have money to spend to correct that.

besides the small guard and center/forward issue that beat us routinely there was the other issue that there was no one who could score except jj in the deciding minutes except a very short guard salim, who had to share the ball with jj as neither one was a point. now if yi is what he is said to be then he will help there tremendously. if he is close to a gasol, dirk or bargnani then he is worth the pick at three as he is what the hawks need to help divide the scoring load with jj. bargnani came on strong last year once given the chance after the gm prodded the coach of the year to let happen and helped that team make a strong run the end of the season. zaza tried last year and couldnt be consistant as he was quickly nullified by other teams bigs. i want the hawks to improve but to do it you have to look at the present mix and decide what compliments it if anything. many yell for gasol now or even mililcik a similar type player in stature and style as yi.

now as far as whether crit could do it or conley, the predraft workouts are the deciding factor. what it allows all of the smart guys to do is see how much of a factor was oden and the other buckeyes were in conley looking good. can you answer the question if crit was there would they have looked just as good or even better? during the trials all the players get to play with the same guys and be compared on a similar playing ground all things equal; where the league you come from, the team you come from or even the nation you are from doesnt count. that is what this pre-trial stuff is all about and why i am willing to wait before i get in bed with one guy.

i can only hope that bk is down there with NO preconceived notions nor his owners dictating what he should do before really seeing these guys go after it under similar conditions. that is the predeterminant in all this; how they play against or with each other and not how they played within a certain system or within a certain league. look only to the mistake of sheldon last year to see that folly.

now after the workouts if conley is the superior of the rest then fine but he gives this team 5 guys at a little over 6 ft to play with. if i were a coach in the nba knowing how quickly teams can give you mismatch problems that need quick solutions to, i would quake at trying to come up with answers with a roster that fully unbalanced. talk all you want about the forwards this team has but the problem isnt in having four about 6’8” to play those positions but in the small stature of its guards. that will have to be fixed in a hurry along with some guys taller than 6’8”. that is what i lean to some size and true muscle. if half of your team is shorter that me in the nba then you have got a severe problem, unless they are nash, oscar, isiah or cousy .

look forward to sekou’s assessment. now where is richards going to fall in all this?

By BosnianBaller

June 2, 2007 1:09 PM | Link to this

I agreee with A.Joe what is our style of play.That’s the reason we suck.Mike Woodson hasn’t established anything.We should be running but we don’t.When we do run we look great but for the most part we try the half court game which hasn’t cut it. Draft Yi and anybody else.

By My View

June 2, 2007 1:04 PM | Link to this

For those of you who think Conley will get out muscled. Look at Chris Paul, t Parker. Those dudes are not weight room warriors either but they are all-stars.

By tony

June 2, 2007 1:03 PM | Link to this

John, Mike Conley is a terrific shooter. His FG percentage was 52%. Acie Law was 50% and Javaris Chrittenton was 45%. Mike Conley is more a contributor than he is a shooter. He’s living up to what his position is design to do. Are you aware they he won 6 games without Greg Oden. Also, are you aware that he out scored Greg Oden 5 out 8 through NCAA Tournament? He will kick it into another gear when the team is struggling down the stretch something Atlanta hadn’t had since they traded away Jason Terry. Remember Mookie Blay-lock? His FG% was 47% and led the hawks to 57-25 season. Mookie was 6’0 180lbs, so sizev don’t mean anything. Check out what they wrote about. http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/hawks/stories/2007/06/02/0603insidenba.html Conley want to be a hawk.

By cp

June 2, 2007 12:48 PM | Link to this

Im sorry but Jack is not better than Conley. Jack is a decent pg but doenst have much upside. He is not as quick or athletic as Conley nor is he the good passer Conley is. I just read a rumor about how the Hawks are talking about trading Josh Smith. I really hope this isnt true. They say that is why BK is talking about taking Wright at 3. If the Hawks not only pass on Conley but trade Josh Smith away then im done with this team. It is so hard to support this franchise when you have this type of stupidity in the front office. Im hoping this is just a rumor but i remember last year reading about taking Sheldon Williams damn near a month before the draft and that was true. So if the rumor about taking Wright at 3, Crit at 11 and traading Josh Smith is true then im done with the Hawks. It almost feels like this team is being ran by a bunch of 3rd graders.

By DC

June 2, 2007 12:41 PM | Link to this

WHAT ABOUT NO. 3, CHILDRESS, AJ OR LUE, LORENZON TO PORTLAND FOR ALDRIDGE, JACK AND WE TAKE PRYZBILLA’S CONTRACT. THEN WE TAKE NICK YOUNG FROM USC AT NO. 11 TO HAVE INSURANCE FOR IF/WHEN JOE JOHNSON GET’S HURT. WE WOULD STILL HAVE DEPTH TO TRADE AND START ALDRIDGE, SMITH, WILLIAMS, JOHNSON, JACK. MAYBE WE PACKAGE ONE OF LAST YEAR’S ROOKIES AND STOUDAMIRE WITH WILLIAMS AND GET A REAL PF.

By mike

June 2, 2007 12:29 PM | Link to this

The best possible scenario would be to trade portland and get Jarrett Jack he is better then conley and we could get Randolph also or Magloire (they won’t let aldridge go)

By smh

June 2, 2007 12:09 PM | Link to this

Jameer Nelson is not that good actually and he was a first round pick. I think he went like two picks right behind Josh Smith. As far as Noah, I like him but no way we take him at 3.If he falls to 11 im fine with taking him there but not at 3. I really dont understand the fans on here. Why in the hell would we pass over the best pg in the draft AGAIN to take another fwd. Its damn near sad to see people on here who are actually fine with taking another fwd over a pg. This is like groundhog day times 10. I like Law but the guy is a combo guard. He is not a pass first guard. He doesnt penetrate like Conley. I like Crit but like it was said earlier, he makes way too many mistakes and we know Woody will yank him at the first sign of trouble and kill his confidence. Like it was said about the workouts, dont put much stock in that either considering its BK conducting them. He didnt work out Sheldon Williams at all people so do you really think workouts matter to him.

By JohnD

June 2, 2007 11:38 AM | Link to this

I read here that Conley is a poor shooter yet he is compared to Nash, Kidd, Wade, Parker, Ford and others. All of those PG’s can SHOOT.

Speedy is a poor outside shooter, so how many can the Hawks carry at one time?

Noah can’t shoot, he has one ugly free throw shooting style. He is good around the basket but he is very thin.

There have been very, very few guys come to the NBA and learn to shoot. Either you can or you cannot by the time you leave college. ‘Nique is one of the exceptions - his game was all low around the basket his first year or two, but that is mostly where he was successful in college.

A PG who is not at least a threat to shoot will never break down a defense, the defender will just give plenty of room.

Is Conley better now than Jameer Nelson? If not, then he is not worthy of a #3 pick. Nelson has not been mentioned among those who are outstanding PG’s and I believe he was a 2nd round pick.

A #3 pick should not be used on simply the best PG in THIS draft, but on a PG who will one day be as good as those mentioned above. If Conley can’t shoot he will have a career closer to Speedy than to Nash, Kidd and the others.

By G Money

June 2, 2007 10:38 AM | Link to this

It seems almost ludicrous that we are debating whether or not we need to draft Conley or a point guard at 3. There have been teams that have won without a dominant big, but there have NEVER been teams that have become champions without a great floor general. In this era, that general (perhaps LeBron is the exception), is at the point. Tony Parker, DWade, Deron Williams, TJ Ford, JKidd, and S Nash just to refresh memories.

Gentlemen, if you’ve been suffering through the insufferable Hawks for the past several years as I have, you CANNOT BE SERIOUS and believe that we can be successful without the best possible point guard in this draft, Mike Conley.

Please dismiss talks of free agency coming to the rescue. Free agency helps those who already have. I would never want to be deep into the second half of my basketball career trying to rebuild a team from scratch. These guys are looking for chances to play for a championship. We are still a couple years away from being a team that would be attractive to big time/big name players. Besides, this ownership cloud is going to keep money from raining down on any potential free agent who might consider Atlanta.

Do not be delusional. I am a Noah fan. I was a fan of his father. But he will not change the lot of a franchise like a great point guard can - not in this new millennium. KG can’t do it no matter how many points and rebounds he gets. A great point guard makes everyone better just because of the nature of the position.

By Chris

June 2, 2007 10:16 AM | Link to this

I agree we neeeeeeeed Noah at number 3 he is the best option there is for the hawks then we take Law at 11 it is as simple as that. Law might not be as fast as conley but dont we already have someone whose name speaks for itself (speedy). anyway law is better then any of our point guards regardless so it will be an upgrade, and we have nobody to man the paint….zaza is ok but he is not a defensive presence in the paint, he is just good offensively. And doesn’t everybody say defense wins championships!!!!!!!…….And…..the best offense is a good defense!!!!!!!So think about that one Billy, Sekou, and whoever else is out there saying we need to take conley at 3. And Brandon Wright would be another huge mistake we don’t need another forward!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By Mike

June 2, 2007 9:59 AM | Link to this

**WE HAVE TO TAKE JOAKIM NOAH AT 3 IF WE CAN’T TRADE FOR A BIG. CONLEY IS GOOD BUT THEN WHAT WILL WE DO WITH THE CENTER SITUATION PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YEAH WE COULD PICK UP DARKO IN FREE AGENCY BUT IT WOULD BE MUCH BETTER TO HAVE NOAH AND THEN DARKO BACKING HIM UP OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. CENTER IS OUR BIGGEST CONCERN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I MEAN COME ON WE ALREADY HAVE FOUR POINT GUARDS AND A SHOOTING GUARD WHO IS SMALLER THAN MOST POINT GUARDS IN SALIM. ASK YOURSELVES PEOPLE…WHO DO WE HAVE AT CENTER?????? ZAZA…AND THAT IS IT AND HE SHOULD REALLY BE A POWER FORWARD. OTHER THEN THAT WE HAVE NOBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LORENZEN IS A THIRD OR FOURTH OPTION AT BEST HE CAN’T BE OUR BACKUP TO ZAZA IT OBVIOUSLY WON’T WORK!!!!!!!!! CAN’T YOU CONLEY SUPPORTERS SEE THIS????????

By tony

June 2, 2007 8:33 AM | Link to this

A-vill Ranger, I respect your opinion and observation - however - our team’s statistics are what they are. I watch nearly every game the last 3 years and what I observe was that our guards had difficulties creating separation and space off the dribble. When your guards….. mainly your point guaud can create separation, he will give teams all kinds of problems. History is evident of that. Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas Dennis Johnson and John Stockton all had the ability to create separation and space off the dribble. Take a look at the teams around the league today. Nearly every team that made the playoffs has a point guard who has the ability to create separation off the dribble to create scoring opportunites for their teams. Take Tony Parker for instance. He has the ability to beat his man off the dribble that will cause a defense to leave their men open…which will create easy open shots for his team. That’s why their FG% is in the top 10. Do you remember Armond Hill and Eddie Jonhson? WOW!! Eddie Johnson was the best ballhandler I have ever seen in my life time. He could beat his man off the dribble 95% of the time and score layups. Doc River, Spud Web and Mookie Blaylock all had the ability to create separation and space off the dribble. All of them took the hawks into the playoff. Take a look at their assist percentage and you will find that they were above average. If the hawks are going to get back into the playoffs, they have to get a point guard who can create separation and space off the dribble who has efficient assist ability. I believe Mike Conley is the one.

By LA Hawk

June 2, 2007 5:36 AM | Link to this

A couple of things pop right into mind while reading your blog…first — the Hawks have a system? Since when? They play whatever style their opponent is playing — second, (and I’m a Marvin fan) but Marvin was by no means the ‘best player available’ as you state…he MIGHT have been the best ‘prospect’ available…Deron Williams was the best player. If Marvin was the best player available he would have at least started at UNC for crissakes.

By MALONE

June 2, 2007 3:56 AM | Link to this

If LeBron beats Detroit Motor City tonight, will Billups REALLY WANT to return to the Pistons?

I think it would be the beginning of the end for the Pistons. I mean really… what would they do to “go forward?” They’ve been in the E-Conf Finals for 5 straight years. It’s gotta end some time.

Even if BK screws up our picks, I’d bet my house that the Hawks will play in more playoff games over the next five years than the Pistons.

Well, maybe not my house…

By A-ville Ranger

June 2, 2007 3:45 AM | Link to this

Clyde I’m guessing Wrights playing weight will be around 220-225 but his game isn’t backing a defender down,it’s quickness and going over the top.He isn’t a frail guy by any stretch though and he should hold up well.Durrant is much thiner but his game is facing the basket and he has that great jump shot to keep them honest.

By Clyde

June 2, 2007 3:25 AM | Link to this

A-ville Ranger do you think a guy weighing 210 pounds can hold his own in the paint in the NBA?

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By A-ville Ranger

June 2, 2007 3:12 AM | Link to this

Ray I just don’t get the bad vibes you guys have on Wright.I live in NC and I’ve watched 20 or so of their games.The kid is a great athlete.The thing that could make him special is that hook he releases in a split second with either hand from above the rim.Unstoppable low post moves win big time in the playoffs.Think about the tough playoff games you’ve seen that were won with a shot like that.Now think of how many players have one,very few.

By A-ville Ranger

June 2, 2007 3:03 AM | Link to this

I can’t argue with that Ray.It’s a hell of a good problem to have as long as it’s played right.

By ray

June 2, 2007 2:54 AM | Link to this

No matter what, we need a young pg. I’d rather take a chance on a raw pg like Crittenton than not get one at all. I don’t trust what could or would be done about the pg issue through free agency or trade. Milwaukee won’t let Mo Williams go, Billups will likley stay with Detroit, Bibby’s not coming here either, etc, etc.

But, if we’re going to go really raw at the pg, then we need to get a more guaranteed helper at the pf/c position. One of our draft picks (barring some trade that works out even better for us) needs to be a very solid one, whether it’s the best perceived pg available or best big man available to fit our system.

By A-ville Ranger

June 2, 2007 2:52 AM | Link to this

Matt if there was a way to find out if Billups might be interested before the draft,I’d sure give that a look.I know rules don’t allow anything formal so they’d have to be smart.

By ray

June 2, 2007 2:45 AM | Link to this

Yi may or may not be as talented as some say. I say we don’t need him unless: 1. Some other team is dying to have him and will facilitate a very good trade for us-we pick him and trade him or 2. He’s so good in his workouts that he blows away anything we have at the 3 and 4 positions. In which case, we’d have to be looking at moving one or two of our young forwards.

Brewer makes sense only if he also blows people away in workouts and we intend to keep Smith at PF, while acquiring a good, tough big that can man the post. Otherwise, what would we do with two Josh Smith types?

Brandon Wright. I’m not going to go there again. This shouldn’t even be brought up.

Noah. A solid pick-up, I say. I still think he’s going to be better than Varejao. Significantly better. But what do I know.

Conley. I still like this guy. Size is always something people jump on, yet there are effective players in the league that don’t have that magic “size” that apparently a successful pg must have. Whatever.

Acie Law. Still on the fence with this one. He’s bigger than Conley and slower. Makes good decisions and is an offensive threat all to himself. His ball-handling and decision making should separate him from the Salim Stoudamires of the world. Combo guard or not, he could still be a lead guard, one that we need. A stable-mate for JJ. For those of you who keep screeching “we don’t need an elite pg”, this should be right up your alley.

By the way, elite pgs are hard to come by, and we don’t have access to any, so stop screeching about it. You came up with this in your own twisted head. Nobody else said it. We just need a young pg to develop and hand the reigns over to eventually.

Crittenton. Look, this guy is possibly the biggest risk/reward pg available in the draft. As one site said, he could be awesome or just awful. Another blogger here brought up a very good point: would he get the chance to actually develop here? Or would Woody do to him what he did to Shelden-yank and sit him every single time he makes a mistake? Crit’s got the size, but how refined/polished are the skills? What’s his learning curve look like? Wish I knew. He may take more time to develop than any of the others. Not that there’s a lot to choose from at that position, let alone in the lottery.

Yes, with the #3 pick in hand, a bunch of workouts should be happening here. Billy and crew should have their work cut out for them. None of this “let’s draft him without even working him out” stuff. Maybe even bring ‘em back for a second workout, if necessary. Either way, somebody’s gotta do their homework.

By Matt

June 2, 2007 2:44 AM | Link to this

A-ville Ranger,

I agree in principle, but I question whether there’s any veteran point guard out there who we could get that would be worth the price we’d have to pay. That said, I think the Hawks’ top priority should be to use the draft to get a defensive presence in the paint - Brendan Wright and Noah are the best in that category; Hawes and Yi both seem to have potential as well.

For the 3243254th time, it is absolutely unnecessary to have a big-time talent at the point. Whoever we get at 11 - be it Crit or Law - would be fine.

I do want to say that I think getting a guy like Noah is a must for the Hawks. It’s rare to find a guy who plays with as much intensity as he does, and he’s the kind of player who can rally the team no matter how bleak things look. You can’t coach that. Add in the fact that he’s 6’11 and has a through-the-roof basketball IQ, and I think that Noah would be an excellent choice for the Hawks.

That said, it’s not necessary to take him at 3; almost certainly, we could also trade down from the 3 to the 5 or 6 spot with a team dying to get Brewer or Yi, and take Noah or Wright there.

By A-ville Ranger

June 2, 2007 2:03 AM | Link to this

Tony good post.No doubt Speedy isn’t the anwser at pg.You,ve probably heard the saying though that there are three levels of lies,lies,damn lies and statistics.Part of those numbers were the result of injuries to JJ and others.Much of it was inevitable where the team leader is an inexperienced 24 year old (JJ) and again he was injured most of the year.When you field the youngest team in the league there is a price to pay.My question is,can we solve these problems any time soon by getting even younger.Specifically at pg,I have my doubts.

By travis

June 2, 2007 1:37 AM | Link to this

Dang!! Tony this is the best blog. All of the other ones are full of emotions and opinions. This is the first one with real facts, which you can’t dispute. I hope that the Hawks mgt. are looking at this data. Based on what Tony has presented, we need Conley, badly.

By tony

June 2, 2007 1:22 AM | Link to this

Since I’ve been reading comments on this message board, not once have I seen anyone comment on our team year statistics. We can’t be successful if we draft these kids based on perception. Statistics are collected to analyze specific catagories on defense and offense. These statistics will explain teams strength and weaknesses. I took the time to analyze the hawks 2006 statistics against teams around the league. On offense:(PPG-93.65),(FG%-28th), (FT%-12th), (Assists-26th), (3PT%-last). On defense:(Rebounding-22nd), (Block Shots-5th), (Steals-9th). Our FG%and Assists percentages need to improve enormously. The problems I’ve seen with this team - their point guard has trouble creating separation and space off the dribble and winning close games down the stretch. They need a point guard who has good assist ability and can create separation off the dribble. Mike Conley college statistics in assists,steals and block shots are better than any point guards in this draft. He is faster and he is a better ballhandler. His versatility will create many scoring opportunity for the hawks. Ho, Conley has more rebounds than the other point guards in this draft as well.

By GHook

June 2, 2007 1:19 AM | Link to this

neil I agree with you, I think that Noah/Law would be a solid draft. This scenario has advantages and disadvantages though. Law is 22, and while he is probably capable of coming in and contributing immediately, he doesn’t have anywhere near the upside of Conley. Also, while Law is possibly a more talented player than Salim, I feel that they have similar games and that Salim could fill the role that Law would fill for the Hawks (combo guard that provides swagger and instant offense).

I think you’re dead on with Noah though. Noah is just what the Hawks need - a strong defensive presence with that motor and energy that would ignite the Hawks, who can drag at times. I think we should get Noah at all costs. I can’t see Noah going higher than 8 to the Bobcats, so if they show considerable interest in him we should try to trade up to draft him. Noah/Zaza at C would be a perfect tandem.

By the way, to those saying that the Hawks would be drafting Conley too high at #3 and that we should take Wright/Yi/whoever at 3 and Crit at 11, what makes you think we’re not reaching taking a prospect projected at ~20 with the 11th pick? That doesn’t make any sense.

By hawks fan

June 2, 2007 1:05 AM | Link to this

alright enough is enough i sick about hearing that we need to draft the best talent which is suppose to be B.Wright. The last time we drafted the best talent we got Marvin Williams and passed on Deron Williams and Chirs Paul who are both all star pg’s. ] we need a point. We need conley and then a big man like noah or someone else at 11. our roster will look like this pg-conley/lue sg-johnson sf-smith/j-chill pf-s.williams/m.williams c-noah/jones

By neil

June 2, 2007 12:16 AM | Link to this

I like the idea Al but it looks like Jermaine Oneal will most definately be headed to the lakers to make kobe happy.

By AL

June 2, 2007 12:08 AM | Link to this

I say we trade for Jermaine Oneal he is a great shot blocker and scorer and he has a house in Atlanta if he gets here they can make his a* play center

By neil

June 2, 2007 12:03 AM | Link to this

Ghook, I like conley and think he will be a good point but acie law is right up there with him and will be available at 11 so why not go with noah at 3 and then get law at 11. If we get conley at 3 then noah will be gone and there won’t be any other bigs worth getting at 11. Hawes isn’t ready and has no defensive game which is what we need and that is if he is even available at that spot so who is left then……Splitter I hear has a huge contract to be bought out from spain to acquire him so that would be too much for the stingy hawks owners. And that is about it for bigs

By GHook

June 1, 2007 10:35 PM | Link to this

doc, so your only defense of not drafting Conley is that I made a typo on what conference he plays in? Obviously you could think of no real reason for passing on him. You’d rather draft Yi at #3? How many forwards do you want on this team? Talk about imbalancing the roster. How many times does it need to be said on these blogs, Conley is taller and weighs more than Chris Paul. Conley reps the 185 pound bar 13 times. He has a 6’7 wingspan. He has a 39 inch vertical, which is expected to increase by workouts. He is a smart, cerebral young point guard. If you don’t realize that the Hawks biggest needs are PG and C you should probably find a new sport to follow. Also, I’m still waiting for someone to give me a real, logical reason why the Hawks should pass on Conley because I haven’t heard one yet.

By the way, just so nobody has to research my other facts like you said:

Conley has a 3:1 asst to TO ratio: http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=1176&page=stats

Conley led Big TEN in assists: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/statistics?conf=7

By A-ville Ranger

June 1, 2007 10:15 PM | Link to this

One thing I just don’t get is why some of you think Wilkens would make a good GM.I don’t have anything against Dom he’s a nice guy and a great athlete.Joe Dumars was a very smart player he made sense as a GM.Wilkens played his whole career without learning to play team ball.He couldn’t pass out of a double team and teams even triple teamed him on nights when he was completely brain dead.I’m sorry but ask a real basketball person from back then what kind of basketball IQ he had as a player.

By Volman

June 1, 2007 10:08 PM | Link to this

Did anybody read that Chad Ford article?

He definitely said that Yi was almost “cheating the system” where MOST NBA teams couldn’t even see his physical. It was like Yi wanted to only go to “winning” teams (Bulls, Warriors).

What do you guys think about this? It doesn’t sound like Yi is an option for this Hawks team.

Brandon Wright? We don’t need another Solomon Jones! He’s good and all, but very raw! Come on, now!

By St. Bernard

June 1, 2007 10:05 PM | Link to this

If you have the third pick in the draft you pick someone to start for you next year. Conley and Noah are the only choices.

By mykhalc

June 1, 2007 9:45 PM | Link to this

word that BK is lookin’ at swingman…PREDICTABLE!! but the AJC NOT leadin’ with a VICK is sorta guilty story??? what the hell happened???LOL ok back to the HAWKS!!

By MALONE

June 1, 2007 9:45 PM | Link to this

Here’s the Chad Ford blurb:

We have the Hawks taking Mike Conley at No. 3 in our latest mock draft, but the rumor in Orlando is that (a) the Hawks love UNC’s Brandan Wright at No. 3 and (b) with the No. 11 pick, they already have zeroed in on Georgia Tech freshman Javaris Crittenton.

Given that the Hawks already had decided to draft Shelden Williams by the predraft camp last year (I first reported it in my blog on the second day of camp last year), it’s hard to dismiss this rumor — even though almost every team I spoke with has Crittenton ranked lower than 11th.

I think the Hawks would be making a mistake by passing on Conley. Crittenton is a good prospect, but both he and Wright are too far away from being ready to contribute much. How much longer are Hawks fans (and Joe Johnson) supposed to wait?

I would tend to agree with Mr. Ford…Are Wright and Crit going to make this team a 39-45 win team next year? More power to BK if he’s right.

By St. Bernard

June 1, 2007 9:37 PM | Link to this

Okay, everybody is dogging Conley, but if we draft Wright or Li, who do they replace? Are they starters from day 1? In my opinion, Conley and Noah would be starters from day one. Maybe even Hawes for that matter. Could BK really bench Marvin or Josh Smith for Wright or Li? NO. Do we bury Sheldon and Solo on the bench? Especially after spending #5 on Sheldon last year?

Arguing that we have 5 back-up point guards is useless. You can’t tell me you’d rather have Lue or Speedy running the team than Conley. The same goes for Noah. I’m not a fan of Noah, but if he comes here, he’s our best center just because we have nothing there. I could live with Noah with the #3 before any of these other guys. I’m not so sure I wouldn’t go for best player available with the 11 though. If we’re satisfied at the one spot then let’s just take the best thing left or reach for another 7 footer.

By GuyFromUruguay

June 1, 2007 9:36 PM | Link to this

I was thinking if it would be possible to make some trade for a 2nd round pick and get Jared Jordan… there’s a lot of hype on that guy and seems like the perfect fit for the transition game off the bench.

Draftexpress profile:

By anonymous

June 1, 2007 9:31 PM | Link to this

WHAT IS WRONG WITH EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE NEED TO EITHER PICK NOAH OR TRADE FOR A BIG AT NUMBER THREE. NOAH IS THE ONLY BIG THAT WOULD EVEN REMOTELY COME CLOSE TO BEING A DEFENSIVE PRESENCE IN THE PAINT IN THE DRAFT THAT IS TALLER THEN 6’9”. NO MORE 6’9” PLAYERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FORGET BRANDON WRIGHT FORGET HORFORD WE NEED HEIGHT AND SHOT BLOCKING AND NOAH HAS BOTH. IF WE CAN TRADE FOR A GOOD BIG THEN THAT WOULD BE EVEN BETTER BUT THAT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE IT WILL HAPPEN, SO WE HAVE TO SNAG NOAH AT THREE HE WONT BE THERE AT 11 PEOPLE!!!!!!! I DONT CARE WHAT THESE STUPID INSIDER PEOPLE SAY HE WILL NOT SLIP THAT FAR DOWN. BESIDES THERE WILL STILL BE LAW OR CRIT LEFT AT 11!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY GOD COME ON SOME OF YOU PEOPLE ARE RIDICULOUS. WE NEED A DEFENSIVE PRESENCE IN THE MIDDLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By OddJob

June 1, 2007 9:00 PM | Link to this

I don’t know who BK will take at three or who he should at this point.The report that he’ll take Wright and Critt isn’t crazy like many of you think though.Being from Atlanta I watched Tech when I could.Living in NC I saw 20 or so UNC games and I was impressed with both of these guys.Adding these two to the lineup would give them as athletic a team as any, even the Suns.I’m not convinced adding two 20 year old kids is the best move regardless of who BK deems best.If they keep the picks these two would make the team better eventually.I’m not at all convinced you can build a champion without adding a couple of really good smart vets,we’ll see.

By G Money

June 1, 2007 8:36 PM | Link to this

Doc,

You make an interesting point. Both Deron Williams and JKidd are 6-3 and 6-4 respectively. However, Chris Paul is only listed at 6-0. It may be more size of heart and talent than a couple of inches, if Conley possesses the same skills as a CP3. Additionally, we don’t have any PG close to the caliber of those 3 stars so speaking of “smurfs” also has to include not just their heights but their ability to play in comparison to a CP3 or someone at his skill level.

Additionally, I chatted with someone close to Memphis. The chance of us getting Gasol was pretty nil. There was nothing that the draft had or that the Hawks have that could interest the Grizzilies.

Why not get Conley and see if we can trade up for Yi or just see what lands our way at 11 thereafter? As I believe Michael M stated though, we do need a stronger presence in the paint. How do we get that through the draft?

By michael m.

June 1, 2007 8:27 PM | Link to this

adam, we did not have only a 13% chance of landing 2 lottery picks. your reporting is wrong on that. our chances of keeping both was in the low 30s percentile wise. not sure if you can still change it, but just wanted to give you the heads up.

By michael m.

June 1, 2007 8:19 PM | Link to this

doc, think big picture. lue, aj, and salim are in the last year of their contracts. only speedy is signed beyond next season. if that is your reasoning for passing on conley (who isn’t 5’10 like ford, he’s 6’1), that’s a pretty weak argument.

by the way, where are you guys gonna play all these forwards?

By Adam Krohn

June 1, 2007 7:35 PM | Link to this

Here’s a link to my column on Billy Knight in The Sunday Paper:

http://www.sundaypaper.com/CurrentArticles/tabid/98/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/156/060307-SPORTS-No-laughing-matter.aspx

By ScoobySnacks

June 1, 2007 7:05 PM | Link to this

I just Read on Espn that Phoenix maybe interested in trading Amare Stoudemire. OMFG. I need Billy’s phone number now. Bring in Amare and Crittendon and we are set baby.

By Mike The Mechanic

June 1, 2007 6:21 PM | Link to this

I’ve looked at several mock drafts, and what i find is if we take conley at 3, then there isn’t much of a choice left of bigs in this draft at 11. I personally think that BK if he works some players out, he will fall in love with Yi, Brewer, or Wright.

Like someone said above, I would not mind taking Yi, only if he works out and is really impressive in those workouts, and the best available player at 11, pt. gaurd or not….unless we can unload 1 of our 5 pt. gaurds, I just don’t think BK will pick one….although I would.

By Chris D'

June 1, 2007 5:54 PM | Link to this

If the Hawks keep their 2 lottery picks, next year they most likely will have 7 lottery picks on their team and will probably go into the season projected as one of the 5 worst teams in the NBA. That is not a very easy thing to accomplish. Congratulations…

By Chris D'

June 1, 2007 5:46 PM | Link to this

Sekou,

I think you had a little word error. You might want to reference a better thesauruses next time.

“But the Hawks have been fearless in their decisions in the past few drafts”

…”fearless”…your kidding right

If I jump onto to train tracks while a train is coming that ain’t “fearless” that is “flat out stupid”.

The editor should have corrected this for you:

“But the Hawks have been flat out stupid in their decisions in the past few drafts”

By doc

June 1, 2007 5:44 PM | Link to this

ghook, conley played big ten not big east. are any of the other statements correct or does someone have to go and check your data?

wink i have suggested the same thing, yi with a the residual big left at 11 unless he falls on his face this week and next. we all have time to wait this out a bit longer.

with conley we have five smurfs to play basketball in the nba. just doesnt make sense to imbalace the roster in such a way.

By Mike

June 1, 2007 5:35 PM | Link to this

Chad Ford of ESPN is reporting that the current Orlando rumor has the Hawks taking Brandan Wright at 3 and Crittenton at 11. Sekou, have you heard this? I think it would be a complete disaster, and agree with you that the OBVIOUS pick at 3 is Conley.

By GHook

June 1, 2007 5:30 PM | Link to this

You’re right Michael M.. One of BK’s first priorities this offseason should be resigning Smoove. There really is no other option, he and Joe are the stars on this team and he has certainly earned more than the ~1.5 mill he’s making this year.

For everyone saying that Conley won’t be able to come in and contribute immediately, let me remind you that he led the Big East in assists as a freshman and owns a nearly 3:1 assists to turnover ratio, not to mention 2.2 steals a game. He’s got such a high basketball IQ, he’ll be able to start well before we’re halfway through the season. If we were to draft Wright or Yi with the 3 and Crit at 11, how long do you think it will take for Crit to start? He has a 1.8:1 assist to TO ratio and averages 4 TO’s a game. It will take Crit much longer than Conley, trust me. Also, if you read Crit’s scouting report he has trouble when smaller, quicker guards pressure him. Conley will obviously not have that problem.

By Wink from Lithonia

June 1, 2007 5:23 PM | Link to this

In addition to my earlier post, I would like to add this idea for conversation.

If we select Yi at #3, what about Noah at #11, if can’t get the guard we want ( Connelly, Law, Crittenton).

Yi & Noah would give us offense & defense inside and I would go to camp with Lue as the starter & Speedy as backup, provided no other guard options are available via free agency.

I would rather give Woodson more offensive & defensive options at 5 spot, since I think he favors defense as a base system. I just not sure what type of offense a new point guard would be asked to run here…but we need a point & style of play bad.

By Mash

June 1, 2007 5:11 PM | Link to this

Attention Season Ticket Holder

(I know, all five of us) Before I renew, I’m demanding a letter from my rep issuing the right to get my money back if the team drafts another wing player - I urge you to do the same , perhaps there will be power in numbers -however small.

By Wink from Lithonia

June 1, 2007 5:08 PM | Link to this

Sekou,I am a Connelly supporter also, but….

Regarding the following: Another well-informed personnel guy suggested that the Hawks don’t have the “guts” to take the third-best talent (Yi) because he’s such a mystery. He likened it to the year Dirk Nowitzki was pilfered from the Milwaukee Bucks in a draft day trade with Dallas (he didn’t say Yi was as good a prospect as Dirk, only that there was a similar mysteriousness about Dirk at this same stage of the process). Until I see Yi, I won’t dive off that cliff.

I took a look at him on youTube.com. I watched several videos of him.

Likes: attack the rim with both hand, seems to always be working around the post area, has multiple moves, has a easy stroke, can handle the rock, look very atheletic, agressive to the rack will posterize you and he’s no stiff as he does chin up on the rim like a small guard; I should also add he is over 7’ and made Pal Gasol look like he was cemented to the floor on one highlight dunk. Would make a great #11 pick, but probably not last. Solid inside / outside threat.

Dislikes: rail thin for a post player, however he will only play against a few heavier centers in the East, did not notice a lot of rebounding or defensive presence; also,our 2006 USA team killed the China team.

I would not be too upset if BK passed on Connelly and selected Yi and pick up a guard at #11 (Law / Crittenton). My reasoning is that if Hibbert had stayed in the draft, I wanted him at #3 and Connelly at #11 or best available point guard.

Yi seems to be ahead of Dirk at this point, because he can put it on the floor and finish agressively at the rim.

Take a look…I would like to get your opionion on this guy!

By Mash

June 1, 2007 5:03 PM | Link to this

Anakin Joe, I thought the same thing: we have a style of play? What is it?

By michael m.

June 1, 2007 4:41 PM | Link to this

i agree, ghook. conley is neither an undersized nor supersized point guard. he’s the pg who would simply outplay our existing vets and force woodsen to insert him into the lineup. i hope the atlanta spirit group stands up and refuses to let bk make another mistake by passing up the best pg in the draft. you can only play so many forwards on the court at one time and, in my mind, smoove has proven himself worthy of a $10 mill + contract. the potential drafting of wright or yi makes me question whether we are going to extend the joshes. i sure hope we are not destined to be like old clippers. the hawks can get it right this offseason by trading the #3 for gasol or by drafting conley. get your big with noah or hawes @ 11. it’s the smart basketball move whether some of you realize it or not. and i know there are quite a few of you who just want to keep regurgitating forwards until you puke. i, personally, already have.

By GHook

June 1, 2007 4:21 PM | Link to this

A-ville Ranger, yeah he was dumb as a rock as a player with his 24.8 ppg and 46% FG career averages. You may be right though, he went to UGA.

It’s amazing to me that people are criticizing Conley for his size. Yeah he’s 6’1, 180, I guess that means he won’t be a great PG in this league. Chris Paul is 6’0, 175 soaking wet and he only averages 17 points and 9 assists. The better way to go is to draft another UNC forward and then complain all season about how we have no PG.

I really hope people keep talking about how Conley is only good because of Oden, because when Conley hears it he’s really going to play with a chip on his shoulder. And an extremely talented PG with a chip on his shoulder is really dangerous - ask Chris Paul about how he was the 2nd PG taken in the draft and won Rook of the Year.

By doc

June 1, 2007 4:20 PM | Link to this

for the expectations for a point coming out in their first year to come in and play, it is highly unlikely. the comparison to cp forgets that cp came out after his second year i believe. crit or conley will learn the first year from the bench in a hawks uni no matter who is picked at three or eleven, just like deron williams did last year before he had his breakout year this year. deron had NO impact last year and was considered a flop after his first year. there was no r of y consideration for him at all in 2006 and he was a three or four year college player.

doubt either one will get the keys to the car this year unless they have become something other than the players they were just two months ago.

By mountain_jim

June 1, 2007 4:14 PM | Link to this

Hey michael m - I suspect BK will show interest for Wright and for Li to try and raise the value of the 3rd pick from teams focusing on those talents.

I still think he trades the 3 pick for a vet or vets.

By St. Bernard

June 1, 2007 4:12 PM | Link to this

I’m gonna dream for two seconds…How much would Gasol, Mo Williams, and Darko cost? Could the one of the picks and a contract be used to pry away Gasol? Would Mo Williams come if we threw all our money at him? Would the Magic match a high offer to Darko? I’m not sure how our cap and owners could do this, but if after the draft and free agency we had a team of Mo, JJ, Marvin, Smith, and Gasol starting and Darko, Sheldon, Zaza, and someone like Critt or Jeff Green coming off the bench, we’re at least worthy of a second round playoff series in the east. And by adding Mo and Gasol instead of rookies, we get young vets who want to win immediately. Thanks for the dream!

By LL Cool Scott

June 1, 2007 4:10 PM | Link to this

LL prefers the mysterious Chinaman. Yi!!!!!!!!!!!!! LL is on the Chinaman bandwagon. Spread the word.

By michael m.

June 1, 2007 4:06 PM | Link to this

clyde, i might have to start backing your fire bk and woody diatribe. while i am not sure we are even allowed to fire woody and hire a new coach with the ownership situation what it is, i am starting to think OWNERSHIP MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER FIRING BK IMMEDIATELY and making the picks themselves in consultation with DOMINIQUE AS TEMP GM along with possibly their other pro personnel depending on who those guys are alligned with.

critt is talented but will take quite a while to develop. we don’t need a turnover prone pg who is going to repeatedly have the ball swiped by smaller, quicker pg’s. screw this halfcourt mindset and get conley to push the ball upcourt. apparently bk doesn’t want to give up his dream of having 5 players essentially the same size on the court together. it might be time for the spirit and us to wake up from this knightmare.

By St. Bernard

June 1, 2007 4:05 PM | Link to this

How much is Gasol worth????

I’ve heard that he was on the block, but I haven’t heard anyone suggest an offer for him from any team. I’d trade one of the forwards (the Joshes or Marvin) and a contract (Speedy, LoWright, Lue, AJ) for him with the 11 pick. Or switch from 3 to 5 with them as long as I was sure that I got Conley.

By mountain_jim

June 1, 2007 4:04 PM | Link to this

From BossTweed at the ‘squawk’:

Chad Ford in his “Daily Dish” podcast says that the rumor around the Orlando camp is that the Hawks aren’t as interested in Conely as they are in Crittenton.

I tend to believe this. BK has seen Critt locally a good bit, and he likes larger PGs. Not in first year, when he can learn on the job, but here is the makeup chance for not getting Deron.

And at 11 taboot.

By St. Bernard

June 1, 2007 4:03 PM | Link to this

How much is Gasol worth????

I’ve heard that he was on the block, but I haven’t heard anyone suggest an offer for him from any team. I’d trade one of the forwards (the Joshes or Marvin) and a contract (Speedy, LoWright, Lue, AJ) for him with the 11 pick. Or switch from 3 to 5 with them as long as I was sure that I got Conley.

By michael m.

June 1, 2007 3:52 PM | Link to this

ownership wants conley @ 3. bk wants brandan wright and crittenden.

By Matt

June 1, 2007 3:35 PM | Link to this

Aggressive/witty,

First, did you REALLY just say that Duncan is not a big man??? That has to be one of the most absurd things I’ve ever read on this blog. He’s 6’11, plays the 5 spot, spends almost the whole game underneath the basket, and mainly uses his post-up game and short-range jumper to rack up points. Duncan is most certainly a big man, and one of the league’s best in the last 20 years.

No one on God’s green earth uses such a narrow definition of big man that it would exclude Duncan. A big man is a guy who plays the 4 or 5, and plays most of the game within 10 feet of the basket.

Every single team that has won an NBA title in the last 25 years has had a dominant defensive man at the 4 or 5 - Parish, Kareem, Rodman, Grant, Hakeem, The Towers, Shaq, and Wallace. On the other hand, the two fast-paced “running game” teams - the Suns and Warriors - got their clocks cleaned by teams that run a half-court game, play great interior D, and score on a steady diet of shots in the lane, free throws, and the occassional 3.

So while not having a 7-footer isn’t fatal, having no one at the 4 or 5 who can control the paint most certainly is.

By the way, that whole monologue - TOTALLY separate from the reasons I think we should go after Darko (who is not a dominant defensive big, but rather is a rising young talent who could help the Hawks create matchup nightmares on offense).

By jhan

June 1, 2007 3:26 PM | Link to this

ToeKnee, Why do we need Brewer if he’s the next Josh Smith? We already have him. That opportunity happened 2 years ago. How many forwards can we play at one time? We would be lucky to get 60 games from JO each year. Do we really want to have Speedy & JO missing 25% of all games next year?

JohnGT, How easy will it be to fix a PG who has trouble with his handle and decision making? Shouldn’t those be the 2 aspects of his game that don’t need fixed? I like Critts upside but let someone else wait three years for him to come around.

A-ville, Do you really think we should trade our young guys for a couple of attempts at the playoffs with a bunch of 30+ year olds. We’ve sufferd with these kids for 3 years. Let’s keep them and enjoy them as they mature. I certainly would trade one for the right package, but it would have to be tremendous.

By St. Bernard

June 1, 2007 3:21 PM | Link to this

If Yi is the number 3 talent in the draft why does draftexpress have him going at 10. He’s listed at the number 4 pf in the draft! If you guys are so set on him, then why not take Conley at 3 then wait for him to drop to us at 11 or trade up a spot or two and pick him up then. The chances of Yi dropping are greater than the chances of Conley dropping to that spot….if he doesn’t drop then that means Noah, Hawes, or Wright have fallen.

By St. Bernard

June 1, 2007 3:20 PM | Link to this

If Yi is the number 3 talent in the draft why does draftexpress have him going at 10. He’s listed at the number 4 pf in the draft! If you guys are so set on him, then why not take Conley at 3 then wait for him to drop to us at 11 or trade up a spot or two and pick him up then. The chances of Yi dropping are greater than the chances of Conley dropping to that spot….if he doesn’t drop then that means Noah, Hawes, or Wright have fallen.

By Clyde

June 1, 2007 3:13 PM | Link to this

Man True Fan. It ain’t that serious.

There are questions about everyone that’s going to drafted after Oden and Durant except Cory Brewer. He can play 4 positions and next to Durant he might be the most polished offensive player in this draft. And he can play shut down D.

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By St. Bernard

June 1, 2007 3:10 PM | Link to this

If Yi is the number 3 talent in the draft why does draftexpress have him going at 10. He’s listed at the number 4 pf in the draft! If you guys are so set on him, then why not take Conley at 3 then wait for him to drop to us at 11 or trade up a spot or two and pick him up then. The chances of Yi dropping are greater than the chances of Conley dropping to that spot….if he doesn’t drop then that means Noah, Hawes, or Wright have fallen.

By A-ville Ranger

June 1, 2007 3:06 PM | Link to this

True Dick That statement is redundant,look it up.

By True hawks fan

June 1, 2007 3:00 PM | Link to this

Mike conely is the best pg in the draft this year. Though he is only 6-1 and weighs 180 he is still the the fastest point in the draft. hold on isnt this what everyone was saying about Chris Paul a few years ago.

By True hawks fan

June 1, 2007 2:53 PM | Link to this

F*** that s** Conely is the best point gaurd in the draft and anyone who says oterwise can suck my dick.

By Aggressively witty

June 1, 2007 2:34 PM | Link to this

Why this insistence on getting a quality 7’0 footer. What teams that where in the final four this year had a dominant big man? Big men are overrated in this new NBA unless they are completely dominant on both ends of the court (something that oden will not be by the way) detroit, san antone (duncan is not a center), Utah (again boozer is not a center), Cleveland (vera jao and igaulskus, really?) none have big men that are dominant and neither did phoenix, dallas, golden state, or chicago.

This is a speed game where you need athletes and shooters. You get one 6’9 to 6’11 dude that can run the floor and score at will from 18 feet in then you do not need a dominant big man.

By come on people

June 1, 2007 2:33 PM | Link to this

I think some people are coming up wit stats right outta their a*. Chris Paul was not a scoring phenom in colleg nor in the NBA. In college he only averaged about 15 ppg and in the NBA he is around 17 ppg. So please lets not go overboard. CP wasnt a good shooter in the college game either. He had a high 3point percentage but he didnt attempt many. Conley can easily be as good as CP but for some reason people dont want to belive it. As far as Oden making Conley look good you might want to read what other bloggers said. Oden stayed in foul trouble so a lot of times he wasnt even on the floor. Then consider how they started the season without him due to his injury and they still played good ball. Oden said himself that Conley is always overlooked because people always talk about Greg and most times only Greg. If we pass on Conley and he turns out as good as many scouts think then it will be like De ja vu all over again. Law is not a pure point guard he is a combo. Crit is too raw.

By doc

June 1, 2007 2:33 PM | Link to this

is yi cut out of the same mold as dirk, gasol or bargnani? if so he demands the hawks attention. all three of those guys HAD the same label as the last post mentioned; raw, soft, played in weak european leagues, along with several other detractors over the apst few weeks. best close up any of s has of him is you tube but somehow really smart folks can come to this assumption without any legitimate info. that group probably includes our fearless leader sekou who promoted conley like his brother it seemed only a few days ago.

if conley is heads and shoulders above the rest then draft him. funny, i say this because during the finals among several others related STRONGLY to his attributes on how good the kid looked and could become. unfortunately, unless i am convinced that he can learn to shoot and he really does have the reach to make up for his height deficiency then i say wait on the point of the future. just think, if the hawks add him to their roster then they have five ballers on their team under 6’2” of their top twelve. hate to say it but i imagine i could find more than several div 3 teams in college that could do a lot better than that.

no trades can be made now nor discussions with potential free agents so please dont come back with the argumant to trade some of the excess we have at the small guard position. as soon as conley is picked this team has one more severe balance problem with its roster.

anakin, since you are so imbedded in this conley train, just change the name from the hawks to the smurfs. you have logic someone says; where is it with that type of imbalance and without any true insight to yi’s capabilities unless your half brother is in bejing?

By ray

June 1, 2007 2:30 PM | Link to this

sometimes i wonder if anyone in atlanta knows anything about basketball, i mean come on. and this conley thing has got to stop? the guy wants to play in portland, why would we want someone who doesn’t want to be here. and stop hating on woodson he is a solid coach, just give him some time. if i could choose i would go with yi lian(or noah), and crittendon, because the hawks need someone with some flavor, some excitement, or trade the pick for jack, and alridge if that is possible.

By Matt

June 1, 2007 2:10 PM | Link to this

So something I just realized - Darko Milicic is a free agent this summer. He quietly was one of the NBA’s most improved players last year (he averaged 12ppg in the Magic’s short time in the playoffs). Considering that he’s still only 21 years old, there’s still plenty of room for him to grow.

Considering the thinness of the FA market in big men this summer, the Hawks would be crazy not to take a look at him. I wouldn’t want him as a full-time starting C (at least not yet) since he’s pretty lanky, but he would give the Hawks a legit 7 footer with a great touch on his outside shot and a great upside.

By Wedgie Evans

June 1, 2007 2:00 PM | Link to this

Gotta be Conley. Yi’s just another raw forward who may or may not be able to translate his immense talent to the NBA. We already have one of those, he wears #24. And coincidentally, we picked him over two NBA-ready point guards.

On a side note, are Billy Donovan and Jay Bilas twins?

By Tyger

June 1, 2007 1:45 PM | Link to this

I disagree that PG is the Hawks’ greatest need, it is a need, but why and how is it greater than that huge doughnut in the middle?

I do agree that it may be easier to address than the center spot. There are three quality PG in the lottery and no true centers.

Conley is a unique talent but on the small side and without a pure shot. He compensates with speed, heady play and tenacious on-ball defense. But his performances are skewed b/c he’s had Oden to always watch his back. Kinda like Kobe with Shaq, not quite as good without the big guy.

I dont think he’s the only option, its boom or bust for him, whereas both Acie Law and Crittenton have size and characteristics that lend themselves to longevity.

Law at 6’3 will be able to defend and score. He has that special, unique big shot ability that puts him over the top. But he’s more than a shooter or scorer, he improved in every stat category throughout his stellar college career.

Crittenton is the rawest, but at 6’5 and uber-talented, he has the most upside. Only a freshman, he led his team to the NCAA in arguably the best conference in college basketball.

Conley is too often mistakenly compared to Chris Paul. Both are small, fast and tenacious, but Chris Paul is/was an offensive phenom.

Conley is dangerously close to being another Speedy Claxton. Fast and heady but cant shoot a lick.

By J

June 1, 2007 1:36 PM | Link to this

Luke,

How can you say that your opinion is what should matter, and everything else is asinine? Sure, if the Hawks had the #1 in the Draft and passed on Oden, yeah it would be assinine. But you can’t say that someone else’s opinion is asinine. I can’t even respect what you have to say now!

By smartguy

June 1, 2007 1:32 PM | Link to this

AC LAW

AC LAW

AC LAW

By Fan01

June 1, 2007 1:16 PM | Link to this

Darn why could’nt we win the lottery, Oden on this team along with Smoove and Joe… Is one of the best young teams in the league….

By A-ville Ranger

June 1, 2007 1:09 PM | Link to this

Luke you think making the youngest team in the league younger should be a goal ? Okey Dokey, does anybody even watch basketball ? veteran teams win, this is not a subjective statement open your eyes.Every team that wins has veteran leadership,where’s this new NBA ? Is it the one the veteran Heat won last year ? Or the one the veteran Spurs will win this year.I can only surmise it’s the fantasy league some of you have created in your heads.

By A-ville Ranger

June 1, 2007 12:53 PM | Link to this

GHook Wilkens was dumb as a rock as a player.Who knows maybe he was saving his brain for managing this team.

By berry

June 1, 2007 12:45 PM | Link to this

Please keep your 3 & 11 picks. Next year Atlanta will not have a 1st round pick. PLEASE choose Conley-the only dominating point guard in the draft - think Tony Parker, Chris Paul. No other point guards will be takin in the top 10. Yi or Tiago Splitter will be around for the 11th pick. PS. It took Yao Ming over 3 years to develop.

By berry

June 1, 2007 12:45 PM | Link to this

Please keep your 3 & 11 picks. Next year Atlanta will not have a 1st round pick. PLEASE choose Conley-the only dominating point guard in the draft - think Tony Parker, Chris Paul. No other point guards will be takin in the top 10. Yi or Tiago Splitter will be around for the 11th pick. PS. I took Yao Ming over 3 years to develop.

By GHook

June 1, 2007 12:30 PM | Link to this

Some of the trade and free agent scenarios here are ridiculous, but I think the idea of Dominique becoming our GM is a good one. Take away his artificial VP of Basketball title and let him build the team. The last time the Hawks were significant Nique was part of the team, why can’t it work again? We’ll see what BK does with this offseason, but if significant improvements aren’t made Nique should be our GM for ‘08-‘09.

Also, does anyone know about Jim Boylan, the assistant coach of the Bulls? I thought I read somewhere that he was once an assistant for the Hawks. He didn’t get the Pacers job because the Pacers wanted a vet coach, so he’ll probably be looking for a head coach job next season. He’s already working with the young Bulls, I think he’d be a great fit here.

By sammy miller

June 1, 2007 12:25 PM | Link to this

Any word on that slimcat Sam Miller? Heard he looks like a giant pencil. While he has no offensive game he could be a dominant eraser on defense! I say BK take him at 3 or 11!

By Luke

June 1, 2007 12:19 PM | Link to this

If the Hawks do not choose Mike Conley, Jr. this year, I’m done. There’s no point in lingering any longer. You can’t win in the new NBA without a clutch, electric, big time PG. Conley is all of these things.

There’s no sense in trading for an older one, like Kidd, because we’re not close enough to competing to warrant one. However, grabbing Conley at 3 and Noah at 11 is attractive because it makes us younger, gives us a true PF/C who can run the floor.

That means we can start:

**PG - Conley SG - Johnson/Childress SF - J. Smith/Johnson/M. Williams PF - Noah/J. Smith/S. Williams C - Paculia/Noah

Bench - M. Williams, Lue, S. Williams, Childress, A. Johnson**

Now, if we got a good coach, we’d be rolling. That’s a recipe for a 5-seed in the East, especially if we could add another solid PF in Free Agency.

If we draft anyone else at 3, we might as well not show up.

I know no one cares about my opinion, but whatever, it needs to be said. All other options are asinine at best.

By Neil

June 1, 2007 12:08 PM | Link to this

Why not make Dominique GM and coach like Mike D’Antoni was until today (for those who haven’t heard Steve Kerr is taking over as their GM). But as far as the draft like I said before and it looks like many of you feel the same way, we need to either take Noah at number 3 and law or crit at 11 or trade Portland the number 3 pick and Childress and Speedy for Jack and a center. They have several to choose from :Zach Randolph, Aldridge(but that seems unlikely), Magloire, Lafrentz(last resort but at least another big). Magloire seems the most logical fit since he is a big Hibbert like defensive minded center and WE WERE TRYING TO GET HIM LAST SUMMER!!! and Randolph (correct me if I am wrong) is 6’9” Don’t we have enough 6’9” guys on our team already!!!!!!!!!! Then we could take law at 11 still or Hawes or Splitter for extra center support. Dump Batista, Slava, and Ivey!!!!!! They suck!!! If either of the above options are done Atlanta will be a top 5 or 6 team in the east easily!!!!!!

By cant be serious

June 1, 2007 11:29 AM | Link to this

What does being able to see over other players do for a player that is as mistake prone as Crit? I know he has size and that is good but the kid makes a lot of mistakes and it seemed at times last year he could not shake those mistakes. What do you think will happen in Atlanta when he makes those mistakes. Woodson will yank him and have him at the end of the bench just as he has done with other players. As far as the workouts go,I wouldnt put too much stock in that too. Like it was discussed at reawlgm. Chris Paul probably had his best workout for the Hawks and they passed over him. Marvin came in out of shape and they drafted him. Sheldon didnt work out at all and he drafted him so I really have no faith in the workouts seeing how Billy doesnt seem to care about them. Our only hope is that he makes a pick that makes sense.

By Aggressively witty

June 1, 2007 11:27 AM | Link to this

Here is something crazy. the hawks have money with these contracts expiring and there are at least two point guards who are unrestricted free agents. Mike bibby and Mo williams. And to a lesser degree Steve Blake. I myself was on the trade bandwagon but with these dudes available AND Rashard Lewis filing for free agency the hawks might want to stand pat until the last possible minute.

Imagine Bibby, Johnson, Smith(mildly overrated), Shelden, and zaza/horford or wright with salim coming off the bench and conley working himself into the rotation gradually (could not be all bad to have conley v bibby everyday in practice. And if the hawks pick up a talent like Vince or Lewis they could go small ball and run any team in the east out of the gym.

By StBernard

June 1, 2007 10:56 AM | Link to this

HAHAHA the 11 pick and Speedy for Baron Davis, Billups or Paul!!! Great idea! Then, we can trade Soloman and Lue for Garnett or Shaq!!

By DKM

June 1, 2007 10:49 AM | Link to this

The Hawks ownership needs to make a statement, but maybe they already have! Dominique should have been named the GM by now and losing Iavaroni to Memphis is a disaster! Please fire Mr. Knight and let Dominique lead us back to greatness. Find a coach who will allow our quick young legs to run every team in the east including the Cavs into the ground. Please draft Noah and package one of our undersized point guards and the 11th pick for Jack, Baron Davis, Billups, Chris Paul, or any established point with size! Pleasssse!!!!

By StBernard

June 1, 2007 10:49 AM | Link to this

Just want to ask some questions about Gasol, because I know he WAS on the block. First, does the new euro coach take him off the block? If not, how much is he worth? How about the 3, Childress, and AJ/Speedy/Lue for Gasol and their pick? Then, you feel fine about taking Conley lower and you get a legitimate franchise big. If we’re going after a big the only one I see that we might have a legitmate chance to get is Gasol. If Conley isn’t there, then you pick Noah/Hawes with their pick and take Critt at the 11. There’s no way that deal doesn’t work for us….I’m just not sure if they would be willing. It does give them more young talent.

By SSI Fan

June 1, 2007 10:46 AM | Link to this

All the ideas of trading for a high priced player or signing a high profile free agent are just dreams until the ownership situation is resolved. The Atlanta Spirit has lost the partner with the biggest individual ownership interest. Belkin owned a 30% share and the other owners are having to absorb that part of the operational losses in addition to paying what has to be a huge attorney fee. Additionally it is my recollection that the Hawks can not trade for a player who has a contract for more than 3 years or sign a player to a contract for more than 3 years without Belkin’s consent.

By honest_abe

June 1, 2007 10:05 AM | Link to this

style you ask aj? that’s easy the hawks let their opponent dictate what kind of basketball they are going to play on any given night.

By A-ville Ranger

June 1, 2007 10:05 AM | Link to this

I think 11 will be easy compared to 3.By the time 11 rolls around we’ll be done with the wheeling,dealing and have a good idea what holes are still on the roster.I’ve liked Crittinton since early in the Tech season and if we don’t take Conley then either Law or Critt would be the likely way to go.With Critt we’d have two 6’5” uni-guards who could contribute in many ways on both ends of the floor.

By Anakin Joe

June 1, 2007 9:57 AM | Link to this

Sekou, so a personnel guy told you that Yi would not fit with the Hawks’ style of play. Can you please ask that same guy a very important question…

WHAT IS OUR STYLE OF PLAY?

That personnel guy obviously thinks the Hawks have defined their style, could someone please tell me?

By gutz

June 1, 2007 9:29 AM | Link to this

ejh Put the pipe down man!! The day that happens is the day David Stern takes over the Hawks as Owner/GM/Coach!!

By mountain_jim

June 1, 2007 9:09 AM | Link to this

Nice dreaming there ejh…

My opinion is Portland is not trading Aldridge regardless of how may Hawks fans keep saying they will, and no way is Orlando trading Howard either.

By mountain_jim

June 1, 2007 9:04 AM | Link to this

Whoever we get,we still appear to have a clueless coach.

I defer to workouts, which BK at 3 has to have all these guys in and compare their skills, etc., but if we are not able to trade 3 for an established center, I am now (after watching all the available vids) leaning towards Yi at 3 and suspect BK is also, with the belief that Law or Critt will be there at 11. Of course drafting Li means we really need to trade away a Forward or 2, maybe get a center that way.

By ejh

June 1, 2007 8:45 AM | Link to this

I feel the Hawks need to make a big splash during the draft. Trade and get the true big man that you need, even if that means giving up the No. 3 pick. A scenario that might work is the Hawks trading the NO. 3 pick along with Josh Childress, and Tyron Lue to Portland for Jack and Aldridge this gives you a point and a center. Plus it moves one of the Hawks point guards with an expiring contract at seasons end. Portland does not have a swingman that why Childress would fit for them and then they can choose Conley Jr. at 3. Pretty tough lineup for Portland with Roy, Randolph, Childress, Oden and Conley. The Hawks now turn around and trade Aldridge and the No. 11 pick to the Orlando Magic for Atlanta native Dwight Howard. The Magic with Aldridge at Center and Sign Rashard Lewis at PF and Vince Carter at SG and draft Julian Wright out of Kansas at SF or Greene out of Georgetown. This make their team immediately better and it gives the Hawks a lineup of Jack (PG), JJ (SG), Marvin Williams (SF), Josh Smith (PF), Dwight Howard (C). This works for all three teams involved, but it is going to be interesting to see how all of this plays out on Draft Day.

By JJ#1fan

June 1, 2007 8:23 AM | Link to this

Does it bother anyone else that Iavoronni just signed with Memphis, and Donavon just got paid big bucks by Orlando, while the Hawks continue to stay status-quo with the idiotic Mike Woodson!? Damn! I wish our management would get up off their colective asses and make our beloved Hawks relevant again! Like Sekou said at the begining of his post “add Oden to the list of people who wanted the Hawks to win the lottery”. If we had an owner who would spend some money to make us into a competetive NBA franchise who wants to win and will PAY for it!! These owners are cheap, stupid, and worse of all they seem loyal to there stupidity!! I can’t take it any longer!! SELL THE TEAM TO SOMEONE WHO CARES!!! FIRE BILLY AND WOODY!!!!!

By doc

June 1, 2007 6:38 AM | Link to this

unlee yi convinces all that he is not the guy as advertised he is my pick at three. there were too many times the offense got stuck in the fourth quarter and a guy like him could help unstuck it so to speak. the next pick would be either noah if stii available or another of the bigs or crittendon.

if conley blows everyone’s socks off in the next week i will defer to him but he clearly has to show everyone he is the best or i wait until i can get another point guard in a trade or in a free aganecy situation that i know more about. i was and still am a suitor of conley. infortunately, the REALITY is he meets the mold of the four of our guards three of which are points on the team right now, undersized and easily knocked off the ball or squelched in crunch time.

so many of you have squeeled soooo loud about how the hawks are overloaded on 6”9” swing men and have forgotten the real mess is at the overmatched physically guards that they cant defend and are pushed around. as a team we have four guys that all meet that criteria and it is a tremendous no HUGE need for the hawks to get a bit bigger there. look only to the bulls who blew it last year by not getting roy to serve as a big guard. they too are undersized and can easily be pushed around just like our guys. 4 of twelve undersized makes it real hard to overcome defensivly.

By JohnGTFan

June 1, 2007 4:17 AM | Link to this

supposed to say with the 3, trade for a true big OR draft…etc etc

By JohnGTFan

June 1, 2007 4:11 AM | Link to this

SEKOU and all the Conley lovers

OK…enough of “Conley as the savior and only answer at no.3”. It’s already gotten old. Yes, the kid has talent. Yes, the kid is fast and is a pure point. Now, here’s some more answers with “YES”.

Yes, he is 6-1. Yes, he is 180lbs. YES, he will get muscled all over the floor by bigger points that currently dominate the NBA. You honestly think he can survive 4 quarters and 82 games against the likes of Kidd, Wade, Williams, Billups, Harris, etc etc?

Now, with Crittenton at 11…you get…. 6-5, muscular and strong, can see over his opponent, drive strong to the basket, can score, dish, play defense, and hit free throws. I know he needs to work on his ball handling, but that’s easily fixed. For ATL, he is by far the better choice at 11, than Conley at 3. And of course, he won’t be paid as much either. So, with the 3…make a trade for a true big draft Horford who is a monster (Shelden and Solo can man the 5) or draft Brewer. Both are tenacious defenders and Brewer is and awesome talent.

Then again this is BK…we’ll probably draft Brandan Wright at 3 (BUST) and Lord only knows who at 11.

By A-ville Ranger

June 1, 2007 3:54 AM | Link to this

ToeKnee here’s the teams still playing and a few of their contributors. CLE Igauskas - 31 Hughes - 28 Snow - 34 / DET Mcdyess - 32 R Wallace - 32 Webber - 34 Hamilton - 34 Billups - 30 / S A Duncan - 31 31 Bowen - 35 Horry - 36 Finley - 34 Ginobili - 29 Oberto - 32 Barry - 35 OK not enough for you ? here’s last year’s champs Miami O’neal - 35 Morning - 37 Haslem - 29 Walker - 30 Jones - 35 Payton - 38 Williams - 31 These are not the exceptions,this is always the case.Teams like the Clippers seem to never learn,while the smart veteran teams win every year.I’m not saying to trade the great young core.But do we want to be the Clippers or the Spurs ?

By ToeKnee

June 1, 2007 3:26 AM | Link to this

how bout a 22yr old?? lebrons the exception to just about everything, but the nba is a young mans game now. 30 is old!!

By A-ville Ranger

June 1, 2007 2:10 AM | Link to this

Oldies ? Name one champion that didn’t have some thirty something vets.I really wonder if some of you bother to notice the real games.Lorenzen’s problem isn’t his age,it’s that he can’t play.Camby and Billups can and it wouldn’t hurt to have a player or two like them to show the pups how to be pro’s.Name one team who did anything with a 24 year old as the veteran leader? I know Magic,Bird and others have been leaders at a young age but not on a team of nursery schoolers.I don’t see Gasol being a fit,to me he’s not athletic enough to run with these guys.

By Clyde

June 1, 2007 1:41 AM | Link to this

How bout getting Brewer at 3 and Noah at 11. Then kicking our point guards in the a** and telling them produce or your out of here.

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By mavid

June 1, 2007 1:22 AM | Link to this

at the same time, I do not advocate breaking up the core of Joe, MW, and JS, so it would have to be Chill that leaves.

By mavid

June 1, 2007 1:21 AM | Link to this

Toeknee,

Camby could be considered an “oldie,” but definately not Gasol or JO. They are in their primes and have many years ahead of them.

JO has more injury concerns, but is better on both ends. Gasol has less injury concerns though, and still is an all-star caliber 5.

Brewer is fine to me, IF we pull off a trade that makes room for him while bringing in an elite 1 or 5.

By ConyersDawg

June 1, 2007 1:08 AM | Link to this

Brewer is more like the next J-Chill. Smith was never that skinny nor played that type game that Brewer does.

If Indiana wants to give us JO for the 3 then Billy would do it in a heart beat.

Claxton or Law, Johnson, J-smoov, M. Williams and J. Oneal.

We would be a top 6 team in the east with that lineup quickly!

By Mark

June 1, 2007 1:03 AM | Link to this

I’m really afraid Knight will take the Chinese guy.

By ToeKnee

June 1, 2007 12:58 AM | Link to this

I don’t like the idea of trading for one of these oldies you guys keep bringing up. remember that we are the youngest team in the league, and also one of the most talented. after years of watching the playoffs, i want more than just 1 or 2 trips there. After this draft, we cannot go any younger. trade future picks, they dont matter.

I still think that Corey Brewer is EXACTLY the kind of player we need!! He blends in SO well with Josh Smith and Joe it’s not even funny. I doubt Yi will be another Dirk, and honestly, by himself, Dirk will never win a championship without another all-star alongside.

Brewer will be a star, and while conley will be very good, i just dont think he will have as great an impact as brewer will. thats mainly because in my opinion the dropoff after conley doesnt seem too steep. there are other pg’s out there, whether its a steve blake, acie law, hell maybe even sebastian telfair!

all i’m saying is that the opportunity to grab a guy like brewer doesnt come along very often, and i dont see how you can pass that up. yes, we need a pg, but i see other options available here.

YOU CAN’T PASS ON A GUY LIKE BREWER!!! HE’S THE NEXT JOSH SMITH!!!!

By ToeKnee

June 1, 2007 12:57 AM | Link to this

I don’t like the idea of trading for one of these oldies you guys keep bringing up. remember that we are the youngest team in the league, and also one of the most talented. after years of watching the playoffs, i want more than just 1 or 2 trips there. After this draft, we cannot go any younger. trade future picks, they dont matter.

I still think that Corey Brewer is EXACTLY the kind of player we need!! He blends in SO well with Josh Smith and Joe it’s not even funny. I doubt Yi will be another Dirk, and honestly, by himself, Dirk will never win a championship without another all-star alongside.

Brewer will be a star, and while conley will be very good, i just dont think he will have as great an impact as brewer will. thats mainly because in my opinion the dropoff after conley doesnt seem too steep. there are other pg’s out there, whether its a steve blake, acie law, hell maybe even sebastian telfair!

all i’m saying is that the opportunity to grab a guy like brewer doesnt come along very often, and i dont see how you can pass that up. yes, we need a pg, but i see other options available here.

YOU CAN’T PASS ON A GUY LIKE BREWER!!! HE’S THE NEXT JOSH SMITH!!!!

By ToeKnee

June 1, 2007 12:45 AM | Link to this

I don’t like the idea of trading for one of these oldies you guys keep bringing up. remember that we are the youngest team in the league, and also one of the most talented. after years of watching the playoffs, i want more than just 1 or 2 trips there. After this draft, we cannot go any younger. trade future picks, they dont matter.

I still think that Corey Brewer is EXACTLY the kind of player we need!! He blends in SO well with Josh Smith and Joe it’s not even funny. I doubt Yi will be another Dirk, and honestly, by himself, Dirk will never win a championship without another all-star alongside.

Brewer will be a star, and while conley will be very good, i just dont think he will have as great an impact as brewer will. thats mainly because in my opinion the dropoff after conley doesnt seem too steep. there are other pg’s out there, whether its a steve blake, acie law, hell maybe even sebastian telfair!

all i’m saying is that the opportunity to grab a guy like brewer doesnt come along very often, and i dont see how you can pass that up. yes, we need a pg, but i see other options available here.

YOU CAN’T PASS ON A GUY LIKE BREWER!!! HE’S THE NEXT JOSH SMITH!!!!

By A-ville Ranger

May 31, 2007 11:50 PM | Link to this

There is no doubt I’d take Camby for the right price.I have a scoring system where I give 1 for a point,2 for a rebound,2 for an assist,3 or a block and three for a steal.Camby had some big games on my board this past season.

By A-ville Ranger

May 31, 2007 11:34 PM | Link to this

I’ll say again superstars win titles.CLE wouldn’t be a playoff team without James.

By mavid

May 31, 2007 11:33 PM | Link to this

If he won 10 DPOTYs, he WOULD be overrated ;D

By A-ville Ranger

May 31, 2007 11:32 PM | Link to this

I’m watching the Cavs - Pistons overtime.The Cavs are like a football team with the offensive line blocking for the star running back,James of course.

By Matt

May 31, 2007 11:23 PM | Link to this

mavid,

Agreed on the draft a pg, trade for a 5 - at least now that Hibbert is out of the draft.

I still say that Camby will not be worth the price we’d have to pay to get him. Brother could win 10 DPOTYs, and I’d still say he’s overrated ;-).

By vdunkndunk

May 31, 2007 11:22 PM | Link to this

I don’t agree with the idea that the Hawks don’t “have the guts” to take Yi. So far it seems like they do whatever they want, regardless of what anyone else thinks.

And BK has already made a major play for a mysterious foreigner at number 3 before - Pau Gasol when he was with the Grizzlies. I think if BK likes Yi, he’ll take Yi.

By MALONE

May 31, 2007 10:37 PM | Link to this

It’s obvious we won’t get Kobe…

That being said, the Lakers will have to do something drastic to appease the douchebag.

Would it be worth the Hawks’ while to go after Bynum in a trade? Would he immediately step in at the 5 and contribute?

Looking forward to your opinions.

By mavid

May 31, 2007 10:24 PM | Link to this

I would love to come away from this draft with a trade for a legit 5 and a drafted young pg.

So, it would be something like Gasol or JO (if he doesnt already get traded to the lakers) + conley, crittenton, or law

I say one of the picks has to be traded for a 5, and the other must be used on a young pg.

So, if we trade the 3 for someone like gasol or JO, we take crit (my choice) or law at 11.

If we take Conley at 3, then trade the 11 for someone like Camby (obviously someone else would have to included here too).

Draft a pg, trade for a 5

This is ideal in my opinion (there just isn’t anyone besides Oden who I think could solve our problems at 5; maybe Brandan Wright or Yi could prove me wrong in workouts, but I doubt it).