emeans

Exactly Lascar!!! Have you seen those players play. I really don't like judging talent based on someone elses opinion unless I know that person or trust that persons judgement. If we only have 2 forms of bio info (nbadraft.net and draftcity) of a player and we don't know who is making these evaluations then how can we trust what they are saying about these foreign players?? Is that enough to make a decision on whether we need that player and specifically where that person should be drafted??? I don't want the Carmelo Anthony vs. Milicic draft pick mistake to happen to Atlanta. Personally I don't think so......

Everytime I see post of proposed picks a lot of you guys throw out a lot of European and foreign names. Do you all know something I don't know because I will be honest with you...I don't really know anything about these guys because I don't see them on our sports media. How do you guys get any exposure to any of these guys? If so is it enough to make an educated prediction of what he will translate in the NBA? Have you seen any of them play (more than one game)? Some of you have more foreign names than American names in your proposed picks. Just curious...I thought I may be missing out on some type of media that you guys are receiving?? Do I need to call DTV and get some more stations? Some of you are throwing these foreign names out with confidence.

Exactly...until I see 3 - 0 or 3 - 1, this series is all even right now. The Lakers are still loaded and have shown they can dominate in spurts especially 3rd quarters, when they feed the ball to Shaq.

That series is going 7.....I don't see for the life of me why people think this Series is over. All San Antonio did was protect home court, which is what they were suppose to do. I am not a Laker fan (I hate the Lakers), as a matter of fact I hope San Antonio beat the bricks out of them, but I do realize that this series is far far from over. There is too much hype on 2 games that were suppose to have those results. Now if San Antonio wins game 3 then the hype about San Antonio killing and making the Lakers look bad is warranted, but it is way to early for that right now. People are acting as if this series is over??? I don't understand??

Byron and Fratello would be the only 2 coaches I would go with, however I am leaning more toward Byron Scott

Excellent point about Chicago. I think they have a real bad taste in their mouth surrounding drafting High School players. If we don't get better than 6 maybe we can set up a trade with them. I hope Billy Knight can pull something like that!!!

I agree....if we can sneek away with Josh Smith at 6, it would be a steal. I am kinda hoping he gets some kind of bad rap or something by the scouts to drop his stock to No. 6. At 17 I am picking up the high school Guard from New York City (Telfair sp??). NBADraft.net has exactly the picks I would want Atlanta to pick, even though I don't trust their judgments or predictions. I really think Josh Smith is going No. 3 or 4. Telfair would bring a little marketing to the Atlanta Hawks. He is a young Iverson type with extreme quickness and handles and he is hyped a lot because he is a NY kid. Your thoughts?

We need to trade our 1st pick (#5) and our 1st 2nd round pick to move up in the Top 3. If they don't like that then we should throw in JT. There are only 3 players in the draft that bring the kind of hype and talent this city needs. Okafur, Smith and Howard are the only players we should settle for with our 1st pick. We need to resign Jax, Sura, Pryz, Rebraca and sign Quentin Richardson and call it a day.

Joel does blow a lot of easy baskets, but I would keep my size (I would keep 3 7 footers) Joel Collier Rebraca (sp?) Size is such a commodity in the NBA. There is truly only a handful of talented big men in the NBA. My concern is getting a legitimate star out of this draft. We are still missing that one super star that will help pull out games and put fannys in the seats. We have to get one these guys (Josh, Howard or Okafur). We seem to always start winning at the end of the season, screwing up our draft status. I don't understand how we can always be sorry in the beginning of the year and start playing incredible ball at the end of year. Lets hope these lottery balls bounce our way. That is our only hope.

I totally agree with Hotlanta, we have to get into the top 3 picks, even if we have to give away our 2nd 1st round/JT and our 1st 2nd round pick. Now it looks like we could possibly be picking 7 or 8th. Will we ever have any good luck in this city???

will be special in the NBA. I really hope we can get him with the 3rd pick. Again the 5th pick will be to late.

I agree with Hotatlanta. The 5th pick will be one pick too late. We either need to trade up or trade down.

Yeah...Diaw is a keeper. He recieved a lot of experience this year playing heavy minutes. We don't want to give him up, we would want to build with him. Diaw does not need to be traded!!

I totally forgot about the Bobcats. That shows you our luck...I wouldn't be surprised we get bumped to the 5th pick by an expansion team. It wouldn't surprise me at all. Sometimes I really do think this city has a jinx on it. We can't afford to get the 5th pick. The 5th pick may be one pick too late.

Exactly...I see no way we will have the 3rd best record. Washington is not going to win another game. Go check out their remaining schedule. It is brutal!! Atlanta will probably win 1 or 2 games. We are slated for the 4th worse record. Our only hope is that the lottery balls bounce our way. If not look for the 4th best player in the draft. I really hope Josh Smith is there at the No. 4 spot, however I think he will be picked 3rd. We may end up with the 7'6 European. You can't pass him up because of his height.

In a city of rebuilding pro teams such as the Hawks....It is refreshing to have a potential National Champion in the same city the Hawks reside. So Basketball is not dead in Atlanta after all. I am pulling hard for the Yellow Jackets!!! Win or Lose they are still huge winners this season and Paul Hewitt is the man!! I hope the Hawks follow this same shocking success next year.

I am definately on the Josh Smith bandwagon. If we can get both Smith and Livingston that would be BIG to the rebuilding future of this franchise. Who are you guys Top 5 picks in any order??

Too injury prone and in the down swing of his NBA career.

Josh Smith's 2002 scouting report (He is even better now): http://nbadraft.net/profiles/joshsmith.asp "Smith is quite simply a freak of nature. There are few that have the NBA skills that he naturally possesses at this moment. Smith is a “run and jump” type of player. He really improved his game over the summer of 2002. At the adidas ABCD camp, he made the coveted top 20 participants list. He also made the all tournament team at the adidas Big Time Tournament.....Smith showed his ability to step outside and hit a consistent three point shot as well as developing a nice mid range shot. If Smith can develop a slashing move, a nice back door cut and a decent handle, we could be looking at a very, very good swingman.....He loves to play above the rim. Sometimes he gets caught up in trying to please the crowd or dunking on every possession. He plays in the paint on his high school team, which should help him continue to work on rebounding.....Mentally he still needs to progress. He is still learning the game. But only a junior, he has plenty of time. Strengths: A sweet shooting lefty combo forward. Josh is an excellent shooter with very good ball handling skills. He can shoot the lights out from down town or take the ball to the hole for a huge dunk. His ability to play more than one position provides nightmares for opposing players and coaches...Loves to back in smaller players and either slash to the basket or kick it out to a perimeter player. He is a very good shot blocker for his height and a good on the ball defender. His unbelievable shooting touch is what separates him from the rest of the pack. A special talent. Weaknesses: Sometimes struggles playing against bigger opponents…Although a proficient rebounder he needs to work on his positioning...Has a tendency to rely on his jumper too much and not take the ball to basket as often as he should...Been known to get down on himself when having an off night Notes: A potential star in the making. Smith has what it takes to make it in the league. " Again this was his scouting report after his Junior season!!!!

Excellent points. I don't think you can measure desire from an all-star game, but you can somewhat measure talent. I am basing most of opinions off of references and seeing him twice. According to Oak Hill's coach, Josh Smith is the best that he has seen come through his school.....and believe me he has seen his share of talent including Carmelo, T-mac, etc. It would be a huge mistake not to get this kid. If the Hawks are looking for a future franchise player....Josh Smith is the one. Josh and Diaw could be your Jordan/Pippen combo.

If we can somehow package something to get both that would be a coup. Maybe JT/our 2nd 1st round pick/next years 1st round pick to move up and get both I think I would have to do it. That being said I don't think we will get both. Right now it looks like we are going to finish 4th worse. I really hope we can get into the 3 spot which would give us a better chance at the No. 1 pick. But Washington just sucks!! And the Hawks are playing some really good basketball. I am so much more impressed with this group of guys than with Theo/Shareef and Co. Now lets get rid of JT to get Josh Smith after we have drafted Howard!!!!

I like both of these players, however I think Smith is what we need more than Howard. Smith doesn't have to be setup for his shots. He can create his own shots ala Jordan/Kobe. He can handle the rock and even play some shooting and point guard. In other words he is more versatile with the ball in his hands. That is not Howards game. Howard runs the floor well, finishes well, but he is primarily a post player. When he plays tough physical defensive teams like Indy and Detroit, he will not be able to get a descent look at the basket in the half court offense. Josh Smith will do better in those situations because of his versatility. Mark my words..... Josh Smith is the next Kobe/Traci McGrady. Also, we are not looking at our roster. Presently we have 4 Seven Footers on our roster and we will probably keep 3 of them (Rebraca, Collier, Pryzbilla and maybe N'Diaye). We don't necessarily need another back to the basket type guy. We need a flat out playmaker and that is Josh Smith. Howard is not a playmaker like Smith. Now don't get me wrong I will not be mad if we were lucky enough to get Howard (I would be ecstatic), but I would prefer Smith for our team situation.

It is very close....Smith seems to have a better all-around game than Howard. Howard hasn't shown me he can shoot the mid-range/long range jumper and I have seen him 3 times now. He definately can slam with ease, cut I am not impressed with his jump shot. Smith can flat out shoot it and he has a Kobe/Jordan like presense on the court.

He is better than Howard. The Hawks need to get Josh Smith. I think we can get him at No. 3. He will not be there at the 4 or 5 pick. This guy is the truth!!!!

I personally hope we draft Smith. This kid looks like the next Kobe Bryant. I would love to draft either Howard or Smith. I really hope we get a Top 3 pick. I think it will be Okufor, Howard and Smith..... not necessarily in that order. I hope we get Smith.