Packfill

I would do that trade in a heartbeat, but no way Portland would.

That's half of the 4 1st rounders he's drafted. Plus he got what seems like a long term contributor out of the second round, which isn't bad.

Now I know why you like BK so much.

Let's face it, BK has never built a winning team. His two greatest accomplishments are (1) apprenticing with Donnie Walsh and (2) fleecing Pete Babcock in a trade. Other than Pau Gasol and Josh Smith has any draft pick of his exceeded expectations? Not exactly a lot to hold your hat on.

On the other hand, he has one of the all-time worst records as a GM, has hired some of the worst coaches in NBA history and has a proven track record of making endlessly duplicative draft picks.

That is fine, but he is still not a center (and is likely two plus years away from filling out enough to play center), so he would need to play power forward leaving Josh Smith or Marvin on the bench.

It just presents a bit of a problem.

how are the listed players redundant? all three can be on the floor together.

No it could just mean the end of Al Harrington. Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and Bargnani could all co-exist in our frontcourt. Zaza would be nice size off the bench.

I rather Thomas than Bargnani, but could live with either so long as one forward is traded to fill some of the holes. It just doesn't make sense to have 4 really good forwards with total crap at point guard and center.

That is kind of an unfair assessment. The Hawks have some great young talent, but it is largely redundant talent.

Given the nature of the draft, the Hawks probably draft a real power forward this summer and trade one of the small forwards for a legit point guard. A real power forward would help mask Zaza's deficiencies in the paint. Those moves would result in a better team.

People want to compare the Hawks to the Suns or Pistons because of their untraditional line-ups but until the Hawks get a two-time MVP or 4-time defensive player of the year such comparisons are crap and we need to get a little more traditional.

Ok well there you go.

Like I said, BK made it very clear that our issue is lack of big men, and Bernie made it very clear that no SF's are wanted now. Even a guy with a BPA mentality is going to realize when too much is too much.

Agreed. Obviously he has potential but it is real difficult to pin any sort of hope on him as far as becoming the teams interior defensive presence.

I rather draft a prospect a little further along in the development stage like Patrick O'Bryant (even though he is far from a sure thing as well).

Didn't they say the same thing about Pavel Podkolzine?

Definitely an interesting question.

Drafting Bargnani means adding another talented forward, which is good when viewed in a vacuum, but bad when you consider the fact that the Hawks last for first round draft picks were for forwards.

Drafting Bargnani means Smoove or Marvin pretty much has to be traded to fill the gaps in the roster at the point and center positions.

BK would need to decide whether he likes a forward tandem of Bargnani and either Smoove or Marvin (with Childress in reserve) or Smoove and Marvin.

For some reason, some people on this board seem to get upset when you mention these facts.

But do the Hawks plan on making a playoff push next year anyway?

If anyone thinks that draft would be bad then they are overly pessimistic or have a grudge against international prospects. Sene would right away have the longest wing span in the NBA and with his size and tenacity on defense he could be the next Mutombo. Bargnani at worst would be a better scorer than Zaza Pachulia. At best, he could be an NBA all-star.

That draft would never happen. First of all, Sene is a 1st round pick especially after he does his workouts if anyone is bold enough to challenge him. And Bargnani is a top 4-5 pick and we won't be that lucky in the lottery.

I tend to agree, Okafor would be a great fit for this team and you have to give talent to get talent. The only hiccup is Okafor's injuries - if he was cleared medically you have to at least think about it.

Why has Okafor maxed out on his development? He made enormous strides in college and is still relatively new to the game. He could become and Elton Brand.

Is Gordon really different then the undersized shooting guards the Hawks currently have trying to play point guard? He is more talented for sure, but unless he is a lockdown defender I think the Hawks are better off looking at someone with more playmaking skills to complement JJ.

I actually agree with Diesel to an extent. There is no question that Sheldon Williams is the type of player that the Hawks need (i.e., a physical, tough low post presence on offense and defense). The problem is that it is unclear whether Williams' game translates to the NBA, where on average players are bigger and stronger. I am not advocating that we take Williams but I absolutely believe acquiring that type of player is essential to the Hawks long term success.

Bargnani is a talent, but does he really help the Hawks in anyway other then providing additional trade bait? He is much more Dirk then Gasol (Gasol was always a paint player) so he will not play center and will essentially force the Hawks to trade or give up on either Smoove or Marvin. Smoove and Bargnani would actually be an interesting forward combo but then what do you do with Marvin?

People need to start thinking about how this team is being put together. If you pick a Bargnani, Gay, Morrison, etc., then you have to trade one of your assets (read: one of Childress, Smoove or Marvin) to fill the gaping holes in the roster.

This team simply will not win without gaining some measure of roster balance.

My bad, I thought you said "this" team. Carry on.

Are you sure about that? Because if so, how did Lue and Stoudamire get so many minutes this year?

Everyone will be ecstatic if Marvin becomes a superstar, who are you kidding. He has a long way to go, which is appropriate given his age.

Realistically he should be on a Chris Bosh plan - get experience your first year, step up as a primary player in year two and dominate in year three.

In case you didn't notice, the NBA has changed. You don't need a true Center anymore to succeed. Is Big Ben Wallace a 7 footer? Is Boris Diaw a true center?

Looks like those teams are doing well.

As far as comparing Bargnani to Skita, the only two things those two have in common is that they are both 7 foot European big men that played for Benetton Treviso.

Look at Skita's numbers in the European league.

Andrea Bargnani's numbers are closer to Dirk's than they are to Skita's numbers. Skita barely saw the floor and as you can see he barely had any production.

http://thedraftreview.com/history/drafted2...li-Nickoloz.htm

I think it is a little premature to compare Aldridge to Camby defensively. Obviously Aldridge has talent and could approximate what Camby does but is unfair to expect him to be a top 5 interior defender.

If the Hawks bring in a young big man then I think a veteran point guard would be a tremendous asset for all the young players on the team.

I am not sure who that veteran is, I think Cassell is good but a little too old for our purposes. Best fit is speedy Claxton, he is not perfect but has good experience and has performed well under pressure (he was very good when with SA). He would not command huge minutes (and hopefully not huge dollars) but would be available for 25-30 minutes a game to stabilize the team offensively and more importantly defensively.

Outside of Speedy, I don't see any good options, which only compounds the Hawks problems.

I think Lue is an average back-up point guard, nothing more. The Hawks definitely need an upgrade. I think a good defensive big man is a more pressing need but point guard is a close second.

I highly doubt Gibson is drafted higher then Williams or Rondo.

Another question is which position better optimizes his talents. Hard to say right now since there is a decent amount of projecting for either (i.e., gaining strength and developing moves to play in post; refining shooting and improving ball handling at the 3).