Packfill

Actually, I think Diesel is correct here. Walker was an excellent passer coming out of college as well as being known as an outstanding ballhandler. He definitely exhibited much more talent in these areas in his two years at UK then Marvin did in his one year at UNC.

Argueably Marvin is a similar prospect. Also consider Glenn Robinson, Billy Owens, Jamal Masburn, etc. All those guys were stars, well except for Owens, but none were ultimately guys you would want to build a franchise around or a championship contender.

Again Marvin may be great, but there have been legions of multi talented forwards before him who were supposed to be great but disappointed in the end.

Excellent post. I think people are getting carried away by labeling Marvin as a potential superstar. He clearly is not a can't miss prospect in the LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony sense. The guy is a good athlete (not as good as Smoove) with some good skills, but he could just as easily become Billy Owens (for those that don't remember, he was an extremely talented, multi-skilled player for Syracuse that never lived up to his billing) instead of James Worthy.

Quite frankly, if he were drafted, there is no guarantee he becomes as good a player as Smoove or Harrington - both of whom will improve upon last season (Harrington because of the experience of starting for a year and Smoove because of experience).

The Hawks desperately need a center and a point guard. They are in position to address one of those needss. Both Deron and Paul have demonstrated the ability to be potential superstar point guards.

Works for me.

Based on those comments Josh Howard sounds like a jerk. I don't think hunger has anything to do with it, jealousy and an inferiority complex.

Medium and juicy do not belong in the same sentence when you are refering to a quality piece of sirloin! It is medium rare or nothing.

I think Diesel may need to create a new poll.

Gilchrist certaintly has the physical talent to be a good pro but it is the mental part of his game which is highly suspect. Based solely on his attitude/mental faculties he is not even CBA/NBDL material.

I don't see how you can put Smoove on the bench after how well he played at the end of the season for an 18 year old rookie. He has at least as much upside as Marvin Williams, probably more.

What makes you think he will grow? He is 19, I know I did not grow after my 19th birthday and I don't think any of my friends have either. Bulk up sure, but I don't think you can expect him to grow at all.

The good and bad news is that it will take 3-5 years to figure out who the right player is. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees.

This guy is being wined and dined and he orders a strip steak? Marvin has a lot to learn. The filet mignon is the obvious choice.

Other then that, the tweener stuff is a tad disconcerting. Sounds an awful lot like a young player already on the Hawks.

That makes no sense. If they are desparate to get out of Theo's contract why would they agree tot take back Boozer's, isn't his just as big and just as long?

Again for the record, Bogut dud more reps then beefy power forward types like May, Villaneuava, and Simien.

That is crazy. Paul is the best shooter, can jump higher then the others, is the youngest and is an excellent distributer.

For the record, all three timed faster in the shuttle and sprint then TJ Ford and TJ clearly was not lacking in speed.

Paul would have averaged a lot more assists per game if he had May (with his soft hands) receiving passes then Eric Williams (who has stone hands).

I think he has some "coach-ability" and "maturity" issues, but I don't know the specifics. Terrific talent though.

Actually, the longer your arms the harder it is to bench press a particular weight, so it is not uncommon to see individuals with shorter arms having better bench press numbers.

I agree, except I think there is a bigger difference between Felton and Ukic/Jack then Felton and Paul/Deron.

You guys should check the results from the combine. Deron tested out as the athletic equal to Paul and Felton.

For a team pick anywhere outside the top 10, Raymond Felton has to be a strong consideration.

I voted for Conroy. Could be an Earl Watson type steady point.

Roberson is an excellent defender as well. Bynum will be lucky to get drafted.

There are lots of players with great athleticism who become giant flops in the NBA - Kenny "Sky" Walker, Harold Minor, Darius Miles, Jeff Trapagnier, Steven Hunter, Cedric Ceballos, Johnathan Bender, Jerrod Mustaf, Marcus Haislip, Kwame Brown, Roy Marble, etc.

Others take years to develop and are still only average - i.e., Gerald Wallace, Chris Wilcox, Nene, etc.

So did Stackhouse, who went to Dallas. I like Al, but Jamison is the better player so he has more value.

Another great post.

I could give a rats ass which player has superstar potential. Give me the guy that is going to make the team better in the long run. A good point guard or good center is the best way to do that.

This is a great post. Jordan and Bird are the only wing players in the past 25 years to lead a team to a championship, every other time it has been a big man (Hakeem, Duncan, Shaq, Wallace x2) or point guard (Magic, Issiah).

Comparing Marvin to Jordan and Bird is crazy, they are two of the 10 best players of all time. There is absolutely no guarantee that Marvin amounts to anything more then Tim Thomas. There is no guarantee he becomes a better player then Josh Smith.

I would do that trade. I think a good point guard can make Josh Smith and Josh Childress look like absolute studs - both have shown a willingness to take it to the hoop and a good point guard would create opportunities for them. This is similar to Nash's impact on Stoudamire.