Bad pick makes Hawks pointless

[Southern_Bred]

Even if Marvin Williams grows into the All-Star the Hawks presumably still believe he'll be, he was the wrong choice. All Williams has done as a rookie is become the eighth-leading scorer on the league's third-worst team. Had the Hawks picked more astutely, they wouldn't be the league's third-worst team.

Believe it or not, the Hawks have talent. As Terry Stotts, who once worked here and who now coaches Milwaukee, said Saturday: "They've got all those 6-foot-8 guys." And that's the trouble. That's all they have.

The Hawks went into the 2005 draft knowing they needed a point guard and believing two really good ones --- Chris Paul and Deron Williams --- were available. Instead they chose Marvin Williams, another swingman. Deron Williams, taken two picks after Marvin, starts for Utah and averages 9.5 points and 3.7 assists. Paul, taken immediately after the Hawks selected, averages 16.3 points and 7.7 assists for the Hornets and will be the rookie of the year.

The Hawks are 17-37. Substitute Paul for Marvin Williams and they might be 24-30, which would put them 10th in the Eastern Conference, within hailing distance of the final playoff berth. When you're a franchise that hasn't reached the postseason since the last millennium, just being in the hunt would stir some interest. Being the Hawks, they flubbed their chance to become a civic talking point and, not coincidentally, they rank 29th among 30 NBA teams in attendance.

By drafting another wing, Billy Knight kept his similar-sized Hawks from taking wing. Their losses tend to track the same numbing path. They hang tough for a while but lose at the end because they have nobody to get the ball to the right guys in the right spots.

Saturday's game was vintage. The Hawks drove hard and made every shot early, flying to a 14-point lead against an opponent that had lost four in a row. Then Stotts had the Bucks press, and that was essentially that. "We've got a lot of athletic guys who can get up and down the court," said Josh Smith, lamenting his team's failure against the press. But the athletic Hawks lacked the one man who could dribble through the traps and turn Milwaukee's pressure against it. (Yeah, Tyronn Lue is hurt, but he shouldn't be mistaken for a first-rate point guard.)

The Bucks pressed for the final three quarters. When the Hawks did advance past midcourt, they were blunted by the 2-3 zone Stotts ordered up in the second half. Again, that's what happens when you play without a distributor. (It happens at all levels of basketball. Ask Georgia Tech.) Put Paul --- or even Deron Williams --- in a Hawks jersey and the Hawks would have won by 15. They lost by 10. Same as it ever was.

And Marvin Williams? He had an OK night --- 24 minutes, 10 points, five rebounds, three turnovers. But there were long moments when you forgot he was on the roster, let alone on the floor. The Hawks needed their highest draft pick in 30 years to be an impact player, and Williams, who's averaging 7.3 points on 42.7 percent shooting, simply isn't ready to make a splash. And now his team will approach the 2006 draft seeking to fill the spot they should have filled last summer but with a lesser group of guards --- Kentucky's Rajon Rondo can't shoot, and Villanova's Randy Foye and Daniel Gibson of Texas are more hybrids than true points --- to consider.

Someone asked Smith what the Hawks should do this offseason. Josh Childress, having apparently appointed himself room monitor, said: "Don't answer that. You'll get in trouble."

"I won't answer," Smith said. Then, to the questioner: "I'm not the GM. You'll have to ask Billy Knight."

Surely the Hawks know what they need. Surely they've looked around the locker room and seen a lot of guys who do the same things but nobody capable of doing the essential thing. Surely a few among them might like to ask Billy Knight just how this happened.

http://www.ajc.com/monday/content/epaper/e...2c322700fa.html

[DJlaysitup]

Well I certainly don't agree with everything stated in the article, but the type of quote below always bothers me:

"not coincidentally, they rank 29th among 30 NBA teams in attendance..."

I'm always amazed when the discussion is about how the Hawks have to "overpay" for free agents and can't get the fan base. You would think Atlanta should be a great place for an NBA team.

[Packfill]

I think the fact that the Hawks have not had a winning season in so long is a big reason why attendence is so bad. It really has been a while since they have been competitive and it will take a winning season or three to restore fan confidence in the viability of the franchise.

[macdaddy]

I had to submit a comment to this horrible article. I'll admit I'm not a Mark Bradley fan, but here are the points that drive me nuts:

-is this news? C.Paul is great. Everyone in the world can see that now. Is this really insightful to write an article saying we should have picked him when we're 2/3 through the season.

-where were you before the draft? Does anyone remember the giant front page article in the ajc about Marvin before the draft. How he was the next big thing.

-Picking Deron would not have been good. I haven't seen him much but he's not looking like someone worthy of #2.

[drzachary]

What is the point of this? Who cares? Why even post it here?

[Diesel]

Dude it's an AJC article?

[tmac13]

All hail BK..I dare that mean old writer question a pick of the great BK...Does he know about BK's great record of accomplishment?..Does he understand BK is a basketball expert?..

The funny thing about this article is apparently even Chills and Smoove know we should have taken a point guard and worse than that, they know if they say anything that might question a BK move they will be in trouble..

[Southern_Bred]

I am not saying I am agreeing with the article, I was merely posting Hawks articles for discussion.

[drzachary]

Still, what's the point?

Have we not been down this road a thousand times?

[KB21]

Chris Paul wasn't taken immediately after the Hawks picked. He was taken two slots after they Hawks picked. The Utah Jazz through the Portland Trailblazers took Deron Williams over Chris Paul as well.

Hindsight is always 20/20. The same people criticizing the Hawks for not taking Chris Paul are the very same people that would criticize the Hawks down the road, saying they had the chance to get a superstar and passed on it to draft need.

[Final_quest]

Quote:

---

The funny thing about this article is apparently even Chills and Smoove know we should have taken a point guard and worse than that, they know if they say anything that might question a BK move they will be in trouble..

---

You fell for the writer's jouralism hook, line, and sinker. Look at Smoove and Chillz actual quotes and tell me how it means they think we should take a point guard. Smoove said they have a lot of athletes, and Chillz told him not to make a comment. They have not stated an opinion at all. This writer wants you to believe that they wanted a PG, but they never say anything close to that.

[TheArtist]

Right...they could be saying that we needed a center.

[TheArtist]

And another thing...he said Rondo can't shoot...but I thought the point was that we needed a pass-first pg.

[tmac13]

"We've got a lot of athletic guys who can get up and down the court," said Josh Smith, lamenting his team's failure against the press."

Doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure that comment out..

[Final_quest]

Quote:

---

"We've got a lot of athletic guys who can get up and down the court," said Josh Smith, lamenting his team's failure against the press."

Doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure that comment out..

---

Here is the actual quote, "We,ve got a lot of athletic guys who can get up and down the court,"

Only a journalist could translate that quote to mean Josh thinks we should have drafted a PG.

He could have written it this way:

"We,ve got a lot of athletic guys who can get up and down the court," said Josh Smith, lamenting his team's failure to hit open jumpshots.

or

"We,ve got a lot of athletic guys who can get up and down the court," said Josh Smith, lamenting his team's lack of size under the basket.

or

"We,ve got a lot of athletic guys who can get up and down the court," said Josh Smith, lamenting his team running right by the free buffet table.