What I do not understand this board ?

[coachx]

It seems 70% of the board hates Sheldon Williams and Billy Knight right now.

What I do not understand is... why ?

We had the 2nd worst rebouning team and the 2nd most points scored against us in the paint. Yet everyone says Williams was the wrong pick b/c Roy and Foy fill more needs. Well, guys how is Roy and Foy going to prevent the lay up and dunk drills more than a brick house body like S. Williams.

Last I checked, neither Foy nor Roy were point guards. I thought a point guards is our other need. I guess 75% of the board feels that we need another shhootong guard to mimic JJ more than interior D.

There is 4 months left to aquire a pg. Right ? I thought Guards were easier to trade for then bigs.. Right ?

It seems so simple to me. there was not a quality pg in the draft worthy of the #5 pick. We don't need any more wing players. Yet everbody on the board is too blind to see that Roy and Foy are wing players, not pgs. Neither would be ready to run an offense in the next 3 years. Heck Foye's best comparison is Billups and it took Billups 6 years and Larry Brown to learn how not to just shoot and be a true player / pg.

You guys trip me out. Last year you hated on Billy b/c he took the player with more "potential" and passed on Paul, the proven player but did not have the immortal reach and height. Now you hate on him b/c he took the most proven player in the draft over guards with more "potential" who are not even point guards. Seems to me that makes no sense.

Why does everyone like to complain and wine so much about William when the alternative was to get 2 wing / guards. I guess some think that a front court of last year minus Harrington was good enough...... WOW ! I can atleast understand the Aldridge arguement but know one expected him to fall to us anyway.

All I can say is that if this is the year the Hawks turn it around ? Would the board admitt hey need to eat crowe ? The majority of fans love guards. Well, coaches and GM's love the big guys who do the dirty work that allow the guards to look so good.

[Buzzard]

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You guys trip me out. Last year you hated on Billy b/c he took the player with more "potential" and passed on Paul, the proven player but did not have the immortal reach and height. Now you hate on him b/c he took the most proven player in the draft over guards with more "potential" who are not even point guards. Seems to me that makes no sense.

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You just need to pay attention to who is doing the hollering, screaming, and whining.

I loved BPA Marvin last year and would have loved BPA Roy or Foye this year. So some us are not tripping; we are just being consistent. As far as I am concerned, BK is the one who tripped this year and totally changed his draft startegy. I did not think Shelden was BPA; so I did not like the pick at all. I will support him though. And I do know he is the best low post player we have.

Look thru the history of the post before you conclude some of us are tripping. I am a product of the 70's but I do not "trip"

[mrhonline]

One word: impatience.

It's the hallmark of this board. It's understandable, though. Hawks' fans were tortured under Babcock (someone I like and respected as a human being).

Most casual Hawks' fans wrongly blend those two regimes together.

Most fans on this site, by contrast, are well aware of Knight's different approach to the draft and free agency. Some dislike him as a person, and want him gone regardless of how he performs. The rest are simply not impressed with the progress of the team, Knight's philosophy, and/or what they perceive to be "holes" in the lineup.

Some of us, and there are fewer since the Marvin-Paul issue, are willing to wait out the process and see what happens. I personally defer to Knight's drafting abilities and the ownership's faith in him.

[CrawDaddy]

For me it's still the issue of whether we could have had Shelden 3-5 picks later AND added another piece in Luther Head, Ridnour, or some other player or pick. I don't mind the pick of Shelden, I mind the value we got at where we picked.

I also do not like the 2nd round pick at all. Solomon will be fighting for a roster spot, where we could have taken a project PG who could've turned out to be very good in the future (see Daniel Gibson, Dee Brown).

That's the issue I have with this year's draft.

[mrhonline]

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where we could have taken a project PG who could've turned out to be very good in the future (see Daniel Gibson, Dee Brown).

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IMO, we have that already in Salim. I agree with Woodson that the Hawks need a veteran point to steer the youngest team in the NBA.

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That's the issue I have with this year's draft.

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I actually liked the idea of getting Luther Head, but it appears that Houston had their sights set on Battier.

I think we can blame Portland's volatility somewhat, too.

[BusBoyIsBack]

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For me it's still the issue of whether we could have had Shelden 3-5 picks later AND added another piece in Luther Head, Ridnour, or some other player or pick. I don't mind the pick of Shelden, I mind the value we got at where we picked.

I also do not like the 2nd round pick at all. Solomon will be fighting for a roster spot, where we could have taken a project PG who could've turned out to be very good in the future (see Daniel Gibson, Dee Brown).

That's the issue I have with this year's draft.

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How do you know we didn't try to move down in the draft? Were you in the War Room?

And as far as Solomon Jones fighting for a roster spot, just because you never heard of him doesn't mean he is terrible. He was one of the best defenders in the toughest conference in college basketball. He had more impressive defensive numbers than both UConn big men that went ahead of him in the 1st round. He has more upside than Cedric Simmons who also went in the first round. More upside than Joe Freeland and that other Euro kid that went in the first round. On paper he is a longer Tyrus Thomas who was chosen by the team with the 2nd pick in the draft.

If you think a kid with that much talent is going to be fighting for a roster spot with the likes of Estaban Batista and John Edwards you don't have a clue.

[Diesel]

Crawdaddy..

If Minnesota came out and said, "originally we wanted a big like Shelden Williams but he was taken by the Hawks so we took...".

Would you then be more accepting of Shelden Williams??

I'm trying to understand you POV. Do you dislike Shelden because you believe it may have been possible to do something else?

If so.

Do you dislike JJ because it may have been possible to get him without giving up 2 first?

From my POV, basketball skills and fitting our need is more important than if we could have gambled more....

Here's a few more questions, I would like to see you answer.

Do you think that we could have gotten a better Post defender, interior player after Shelden who could come in and be effective NOW?

Do you think that we can find a FA Big easier than we can find a FA PG?

Do you think we can not find a FA PG who would be better than Foye for us?

[Buzzard]

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Do you think we can not find a FA PG who would be better than Foye for us?

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No one in this years FA class is as good as Foye or Roy nor as cheap either...

[CrawDaddy]

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I'm trying to understand you POV. Do you dislike Shelden because you believe it may have been possible to do something else?

If so.

Do you dislike JJ because it may have been possible to get him without giving up 2 first?

Do you think that we could have gotten a better Post defender, interior player after Shelden who could come in and be effective NOW?

Do you think that we can find a FA Big easier than we can find a FA PG?

Do you think we can not find a FA PG who would be better than Foye for us?

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I'll answer the last question first. No, I do not think we can find a better FA PG that will be "better" than Foy. I think Foy is more talented than any FA PG on the market. He will, however, take time to gain experience.

I think we could've gotten a big in midseason by moving Al. I harp on the Nene trade all the time. And that is what I'm trying to get across. I have NO PROBLEMS with our pick of Shelden. I think he will contribute and greatly help our interior D. However, I just have a hard time believing that we couldn't have gotten more from this draft with where we were picking and who we picked. Rondo fell to 21st. Marcus Williams fell to 22. So, BK couldn't get on the phone and make SOME kind of move to move down and do the Head deal, or get on the phone and move up to get a consensus top 10 PG who dropped to 22?

BusBoy - No I was not in the warroom. Neither were you. Don't act like you know what happened, and don't be an ass. Write me back when Solomon plays 12 minutes in a meaningful game. If he does, I'll admit I'm wrong.

Again, for those who read this, my problem with this draft is VALUE. We didn't get the proper value for the players we got where we got them.

[frosgrim]

I have to disagree with the notion that we didn't get adequate value out of the 5th pick. From interviews on various media sites, including ESPN, 680 The Fan, 790, and print sources, it now appears Sheldon would have gone within a few picks of 5. Heck even Chicago was thinking about taking him as late as the day before the draft according to Sheldon himself. With this evidence, and its the best we're going to get, Sheldon went where he was supposed to.

As for Foye and/or Roy, they both project to be good players, but you know what, so does Sheldon. I liked a Roy and JJ back court, but having a brickhouse like Sheldon defending the lane is fine with me.

As for a point guard project, this team doesn't need a rookie point. A vet point will help this team much more THIS year and for the next two. The Josh-s and the William-es will greatly benefit from a guy who can distribute and play good defense. A rookie isn't going to give us that.

I actually like the Jones pick as it provides us with an atheletic big to bring along, even if its in the development league. Stated simply, we had no servicable bigs outside of Zaza last year, now we have three. That is a pretty damn good draft filling one of the two hardest positions to fill.

[Packfill]

I like the Sheldon pick, I just wish BK picked Paul last year rather then a redundant small forward. If he had picked Paul last year this team would be looking really good. Right now, it still needs a lot of work.

[Diesel]

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We didn't get the proper value for the players we got where we got them.

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Like all things value is relative and unpredictable.

For instance, you say you have no problem with Shelden, however at the same time, you admit that you don't think we could have gotten anothe big better than Shelden in this draft.

Now, if all you care about is value, Rudy Gay should have been the pick. Rudy Gay was slated to go 1st preseason and 3rd by most Mocks and Analysts. The reason you're not whining about us not getting Rudy Gay is because Gay's position is not a big enough need for us to have wasted a pick on him.

Ah HA! That same line of reasoning is why Shelden was the best pick for us. We suck at playing Interior defense. Shelden is the best interior defender in the draft.

Now.. Let me ask you one last question...

What if Bk would have called you up before the draft and told you that his plan was that he would take the best Interior defender in the draft and he would get a Veteran PG in FAcy. If you asked why not a PG in the draft he would tell you because he wants a veteran PG instead of a drafted PG who will take 3-4 years to learn the position.

Would you still have a problem with the Pick of Williams?

[GMyrberg]

So well said. Nobody here is truly mean-spirited--I think, anyway. Sports boards are just for fun, but all are a little impatient. Some of us can remember some 50 win seasons and being disappointed we couldn't get past the first round. I'm not much of a flamer because I can recognize arguments on both sides of the argument, most times. This is my position on patience. I'll support the team no matter what, including change in ownership. That's not true for the organization, coach, and players. There are several places to measure BK and Woody along the way. (1) draft; (2) acquiring undrafted FAs; (3) dealing with Al; (4)finding a point guard; (5) summer league play--who's there, who shows something; (6) getting the team to play an uptempo style that suits its talent. You can look at each of these in isolation. That will make for fun debate, BUT everybody in the organization deserves a break until all steps are completed. We will have a good idea of the master plan before the season. At that point, I'll come back and look at the steps we took. How we play during the season also plays a big part, of course, but we'll know whether we have a chance in a couple of months or so.

[TexasPete]

I dont like Knight because he is an arrogant incompetant.

1. No working out of top 5 picks.

2. Promising a player nobody was interested in.

3. Killing all leverage for a possible deal.

4. His disdain for all things GUARD.

5. His love affair affair with 6'8 forwards.

6. His lack of any respect for fans or media.

7. The false bravado that eminates from his pores.

8. Deciding our draft one month before it happened...I guess those guys must have been playing golf or something. Nothing else to do...

If you don't get that he is a fool and is in over his head...I can't help you. He is better than I-Thomas...he has that going for him.

[drzachary]

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I dont like Knight because he is an arrogant incompetant.

1. No working out of top 5 picks.

2. Promising a player nobody was interested in.

3. Killing all leverage for a possible deal.

4. His disdain for all things GUARD.

5. His love affair affair with 6'8 forwards.

6. His lack of any respect for fans or media.

7. The false bravado that eminates from his pores.

8. Deciding our draft one month before it happened...I guess those guys must have been playing golf or something. Nothing else to do...

If you don't get that he is a fool and is in over his head...I can't help you. He is better than I-Thomas...he has that going for him.

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You've got some valid criticisms, but I have to pick a few nits. #4.. JJ? #6, I'm pretty sure his negative comments have been about the media, not the fans, and he's clarified them as such.

[CrawDaddy]

A simple answer - no. If BK actually called me up, talked to me intelligently and asked me that question, I wouldn't have a problem with it.

However, the problem remains that I don't think BK is thinking that at all. What was it Mike Woodson said right after our Shelden pick? I believe it was "...hopefully we can get a PG with the 33 pick." He also mentioned getting a PG in FA. BK, on the other hand, goes on ESPN and gives an interview stating we don't need a PG and that that is not a pressing need.

So, my question for you is: If BK called you up, said he had no interest in any type of PG and had turned down a potential trade for the 8, 9, or 10 pick and a PG in exchange for whoever we picked at 5 - would you be okay with that?

[DJlaysitup]

Seriously, what good would a #33 PG have done us if we want to improve and win now. BK did exactly what I was hoping he would - take what he felt was the best available big. I can't say I specifically targeted Solomon Jones (I didn't even know the guy existed actually).

What we need now is a solid vet PG and then trot em out there and see how they do.