Out of curiosity-Assume we get the no 3 pick,,,

[sinctybldh]

Oden and Durant are off the board. Who would you want the Hawks to draft and why?

[Seano]

It's kind of hard to say, because what many consider to be the next two best players are 6'9 forwards, Horford and Wright. I definitely wouldn't want Noah at 3....I'd sooner trade down. Nor would I want Hibbert there. That would require an even bigger trade-down. So IMO, a 'big' at 3 is out of the question. Conley at 3 would have seemed a reach not too long ago, but maybe not anymore, as his stock is rising like a rocket. So I'd probably be inclined to snag Conley there. The need is obvious, and he looks like he's going to become one hell of a player. Now just watch BK pick one of the 6'9 players......

*** all this of course is operating on the assumption that all of these guys are going to declare.

[Eddielives]

I'm thinking that we almost have to draft Conley at 3, unless there is the possibility of trading down and still getting him. We HAVE to address need this draft. Unless we get the 1st pick, which would obviously mean Oden, we have to go for the best pg available. I seem to remember reading somewhere that some experts believe Conley has potential to be as good as Deron or Paul a few drafts ago. Anybody who can validate this or feels the same way, please say so.

The only way I would go in another direction in this draft is if we get the 3 pick and another team would part ways with an established, non-injury prone, very good point guard or big man.

[gsuteke]

trade trade trade

[GST]

I am starting to view Hibbert as too risky to take at #3. Conley isn't perfect, but he has a much lower bust potential. Conley for #3.

[thesheedera]

Conley's the guy I want too, but I would have loved to have grabbed him with the Pacers' pick. His stock goes up, so what do we do, just pass on him because he "should be" picked lower?

Trading down is ideal if we're positive that we can land in a spot where he's still available, but that's pretty darn risky with the chance that someone else could trade up and snag him.

At teh end of the day, there's something to be said for getting the guy you need/want. I think Conley's good enough to be a #3 draft pick somee day, and I wouldn't want to pass up on him for someone like Green or Noah.

It's a tough call. I just hope that BK falls in love with him as much as the rest of the country has so that he'll figure out a way to get him.

[AtLaS]

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I seem to remember reading somewhere that some experts believe Conley has potential to be as good as Deron or Paul a few drafts ago. Anybody who can validate this or feels the same way, please say so.

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He won't be as good as them for the simple fact that he can't shoot as well as they can. But he's VERY similar to Paul other than shooting.

[exodus]

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I seem to remember reading somewhere that some experts believe Conley has potential to be as good as Deron or Paul a few drafts ago. Anybody who can validate this or feels the same way, please say so.

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He won't be as good as them for the simple fact that he can't shoot as well as they can. But he's VERY similar to Paul other than shooting.

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Deron shot 67% from the line as a senior and only 36% from 3.

Conley didnt shoot many outsite shots because he didn't really need to on that team. They had other guys who were strong from 3.

Paul shot 28% from 3 last year but is shooting 35% this year. Shooting improvement is pretty common for young guards.

The fact is that Conley shot 51% from the field overall which is pretty strong, 10% better than Foye as a senior.

[BusBoyIsBack]

Hibbert and it's not even close.

Why? Brandan and Julian Wright and Horford are the next best players but they all are 6'9.

We can't have Smoove with somebody the same height as him in the frontcourt. We just can't.

Hibbert at 7'3 allows Smoove to play the 4 finally giving us a legit interior presence at 5 for the first time since Mutombo.

And speaking of Mutombo, Hibbert has the Georgetown pedigree. Gotta like his chances.

[DrReality]

Horford is the guy because he is NBA ready. He is the prototype new big man in the NBA. Can run the floor, be in the fast break and still defend. I think he could make our front line into something like the Suns. Very athletic.

But all that said, that's probably why we wouldn't take him.

[AtLaS]

I don't know, I'm not sold on Horford. He just hasn't impressed me at all. If we ended up taking Horford or Wright (the next 2 Marvin hypejobs) I will be pissed. I'd rather take Acie Law or Conley at 3.

[GST]

Horford looks like a PF to me. If you take him, who do you sit down.

[AtLaS]

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I seem to remember reading somewhere that some experts believe Conley has potential to be as good as Deron or Paul a few drafts ago. Anybody who can validate this or feels the same way, please say so.

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He won't be as good as them for the simple fact that he can't shoot as well as they can. But he's VERY similar to Paul other than shooting.

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Deron shot 67% from the line as a senior and only 36% from 3.

Conley didnt shoot many outsite shots because he didn't really need to on that team. They had other guys who were strong from 3.

Paul shot 28% from 3 last year but is shooting 35% this year. Shooting improvement is pretty common for young guards.

The fact is that Conley shot 51% from the field overall which is pretty strong, 10% better than Foye as a senior.

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Yeah but Paul shot 47.4% in college from 3, and 46% as a freshman, Conley shoots 30%. I'm not saying he won't improve, but I don't see him being the shooter they are..

[Seano]

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I am starting to view Hibbert as too risky to take at #3.

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Not only too raw and too risky, but I view taking Hibbert at #3 as being a massive overreach, sort of a Shelden redux. I mean according to many draft analysts there's a realistic possibility that Hibbert could slide all the way down into the early teens. I don't care how badly we need a big man- to reach down that far and devalue our pick that much in some desperate effort to fill an area of need would be an almost criminal waste in my opinion. I mean why even bother having a #3 pick if you're going to use it to take a player rated much, much lower than that? If Hibbert's to be the guy, then IMO you've got to trade down to get him.

You can't blow a 3 pick on a giant question mark like that- and that especially applies to us, in light of some of our recent drafting mistakes, or in the most generous light, some of BK's severely questionable draft strategies and choices.

[exodus]

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I seem to remember reading somewhere that some experts believe Conley has potential to be as good as Deron or Paul a few drafts ago. Anybody who can validate this or feels the same way, please say so.

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He won't be as good as them for the simple fact that he can't shoot as well as they can. But he's VERY similar to Paul other than shooting.

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Deron shot 67% from the line as a senior and only 36% from 3.

Conley didnt shoot many outsite shots because he didn't really need to on that team. They had other guys who were strong from 3.

Paul shot 28% from 3 last year but is shooting 35% this year. Shooting improvement is pretty common for young guards.

The fact is that Conley shot 51% from the field overall which is pretty strong, 10% better than Foye as a senior.

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Yeah but Paul shot 47.4% in college from 3, and 46% as a freshman, Conley shoots 30%. I'm not saying he won't improve, but I don't see him being the shooter they are..

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Deron was never a shooter. I don't know why you keep saying they.

[AtLaS]

Deron still shot 35% from 3 his freshman year, and 39% his second year. I admit I thought he was a better shooter in his junior year.

But who are all these PG's that weren't shooters in college that became shooters?

[bumpyphish1]

Hibbert or Horford

[TheNorthCydeRises]

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Hibbert and it's not even close.

Why? Brandan and Julian Wright and Horford are the next best players but they all are 6'9.

We can't have Smoove with somebody the same height as him in the frontcourt. We just can't.

Hibbert at 7'3 allows Smoove to play the 4 finally giving us a legit interior presence at 5 for the first time since Mutombo.

And speaking of Mutombo, Hibbert has the Georgetown pedigree. Gotta like his chances.

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Totally agree with you Bus. And I'll definitely do this, if we have both the #3 and #11 - #12 pick. If you have both picks, you address both issues at PG and C. If not, you probably go best player available. Ironically, the BPA after Oden and Durant, may very well be Corey Brewer, who will be an absolute defensive terror in the NBA.

You take Hibbert at #3 and you take Acie Law at #11 or #12.

If you take Conley #3, who do you take at #11 or #12? If you believe the "experts" at Draftexpress.com, the next 2 best centers are . .

- Tiago Splitter ( 7-0 . . 245 . . 20 yrs old . . TAU Vitoria )

- Spencer Hawes ( 7-0 . . 240 . . freshman at U. of Washington )

If you believe nbadraft.net, the next 2 best are . .

- Yi Jianlian ( 7-0 . . 230 . . 22 yrs old . . Guangdong Tigers combo PF/C . . who's NBA comparison is Pau Gasol, but won't be available after the top 10 according to them. Interesting . . his defensive and strength ratings are a 6 out of 10, pretty weak for their ratings system. )

- Roy Hibbert ( 7-2 . . 278 . . 20 yrs old from Georgetown . . who they compare to Joel Przybilla . . or to Big Z on other websites, with athleticism and quickness being his weak points. His strength is his size. He won't be available after the top 10 according to them either. )

So I think we'd risk getting some scrub big mam who can't play a lick of defense and might be limited on offense, if we pass on Hibbert at #3.

There's no indication that Thabeet is coming out. Otherwise, we could gamble on him falling out of the top 10, and go ahead and take Conley #3. But right now, Thabeet is strictly a one-dimensional shot blocker that a team wouldn't dare risk picking at #3 or in the top 5 for that matter.

If we go Hibbert - Law, you're at least bringing guys who are pretty good offensively, and aren't terrible on defense. Both guys should be able to contribute right away off the bench, with Hibbert maybe getting the start at center by default.

Law could give us everything that Lue or Salim gives us, plus a little extra on defense.

The Hibbert-Law combo is the safest route to go, if we wanted to effectively address both issues at PG and C.

And you're definitely right Bus. Hibbert alongside Smoove should definitely help him.

LOL . . but all of this speculation just shows you how uncertain that #3 pick is. Teams aren't "tanking" to get into the top 3. They're doing it for a chance to get into the top 2.

[exodus]

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Deron still shot 35% from 3 his freshman year, and 39% his second year. I admit I thought he was a better shooter in his junior year.

But who are all these PG's that weren't shooters in college that became shooters?

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You have to remember than Conley is a freshman and there haven't been that many freshman pgs to come into the league.

Off the top of my head Jason Kidd was a guy who couldn't shoot when he came into the league and made himself into a respectable shooter.

REally i don't even feel like looking up others because i just think you are exaggerating. Conley didn't take that many 3s and started the season 1-10 from 3. After that he really wasn't bad.

[exodus]

Taking another look at Conleys numbers he had an assist/turnover ratio of 2.77 which is extremely high for a college player. Plus he averaged 2 steals per game and shot 52%. Those are very strong for any player but especially for a freshman.