Rank from worst to first all BK's draft decisions

[TheNorthCydeRises]

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Because relative to draft position (21) he has been better than JC, SW, and MW...that is unless you're a BK apologist.

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. . But he played like a 2nd round talent while he was in ATL. So I guess we blame Woody for not playing a 6-8 player at center like Phoenix did, to maximize his talent. LOL . . OK. When evaluating whether a pick is good or not, you better take more into consideration than where they were selected in the draft.

If you say that Diaw was better here than Shelden, I can argue against it, but I can at least see your point on that. If you say that Diaw, relative to where he was drafted, was better than Marvin or Chill, relative to where they were drafted, then you're completely insane. At the very least, Marv and Chill has played like mid-first rounders while in ATL. But Diaw played like a 2nd round talent, who didn't want to improve his overall game.

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Diaw fit the needs of our team perfectly. HE WAS DRAFTED BEFORE ANY OF THE PLAYERS OTHERWISE MENTIONED! How could he not fit our needs when drafted given we had needs everywhere?!?

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I agree with this. And Diaw also got a BIG TIME opportunity to become a key cog in the future of this team. Talent wise, Diaw had the ability to be a notch under Lamar Odom, and NBA scouts knew this. BK knew this as well.

So how did he respond? He REGRESSED in his 2nd year, from the flashes of talent he showed in his rookie year. He was given every opportunity to succeed here in ATL, and he flat out didn't respond to the challenge of improving himself in the offseason. Then he started crying when Woody opted to give guys like Smith and Chill his minutes. Woody didn't misuse Diaw . . Diaw played himself OUT of ATL.

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Where's the moron icon? Combine Childress' and MW's draft positions (8) and it's still less than half where Diaw was drafted (21). Diaw isn't far behind these two and offers alot that neither of them do.

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Oh I see now. This is one of your famous "let's look at this from one side ( my side ONLY ), and blast any opinion that looks at it from another side" ( i.e. - a logical standpoint. ) LOL . . gotcha. The guys who tend to be scrubs in the late 1st round, usually don't get a chance to contribute right away in the first place. That's not the case with Diaw. He got a chance right away. His 2nd year was supposed to be his breakout year as a decent player, and he regressed . . period.

These guys didn't regress in their 2nd year:

- Nate Robinson

- Jarrett Jack

- David Lee

- Leo Barbosa

- Josh Howard

- Tayshawn Prince

- Nenad Kristic

- Sam Dalembert

- Tony Parker

- Mo Peterson

- Jake Tsakalidis ( good lord, even he improved )

- Andrei Kirilenko

- a 19 year old Al Harrington

( edit: And these are all guys who were drafted between 21st to the end of the 1st round. I forgot to include that in the original posting. )

- And I didn't even mention any of the 2nd round picks that steadily improved their game. So you blame Diaw's lack of success on the coach? Please. Just like with Shelden and Marvin, they each have to bring their talent to the forefront, and improve each year that they're in the league. Diaw was so passive as a Hawk, he only wanted to fit in, not improve himself as a player.

As Derrick Coleman would say about Diaw's improvement in Phoenix . . . "whoop-dee-damn-doo"!! He didn't do it here, and didn't DESIRE to improve himself while here. And if it wasn't for Amare's injury last year, Diaw would STILL be a scrub that nobody talks about being a quality player in the NBA. LOL . . and he wouldn't be 45 million dollars richer either.

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MORON ICON!!!

Take you pick.

Where were each player drafted? Still, no way "the most NBA-ready player" in SW had a better rookie year given his age, experience, and familiarity with the American game. The simple fact that you have to question whether a 5th pick isn't FAR better than a 21st pick screams [censored] up!

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It wasn't a much better rookie year, but Shelden, in my opinion, did have a better rookie year. And don't cry about Diaw and his lack of experience. He was 21 at the time he was drafted. He was an experienced basketball player, with his years of play on the French national teams. And his game was NBA-ready. He was on the NBA draft radar for 2 years, before he declared for the draft. His DESIRE wasn't NBA ready though. That is the same trait that people say Marvin possesses. Difference is, Marvin didn't regress in his 2nd year when given a bigger role on the team.

And what happened this year in Phoenix, after he played great last year and got his money? He regressed AGAIN!! He showed up for the beginning of the season fat and out of shape. He didn't work on his outside game, to compliment the rest of the game. And that effectively saw him see a decline in minutes as the season wore on. He's not concerned though. He got his big contract, and can use Amare for taking his "center" spot, as the reason for his decline in minutes. With his talent, he should be making a less skilled player like Raja Bell obsolete. But he isn't.

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You're laughable. But oh well. Diaw as a 21st pick produces as well as our HIGH lottery picks.

W

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Not while he was in ATL he didn't. He produced more like Royal Ivey, than Shelden, Chill, or Marvin. LOL . . I guess if we trade Chill, and he blossoms into a very good player somewhere else, that you'll say that the Hawks should've kept him too.

You're the Alicia Silverstone of Hawksquawk . . . totally clueless.

I know you like to get the last word in, so I'll do like O'Reilly does, and let you have it if you like. Just know that placing Diaw as BK's 2nd best 1st round pick behind Smoove, makes the Sene argument you made last year, look like a great argument. That pick is a failure, not only because the Hawks didn't solve any of their problems as a team by drafting him, but also because they got a player that didn't desire to improve himself in any way, shape, or form while in ATL.

Even Phoenix fans have mixed feelings on Diaw these days. LOL . . sounds a lot like Hawks fans 3 years ago.

There are three current threads about Diaw on the ESPN boards right now:

here's 1

here's 2

here's 3

Like I said . . take the last word if you want. But take it at your own risk Dubya.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Funny about the current poll results. The "none of the above" column has the most votes.

LOL . . I wonder why?

[Guest Walter]

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If you say that Diaw, relative to where he was drafted, was better than Marvin or Chill, relative to where they were drafted, then you're completely insane. At the very least, Marv and Chill has played like mid-first rounders while in ATL. But Diaw played like a 2nd round talent, who didn't want to improve his overall game.

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You don't think that MW drafted at 2 but playing like a mid-1st rounder (15) is worse than Diaw drafted at 21 playing like a 2nd rder (31)!?! I don't believe Diaw played like a 2nd rder under Stotts but let's assume he did...that's still 3 slots (15-2 vs. 31-21) better than MW. Insane? Let me give you one of your faves...a big LOL.

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So how did he respond? He REGRESSED in his 2nd year, from the flashes of talent he showed in his rookie year. He was given every opportunity to succeed here in ATL

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You obviously didn't watch a GD game. "Every opportunity to succeed" doesn't begin with Woody sitting on you EVER and doesn't end with drafting 3 other Sfs in JC, JS, and Donta. It was one of the worst "coach dumps on a player" episodes I can recall here and Diaw's play the following year at least demonstrated that much.

I can't respond to such a diatribe in its entirety. Diaw has never played so poorly as under Woody and has consistently played to a 21st pick's standards. Look at the average 21st pick. The average won't be as good as Diaw. Look at the average #2, #5, and #6 pick and they are better than MW, SW, and JC. That's the crux.

W

[Guest Walter]

You can't.

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I'm saying that Diaw was picked in a year that the draft was much stronger than these other guys (Shelden, Chillz). You harp on who BK didn't pick in years of a weaker draft. However, you look at it a totally different way in a strong draft?

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No, I just disagree with your characterization of "the draft". Sure, Lebron, Carmelo, and Wade were "strong" but when Dahntay Jones and Planinic bookend Diaw that doesn't indicate a strong draft. Don't confuse a strong top of the draft with a strong draft and remember, Diaw was hardly arguably the best player from 13 through 27 in that draft. That's a wide swath of weak ass players for the most part for such a "strong draft".

As far as who and what I harp on, I was right REGARDLESS of the relative strength of the draft OR ANY GD PORTION OF THE DRAFT. I wanted Deng, then Iggy...then Smith or then Jefferson (really never thought that part out as to who between the two as it would never come to that decision, just liked them both). Childress wasn't even on my list. I was right. I wanted Deron, then Paul, then Marvin. Right again. Of the remaining players I wanted Roy. Right again. I don't let the draft's or any portion of the draft's "strength" affect who is the best prospect in my mind. I've consistently not err'd when it comes to Hawk's selections. You would do well to learn from that.

W

[VarsitySlacker]

I'm in shock as to how many of you are arguing this.

Look at it this way, assume that BK picked the best player available in retrospect, which one of these teams would be the best. Do not tell me that "if we had drafted x, we would have drafted y the next year" because we all know that BK would have kept drafting SFs, just tell me which team would be the best.

2003, we could draft Howard, Barbosa, or Haslem

ASSUMING (which may or may not be fair) that we don't trade this pick for Joe and instead trade another marginal player

Barbosa Speedy Speedy

JJ JJ JJ

Marvin Howard Smoove

Smoove Smoove Haslem

Zaza Zaza Zaza

6 - Chill 6 - Marvin 6 - Marvin

2004

Speedy

JJ

Deng/Iggy

Smoove

Zaza

6 - Marvin

2005

Paul/Deron

JJ

Childress

Smoove

Zaza

6 - Speedy

2006

Roy

JJ

Marvin

Smoove

Zaza

6 - Childress

By my count, the best teams, in order, or '05, '06, '04, and '03. That is the order, thus, for worst to first draft decisions. I did switch out '05 and '06, because I (still) believe that Marvin can close the talent gap with Paul more than Shelden can with Roy with time (And goddammit, this is not what we're debating).

Diaw was obviously not an incredible pick, but he was the least costly pick that we made.