Diesel's take on the offseason...

[Diesel]

I think Hawksfans are going to have to look at this offseason as a chance to improve Talent 1st and Need second.

Regardless of whichever way you look at it, all of our needs won't be met with this draft.

But more importantly than who we get in the draft, we have to define what kind of team we will be.

I keep hearing that we need a Center, we Need a Center. However, none of the Center prospects available are defensive save Noah and Noah doesn't have the weight to play the position well yet. Plus Noah can't score.

Those who say Hawes... I like Hawes. But I also like Zaza as far as offense is concerned. Hawes will not answer defense. H

Horford is not a Center. He will be a good Pf, but he's not a Center and as was stated two weeks ago as the consensus then... Horford is at the top of his potential. Horford is Shelden all over again.

Brendan Wright is a JOKE. I'm tired of us falling for these UNC players with no desire and "great potential". The desire is the compliment to the potential. Without the desire, the potential is dead.

But let's examine that Center thought. Why do we need this great defensive POST presence again?? Are we going to be a LUMBERING half court team. I don't think we're built like that. I would say we're the opposite. I'll explain that later. However, if we must have a big Lumbering defensive presence, I suppose Magloire is a good fill in and Pryzibillia should be available for cheap.

Point Guard. No issue affects the Hawks more than PG. People say we need a Pure distributor in the mold of Brevin Knight. I say NO... We have that in Speedy. I say we need a PG who can shoot. In your mind go back to the middle of the season. There were a few games, where Speedy came back healthy and put up good Assists numbers. However, we still faltered because aside from getting assists, nobody feared his shooting. So he basically became a feeder of JJ and Marvin... Both guys shoot well, but at the same time, both guys can be shut down easily when there is another man who can double anybody with the ball. Go through your mind and see that free defender disrupting our offense.

I prefer Law at 11 over Conley at 3. That's not to say that I wouldn't take Conley because if Conley fell to 11, I would prolly take him over Critt. Although that would be a very tough call. Despite measurements, I still like Critt. if we can't get Law but there's another guy out of Alabama named Stuckey who has my interest. He might be like Mookie with soome height.. I have to do some more research because I didn't watch many Bama games.

So what type of team do we have:

I think we have a break when we can team, but when we can't, we line the arc with three point shooters and open the door for slashers to work. If you want to call a team of old, I guess you can say: the last championship Piston team...

Rasheed, Rip, and Billups shooting threes. Prince slashing and Wallace rebounding. The difference is that I think we can run a lot better than those guys.

So here's my idea.

INcrease talent. Get Yi. Call him whatever you want to call him. Sf, Pf... it doesn't matter. The guy is a slasher, good first step, fast, agile, good recognition of plays and good footwork.

Get Law. He's our billups. The guy who can run the plays without making mistakes but if you need him to, he can hit three balls all day long.

LIke I have said, the best fit for us is a starting lineup of a 3 forward rotation. This will work because it gives us all the elements we need on the court at the same time. Shooting, Slashing, and rebounding.

Instill a stronger team defense. Yi and Smoove are shot blockers. Shelden plays strong positional defense (has good footwork).

The other thing that has gone unmentioned. We have to start to incorporate Solo Man into the game more. Why pile on another C when we have Solomon who may be ready to play some of that position too. An offseason in the weight room can do wonders.

So this is what I would consider our best plan.

Sure we can reach for a PG who can't shoot and be left with the best talent left of another 6'6-6'8 Sf... OR we can take a talented 7'1 245 Forward... and get the best PG (for us) in the draft at 11.

[Guest Walter]

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Horford is not a Center. He will be a good Pf, but he's not a Center and as was stated two weeks ago as the consensus then... Horford is at the top of his potential.

Horford is Shelden all over again.

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Diesel, while I'm glad you admit it to some degree and although I think Horford is significantly better than SW all-around, this is a terrible indictment of your position to draft SW last year.

W

[Guest Walter]

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I think Hawksfans are going to have to look at this offseason as a chance to improve Talent 1st and Need second...Increase talent. Get Yi. Call him whatever you want to call him. Sf, Pf... it doesn't matter. The guy is a slasher, good first step, fast, agile, good recognition of plays and good footwork.

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I agree with this sentiment. Should we not be blown away by a deal, get Yi. I'm not against trading the pick either. Wright weighing 200 lbs is a huge let down no doubt. If only the 15 lbs TV puts on you would stick to him.

I want to know more about Yi and I'm assuming that BK has done his homework already to this point. WAs YUi even at the predraft camp?!?

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I don't agree about Law over Crittenton. Crittenton all the way. He's the best of both worlds at Pg (true Pg and shooting) IMO and he by far has the most TALENT of any of them.

W

[Diesel]

Actually, I don't think Horford is better than Shelden at anything but jumping. While Jumping is neat and important I don't think it matters that much in the discussion of what we need. Shelden is probably capable of a double double every night given minutes. More than that, he's going to play good positional defense. Also, I think he can play Center. Horford can duplicate that. He may grab as many rebounds.. but let's not forget, Horford is not as strong as Shelden. Shelden's most valuable quality is his strength. It's that strength that allows him to match up with Centers in this league. I was convinced watching Shelden matchup with Aldridge, Shaq, and Gadzuric late in the season. Even though he gives up Significant size to these guys, he played strong basketball in the post. Honestly, nobody can stop Shaq, but Shelden didn't do bad in limited play.

Now, I don't see much advantage (talentwise) to getting Horford. He's at the top of his potential. I just don't think it's a better idea than taking Yi. Yi is loaded with potential!

[Diesel]

My wanting Yi is definitely contingent on him coming for a workout and us getting measurements. If he is 7'1 in shoes or 7'0 in shoes and above 240... This is the guy we should pick!!!

[AHF]

Just for clarification...

Speedy is in no way a distributor. He cannot run an offense. He simply brings the ball up the court and passes OK. He is not a playmaker.

[Seano]

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Should we not be blown away by a deal, get Yi.

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It doesn't seem like Yi is a very realistic option for us even if we wanted him to be, given that the government of Communist China has some definite sway in determining where he'll end up- and apparently they have no interest in seeing him end up here.

I don't know how true this is- so take it with a grain of salt, but I read on another board that the Chinese government has enough power over this particular situation that they could just decide to say "the hell with it" and bring him back to China, if he ends up being drafted by a team who they don't want him to play for. It seems kind of crazy that they could exert that level of influence over what happens half a world away in the NBA, but that's what I read.

[Swatguy]

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My wanting Yi is definitely contingent on him coming for a workout and us getting measurements. If he is 7'1 in shoes or 7'0 in shoes and above 240... This is the guy we should pick!!!

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I am in the Yi camp but Horford and Noah are reeeeaal close for me. Again, If we can move Marvin to Milwaukee (I think they will bite) I like Brewer.

Yi if he has the mean streak I saw in the video to be true, he is the favorite.

Javaris has the eye of the tiger. get him. Law has it too but he can't pass or get to the rim like Javaris. PG gotta be able to do that, its a big boy league.

[Spiral]

I agree with almost everything you stated. I think Horford is not at his ceiling. He is more polished than Shelden offensively and I think he's just a good of a rebounder. Shelden was/is a better shot blocker. Ultimately I agree we should pick Yi. Unless his people tell us that he will flat out not play for us if we pick him, he would be my guy. If not, I would lean towards Horford over Wright. However, I'd likely be trying to trade down if I couldn't get Yi. There's just not many deals I see that would get us the value we're looking for if we were to trade down.

[Diesel]

I don't think China can impose it's will on the NBA. Moreover, Yi wants to play in the NBA. For China, it's a win that he's here anywhere. Look at Yao!

[Diesel]

I don't have a big problem with Horford and Noah... It's just a matter of talent for me. I don't see much future talent in these two.

[Guest Walter]

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More than that, he's going to play good positional defense.

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Whatever happened to the NBA shot-blocking you cited last year. I frankly do not see the good positional defense you cite. He gets blown by or shot over. He's not even that tough.

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Also, I think he can play Center.

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You don't think Horfard is a center but you think SW is?

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Horford is not as strong as Shelden.

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How many times did SW bench 185. I'm curious. 20 times is strong enough as a prospect (1 year younger than SW).

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Shelden's most valuable quality is his strength. It's that strength that allows him to match up with Centers in this league.

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Strength is his only attribute and it doesn't allow him to match up with centers who have more athleticism, skills, a 6-8" in standing reach over him, etc. He was a 5th pick. You don't draft "strength" alone for a 5th pick! ONLY A FOOL WOULDN'T ACKNOWLEDGE THIS!

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Now, I don't see much advantage (talentwise) to getting Horford. He's at the top of his potential. I just don't think it's a better idea than taking Yi. Yi is loaded with potential!

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Well, I agree with you here because we've ALREADY GOT Shelden Williams, Horford is somewhat like him (only better), and Yi has some serious talent.

W

[Guest Walter]

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Should we not be blown away by a deal, get Yi.

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It doesn't seem like Yi is a very realistic option for us even if we wanted him to be, given that the government of Communist China has some definite sway in determining where he'll end up- and apparently they have no interest in seeing him end up here.

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...Yi will end up here if we draft him.

W

[coachx]

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Now, I don't see much advantage (talentwise) to getting Horford. He's at the top of his potential. I just don't think it's a better idea than taking Yi. Yi is loaded with potential!

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We know Hoford is 21. How is that at the top of his potential ?

How old is Yi ? 20 to 23, no one knows but I'm betting he is closer to 23.

Yi does not even have the gonads to compete vs his peers considered for the 3rd pick. The only reason people say he has more upside then any one is b/c they know nothing about him. You don't even know his real age and measurments.

All ya' got from Yi are some Youtube highlights vs. inferior competition.

[BusBoyIsBack]

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We know Hoford is 21. How is that at the top of his potential ?

How old is Yi ? 20 to 23, no one knows but I'm betting he is closer to 23.

Yi does not even have the gonads to compete vs his peers considered for the 3rd pick. The only reason people say he has more upside then any one is b/c they know nothing about him. You don't even know his real age and measurments.

All ya' got from Yi are some Youtube highlights vs. inferior competition.

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Didn't you know being in school 3 years means you can't progress anymore?

[DavidSomerset]

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Now, I don't see much advantage (talentwise) to getting Horford. He's at the top of his potential. I just don't think it's a better idea than taking Yi. Yi is loaded with potential!

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Diesel, were you one of the people bashing Knight for the past however many years for always taking SF/PF's in the draft?

If so, how hypocritical of you, but even if not what on earth use do we have for Yi?

He'd be behind Marvin and Chillz on the depth chart.

Trade him and let some other team try to make his soft ass into a player.

What a complete and utter waste of the #3 pick.

[Diesel]

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Diesel, were you one of the people bashing Knight for the past however many years for always taking SF/PF's in the draft?

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Not exactly. I'm the one that think that Shelden was the right pick at the time.

I'm the one who think that Marvin was the wrong pick at the time.

Here's my rationale:

When we picked Marvin we had a slew of Sfs. 5 of them to be exact and no PG.

This year, you say, Diesel, why do you want Yi?

Well, Yi to me represents Talent. I think we will get our PG at 11 in Law or Critt. Therefore the pick makes huge sense to me. Get the talent first and get the PG (Need) later.

If we get Brandan Wright, I just may through my TV out on draft night!!!

[Diesel]

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Whatever happened to the NBA shot-blocking you cited last year. I frankly do not see the good positional defense you cite. He gets blown by or shot over. He's not even that tough.

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Well, when he plays Center, he does a good job of using his feet and keeping opposing centers from getting their spots. The same is true when he plays in the low post against Pfs. To me, watching him play low post defense is much more tolerable than watching Smoove let his man get outstanding Position in the low post and going for the block opportunity.

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You don't think Horfard is a center but you think SW is?

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Not really. I haven't seen Horford play Center. I think he will be a good Pf. A banger indeed. But I don't know if it would profit us to move him out of position to Center.

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How many times did SW bench 185. I'm curious. 20 times is strong enough as a prospect (1 year younger than SW).

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He got it 25 times which is the max (I think).

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Strength is his only attribute and it doesn't allow him to match up with centers who have more athleticism, skills, a 6-8" in standing reach over him, etc. He was a 5th pick. You don't draft "strength" alone for a 5th pick!

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Great strawman.. BUT let's burn it down right quick.

Strength is not his only asset. He has good BBIQ. He has very good basketball fundamentals. Now Walt, you can be upset about the pick of Shelden, but let's not make up untruths to help your argument against him. Shelden is a smart, great fundamental player, who is strong, and moves his feet well for a big. That's not easy to find. Moreover, he has good form on his shot. At the tail end of the season when Woody finally let Shelden off the bench, he turned in the same kind of double double numbers that he was turning in before Marvin came back from injury. There's a definite relation to Shelden's production and his playing time. I believe that if he gets the playing time, he will produce everything we want. Shelden is not going to be the flashy 30 ppg guy who dominates the game with his ability to put up points. However, he will be the guy who can dominate the boards and push around the other teams bigs and get about 12-14 ppg. If he plays up to being a double double guy, I would think he was the best pick for us.

[Buzzard]

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If we get Brandan Wright, I just may through my TV out on draft night!!!

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We agree; hell is about to freeze over! I will also add if he takes anyone named Wright; I might follow your lead...

[Gray Mule]

This Chinese guy, regardless of who he played against,

from what we can see and hear, can shoot for a pretty

nice % and not just from two feet range.

I don't care what you call him - a seven foot guard.

If he can knock down those long shots, who is going to

defend him? And, who is going to score over him on

the defensive side?

I am easily swayed. I don't really know who we should

choose. Do you? Right now, what Diesel says makes a lot of sense. Tomorrow, someone will probably have me

changing my mind, but for right now and for the next few

minutes at least, let's take Chinese Law!!!