Hawks see big chance: Sekou

[DrReality]

Picks make club 'very fortunate'

By SEKOU SMITH

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 06/20/07

Hawks general manager Billy Knight looked curiously at the picture on a wall and raised an eyebrow before asking the inevitable question.

"Who is that right there?" he asked Hawks vice president of public relations Arthur Triche before a game in Detroit in December.

'My phone's ringing off the hook, and I'm not even that nice of a guy,' Hawks GM Billy Knight says of calls to make a trade before the NBA draft.

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"You've got to be kidding me; you don't know who that is?" Triche responded incredulously. "That's Britney Spears."

Knight didn't know the controversial pop music princess by face, but they do have something in common these days. Both are staples of the rumor mills of their respective professions — Spears for her hair-raising and hair-shaving antics and Knight because he holds the keys to the June 28 NBA draft with two of the first 11 picks.

"My phone's ringing off the hook, and I'm not even that nice of a guy," Knight said, joking about his sudden rise in popularity among his peers — teams are inquiring about what it will take to pry one or both of the picks away from the Hawks. "But we're certainly having lots of conversations. We're talking a lot."

So just what is the Hawks' strategy with two lottery picks? Take the best available player at No. 3 and fill a need (point guard) at No. 11? Or perhaps the other way around? Maybe best available with both picks?

There is also the possibility of trading one or both of the picks for a veteran player who can immediately move the Hawks from the lottery to the playoffs, after an eight-year drought.

Knight said he won't do anything before he and his brain trust analyze all the possibilities, which includes individual player workouts that begin Wednesday with the point-guard group of Acie Law (Texas A&M), Javaris Crittenton (Georgia Tech) and Jamon Gordon (Virginia Tech) in a morning session and forward Brandan Wright (North Carolina) in the afternoon.

"What we're doing right now is taking everything down and putting it all out there and evaluating everything we can," Knight said. "From there, we'll make a decision on what's the best thing to do. And it all depends on the situation. If it's a deal that impacts the [salary] cap, maybe another team will find it advantageous to do something before the draft.

"Some things could involve us doing something before, during and after the draft. But whatever we do, we have to look at all the possibilities out there and see what's best for us."

The Hawks were in a similar situation in 2004 with the sixth and the 17th pick in that draft. They grabbed Josh Childress at six and Josh Smith at 17. Both have become integral pieces to the Hawks' rebuilding effort.

But comparing the two situations is a waste because, as Knight notes, the Hawks are in a totally different phase of the plan now.

"Every draft is unique unto itself," Knight said. "That's why I don't do that, compare one to another. One year could be strong in point guards and another might not be nearly as strong in point guards ... everybody wants to make pronouncements before the draft even gets started. I don't do that. As of right now we have [3 and 11], and we're going to get a good player at both of those picks."

Recent history is certainly on the Hawks' side. In last year's draft Portland got LaMarcus Aldridge and rookie of the year Brandon Roy, the second and sixth picks, respectively.

In 2005 Charlotte got Raymond Felton (fifth) and Sean May (13) with its two lottery picks. And in 2004, Chicago used its two lottery picks on Ben Gordon (third) and Luol Deng (seventh), two key components in the team's playoff drives the past two years.

In a draft as deep this year, the chance to maximize two top-13 picks would appear to be an extremely realistic expectation. With Greg Oden and Kevin Durant expected to be the top two picks, the Hawks have their choice of the rest of the field. And that group includes the top-rated players at three different positions — Mike Conley Jr. at point guard, Al Horford at power forward and Corey Brewer at shooting guard.

"When you have a chance to land two punches in the same draft, you have to make them count," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "We did that last time getting Josh Childress and Josh Smith. Whatever we do, we're in a great position to help ourselves take another important step to reaching our ultimate goal, which is to bring playoff basketball back to Atlanta."

Doing that with two more rookies added to what is already the league's youngest team might be tougher than the Hawks think. But both Woodson and Knight point to the Hawks' improvement in each of the past three seasons (from 13 to 26 to 30 wins) as proof that they're closer to their stated goal of returning to the playoffs.

"We're fortunate to be lined up with two picks," Knight said. "That's a very fortunate position to find yourself in. And we're doing everything we can to take advantage of it. We're going to add players from the draft or a trade that can help our team next year. Because we're not too far away from being a good team, a competitive team. We're not too far away from that at all."

[Gray Mule]

Thanks!!

[DrReality]

This confirms Sothron's input that everyone but the Spurs have called.

There has to be a lot of posters who are from out of town and don't always see the AJC articls.

[exodus]

It would be a big chance in the hands of a competent GM. In the hands of BK it is a crapshoot. he could easily pick Wright at 3 which would be a disaster.

[TexasPete]

You know all this promise in the hands of the wrong man can always land with a thud. Wright and Law, something like that would just burst the bubble.

It seems we have more opportunities than ever to complete the job and I hope this chance isn't pissed away.

I hate to be the pessimist here but I think BK has a better chance the screw us than help us.

I don't want to hear Wrights name called because I will turn it off and be done. It sounds like teams are calling and there just may be a great deal in their somewhere.

[BusBoyIsBack]

Honestly as long as we get Acie Law or Javaris Crittenton there is no wrong pick at #3.

As much as I seem to favor one guy over another, any of the four out of Noah, Horford, Wright, and Yi could be an upgrade on this team.

[skaughtybee]

"Whatever we do, we're in a great position to help ourselves take another important step to reaching our ultimate goal, which is to bring playoff basketball back to Atlanta."

Please tell me this is a misquote! BK's *ultimate* goal is to get to the playoffs? Any GM who doesn't have an ultimate goal of winning championships has poor vision. BK has always been a long-term, big picture guy. I hope he hasn't settled.

[Duff_Man]

Quote:

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"Whatever we do, we're in a great position to help ourselves take another important step to reaching our ultimate goal, which is to bring playoff basketball back to Atlanta."

Please tell me this is a misquote! BK's *ultimate* goal is to get to the playoffs? Any GM who doesn't have an ultimate goal of winning championships has poor vision. BK has always been a long-term, big picture guy. I hope he hasn't settled.

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I am sure they want championships, but you gotta crawl before you can walk.

[exodus]

Quote:

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Quote:

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"Whatever we do, we're in a great position to help ourselves take another important step to reaching our ultimate goal, which is to bring playoff basketball back to Atlanta."

Please tell me this is a misquote! BK's *ultimate* goal is to get to the playoffs? Any GM who doesn't have an ultimate goal of winning championships has poor vision. BK has always been a long-term, big picture guy. I hope he hasn't settled.

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I am sure they want championships, but you gotta crawl before you can walk.

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BK has had the job for several years and we are still crawling. If he blows this draft we will be crawling for a long time.

[MemphisX]

Quote:

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"Whatever we do, we're in a great position to help ourselves take another important step to reaching our ultimate goal, which is to bring playoff basketball back to Atlanta."

Please tell me this is a misquote! BK's *ultimate* goal is to get to the playoffs? Any GM who doesn't have an ultimate goal of winning championships has poor vision. BK has always been a long-term, big picture guy. I hope he hasn't settled.

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I think he was meaning in the context of next season.

[Sothron]

Quote:

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This confirms Sothron's input that everyone but the Spurs have called.

There has to be a lot of posters who are from out of town and don't always see the AJC articls.

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Yeah I actually had some yahoo from realgm come over here and send me a PM calling me a liar that there was no way many teams would call BK about our picks. Nice to see this article once again confirms what I already told you guys at least a week earlier lol. Thanks for the nod though, it really is appreciated.

If we ever start a hawksquawk supporter only forum I would probably put my insider information on there to keep it within the family so to speak.