Say we get the #1 overall pick

[Admin]

Would you guys keep it and draft Howard, or would you try and trade down to the #3 or #4 spot, picking up a good younger player in the trade and then also draft Deng, Okafor, or Smith? I dont know too much about Smith but he does sound like someone who has star potential. With everything I have heard about Howard being too small and soft to be a center in the NBA I really dont think that he would be a good fit alongside SAR and we still have Theo and Nazr as well I think that adding a highly talented SF like Deng or Smith could be the best way for us to go if we want to turn this thing around quickly.

[Weez]

it's really too early to start speculating right now. so much comes out once conference competition starts...and then the tourney...and of course the lovely hs kids aren't fully known yet, largely due to their growth curves being so stiff.

it's a conversation that'll be easier to have in February/later in March.

[codyatl]

why not draft howard and then trade sar for another top 5 or 6 pick. then we can still get the small forward we want. or take a chance on the huge chinese player or russian center. This team isn't going anywhere w/ currne troster and 1 player in this yrs draft isn't going to turn us around any time soon. we really need to blow it up and start over. We may also be able to get a pretty good pick for theo or jt. now i knwo i am going to get blasted for mentioning trading reef but I just don't believe he is going to lead his team to a championship. I say lets start over, completely.

[Diesel]

I haven't seen enough of Howard to make a good judgement BUT...

Very tempting would be to trade the #1 down to Washington for Kwame and the #3. Then I would take Smith. The problem is that Howard plays the same position as Reef and depending on how good he is, I would think that Howard Might not be totally NBA ready. The real question is... Is Lebron a unique player or are there many players on the HS level that seem to be ready for the Pros.

For if Howard is ready to contribute now, we take him, Keep Reef.

if he's not, we trade down for Kwame (who is just coming into his own), keep Reef, and draft a prospect in Smith...

And if he's not but we really want him to be THE TEAM, we take him, trade Reef and build around Howard.

Of the three plans, I like the trade down because if we can get a guy like Brown and trade Theo/JT... We put ourselves in a position to have totally rebuilt in a series of Moves and we make ourselves more competitive overnight. However, if we decide to Build around Howard, what we have is at least three years of growing with him and we still don't know how good we will become..

[Gray Mule]

The only way Hawks can get the # 4 pick is in trade.

That pick, I am told, belongs to the Bobcats.

Would be nice to get # 1. However, knowing our luck

this season, Hawks will get the last lottery pick available.

If we finish so far behind that we have all the balls except

one, don't expect to get the pick.

[Playmaker0017]

Dolf,

Long range, picking Howard makes sense.

Currently, Howard's game is more suited for a SF and would compliment Reef perfectly. They say his drawbacks are that he plays on the perimeter and likes to pass a little too much. They say he sees the floor EXTREMELY well and dribbles much like he was a gaurd.

So, we can get Howard at SF. As he matures, he will probably grow. Look at KG. When he entered the league he was 6'10"-6'11" ... now he is 7'1"-7'2". So he should mature into a PF/C if we assume he is growing like KG.

In the longterm this helps because it will take Howard about 3 years to materialize. We would need to play him like KG was played. Slow and steady. Don't ask him to carry the load.

In three years, Reef is 29 and a dominant PF that Howard can learn from. Reef moves out and Howard moves in.

I think in 5 years people will look back and think Diaw was the steal of the 2003 draft. He won't be James or Anthony... but he will be good.

BUT... for short-term purposes... you trade the number one pick for a early first and a good player. Try to get Terry for a pick and a vet.

Play.

[chillzatl]

You just can't go into the draft thinking anyone is the next lebron. Most of the highschool kids you have to expect to wait 2-4 years before you get real production. Do we really want that? So much can go wrong in that time span to kill any potential the pick might have, work ethic, injury, bad coaching. To risk mixing that with a young kid that simply isn't ready anyway is asking for it to be a wasted pick.

Unless we're planning to completely scrap all our contracts, we need to get a player that has potential but can produce immediately. And I just don't see us dumping all our players. It's just not going to happen.

But it's too early for that now. There will be many lead changes in the #1 pick race between now and then. Some hot names will fade while some new faces come out of nowhere. As bad as it sounds, I hope we stink enough to have a real shot at the #1.

[pathway23]

You're right Chillz, I just hope our scouting is up to par this year. I do hope we have somebody checking Howard's game out, and all the other main prospects. Heck, if they put as much effort into scouting as some of us do here, we should be alright! Some of us have put in a lot of effort to research these prospects. Maybe the front office should consider recruiting for its scouting dept from this website!

=)

[KB21]

With the way things are with the draft, you can't go into it wiht the thinking that you have to get someone that will contribute immediately. That line of thinking will cause you to pass on players who will be better 3 years down the road than the player you take.

If the Hawks get the #1 pick, then Dwight Howard has to be considered very strongly. He looks like the best prospect at this point.

Comparison's to LeBron shouldn't even be considered, but a comparison to Amare Stoudamire could be very valid. I think Dwight Howard will be a very similar player to Amare Stoudamire once he gets into the NBA.

[Boondocks]

Well Amare as well as Lebron were physically ready for the nba, is Dwight too?

Has anybody here seen the atlanta celtics? Joshua Smith for instance, his teammate, has been projected as a lottery pick too.

If we pick Howard, wouldn't that automatically mean we'd trade SAR?

[Admin]

Amare is a dominating low post presence, or at least will be dominant someday. Now, Howard may become like that, however he is a gifted ball handler and a very good outside shooter. Neither of those traits would be used to describe Stoudemire. Actually, Howard started out playing in high school as a guard and has that type of mentality, so he could very well be a SF in a PFs body.

The point of this thread though was to find out how much difference there is between Smith and Howard and would we come out ahead if we traded down a few picks and got Smith plus a young player in the trade or are we better off taking Howard because he is a much better player than Smith.

I absolutely dont think that you pass up the chance to take one of these high schoolers though. When you have the chance to have the top pick or one of the top picks you have to gamble on greatness and that usually comes in the form of a high schooler when there isnt a blue chip type player like Shaq or a Duncan.

[KB21]

He's probably a shade under 6-10, and about 235 lbs at this point.

[Plainview1981]

KWame isn't gunna make it.....He';s a soft wimp. Another

player made him cry. lol that's sad.

[Diesel]

Even if Howard builds up the reviews comparable to Lebron, I would still look into trading down with Washington.

#1 For Kwame and the #2, 3, or 5 pick...

I think that's a really good deal for us.

We would get Kwame who is a former #1 and another top pick... Possibly Deng. Probably Smith. Possibly some foriegn player. It's called stockpiling talent.

The only problem I see is the critics who say that Kwame has small hands. They said the same thing about Willis. Nevertheless, I give Kwame the benefit of the doubt.

Right now...

A frontcourt of:

Kwame/Reef/Deng

Kwame/Reef/Smith

Sounds pretty good.

Not to mention what we might possibly pull off with a trade of Theo.

[HawkTodd]

I would be very excited if the Hawks ended up acquiring Okafor some how. He is such a solid player that always seems to give it his all. He's an extremely smart kid both on and off the court and his abality to block shots is bar none to any player in some time.

I would also take a player like Deng over Smith, although both will probaly end up being very quality NBA players. I have a feeling though that at least one if not both of them will not enter the uocoming NBA draft.

[chickenstanly]

Hotlanta,

Don't you know anything ??

You should know by now that the entire Hawk

strategy should ALWAYS hinge on whether we

get Kwame or not !!

[Diesel]

I've talked about a tradedown to the Wiz... But there are others...

How about:

#1/Jax to Chicago for #5/Crawford.

How about:

#1 to Orlando for Gooden/#2.

How about:

#1/JT/Nazr/CC to Phoenix for #7/Marbury.

I really like that deal.

Although the move puts us out of Contention for one of the big PFs, it gives us Marbury...I would take the kid out of Fla...

[jezmund]

I like those tradedowns as well but if there really is a #1 guy above the rest, we should go with him.

[Diesel]

That's the thing, I don't know if Howard is that much better than everyone else?

So JT/Nazr/CC and #1 for Marbury and #6 seems really good to me. However, since they have Stoudamire, I don't see them doing it.