So the Hawks win the lottery, who should we take and why?

[NBASupes]

For me, Ayton. Why my #2 overall prospect is the most physically talented and NBA ready prospect and most similar to Ben Simmons. Hes just the easiest to project in terms to project long term. Hes like a Shaq like player but for the modern era. It's hard to fail with a prospect like him. Personnel doesn't matter as much.

 

 

Edited May 14, 2018 by NBASupes

[kg01]

7 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

For me, Ayton. Why my #2 overall prospect is the most physically talented and NBA ready prospect and most similar to Ben Simmons. Hes just the easiest to project in terms to project long term. Hes like a Shaq like player but for the modern era. It's hard to fail with a prospect like him. Personnel doesn't matter as much.

 

 

What the ... he's your #2 so, if we win the top pick, you advocate taking the second-rated guy?

I selected #Ayton2A_town although I recognize his faults.  To me, it's easier to find a guy to pair him with defensively than it is to find a guy who could (emphasis on 'could') be a 1st option offensively.

He's the closest to potentially being an alpha so you can't pass up on him at #1.

[NBASupes]

17 minutes ago, kg01 said:

What the ... he's your #2 so, if we win the top pick, you advocate taking the second-rated guy?

I selected #Ayton2A_town although I recognize his faults.  To me, it's easier to find a guy to pair him with defensively than it is to find a guy who could (emphasis on 'could') be a 1st option offensively.

He's the closest to potentially being an alpha so you can't pass up on him at #1.

Bagley is my #1 guy but Ayton is simply more projectable to be a superstar. Bagley does need some things to be at his best. I would like a package of Bamba and Bagley. That would be ideal.

Edited May 14, 2018 by NBASupes

[NBASupes]

19 minutes ago, kg01 said:

What the ... he's your #2 so, if we win the top pick, you advocate taking the second-rated guy?

I selected #Ayton2A_town although I recognize his faults.  To me, it's easier to find a guy to pair him with defensively than it is to find a guy who could (emphasis on 'could') be a 1st option offensively.

He's the closest to potentially being an alpha so you can't pass up on him at #1.

Ayton is easy to pair for me. Just get a defensive minded forward with shot blocking skills but Ayton can defend in space, has natural hips in terms of movement and is a great rim protector without being a shot blocker. I just want him to play up to his athletic ability more in the NBA.

[kg01]

3 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

Ayton is easy to pair for me. Just get a defensive minded forward with shot blocking skills but Ayton can defend in space, has natural hips in terms of movement and is a great rim protector without being a shot blocker. I just want him to play up to his athletic ability more in the NBA.

Yeah, it's easy for folks to simply say he's bad on defense.  I think you have to dig a little deeper than that.  He has the physical tools to not be a defensive liability.  I just don't think he's really been coached at this point.  Miller (AZ) is an awful coach IMHO.  He's simply a recruiter, so I expect Ayton to show improvement once NBA coaches get their hands on him.

I disagree on Bagley being the top prospect though.  He's certainly the top athlete but ... he's just too raw to me.  Won't be able to out-athlete 6'6" slow(ish) centers like he did much of his time at Duke.

[Peoriabird]

I really think we need a productive center so I chose Ayton but would be very happy with Bagley if we end up at #2 especially since Bud is gone who couldn't coach a center if his life depended on it except to have them practice 3's

[NBASupes]

9 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Yeah, it's easy for folks to simply say he's bad on defense.  I think you have to dig a little deeper than that.  He has the physical tools to not be a defensive liability.  I just don't think he's really been coached at this point.  Miller (AZ) is an awful coach IMHO.  He's simply a recruiter, so I expect Ayton to show improvement once NBA coaches get their hands on him.

I disagree on Bagley being the top prospect though.  He's certainly the top athlete but ... he's just too raw to me.  Won't be able to out-athlete 6'6" slow(ish) centers like he did much of his time at Duke.

His coach had him playing PF next to a 7ft statue which of course got exposed by Buffalo in the NCAA tournament 

 

I think Bagley is the most talented player in this draft class and talent with BBIQ and work ethic has rarely failed in the NBA. I understand the questions that people have, can he be a top 5 overall player and the truth is. Maybe not unless he makes tremendous improvements on his shot and defense in general. But he will at least be a top 15 player and that's more than I can say about anyone in this class including Ayton.

Edited May 14, 2018 by NBASupes

[terrell]

I say Doncic because we need a starting 2 guard(scorer) with high potential....It also moves Baze to 6th man role.. Also, Doncic/Prince/Collins is a nice start to the "rebuild".. Then Trade up and take Wendell Carter, Or Robert Williams if Carter off the board.....................Go Hawks!

Edited May 14, 2018 by terrell

[Vol4ever]

Well since Bud is gone and his thing was to make a center a 3 point shooter maybe the new coach will properly use the BIGs.   

Ayton!

[kg01]

12 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

His coach had him playing PF next to a 7ft statue which of course got exposed by Buffalo in the NCAA tournament 

I think Bagley is the most talented player in this draft class and talent with BBIQ and work ethic has rarely failed in the NBA. I understand the questions that people have, can he be a top 5 overall player and the truth is. Maybe not unless he makes tremendous improvements on his shot and defense in general. But he will at least be a top 15 player and that's more than I can say about anyone in this class including Ayton.

Top 15 in the league?  At his size, he'd have to become like a Giannis-type but I don't see him having the handle for it.

9 minutes ago, terrell said:

I say Doncic because we need a starting 2 guard(scorer) with high potential....It also moves Baze to 6th man role.. Also, Doncic/Prince/Collins is a nice start to the "rebuild".. Then Trade up and take Wendell Carter, Or Robert Williams if Carter off the board.....................Go Hawks!

I see a lot of people penciling Doncic in at 2G but I think he's too slow for that.  To me, he's Hedo Turkoglu which means he's more a 3/4.  I'm way down on Doncic despite the gaudy numbers he has.  Translatability is a huge concern for me.  If we're looking for a 2G, considering how the game is called/played in 2018, I prefer Sexton over him all day and I don't even like Sexton that much.

You and I are on totally different wavelengths overall it seems.  For instance, I wouldn't take either Carter or Williams in round 1.  If I wanted either of them guys, I'd just sign Taj Gibson or pick up Isaiah Wilkins as an UDFA.

I'm not knocking your opinion, just giving you mine.

[terrell]

3 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Top 15 in the league?  At his size, he'd have to become like a Giannis-type but I don't see him having the handle for it.

I see a lot of people penciling Doncic in at 2G but I think he's too slow for that.  To me, he's Hedo Turkoglu which means he's more a 3/4.  I'm way down on Doncic despite the gaudy numbers he has.  Translatability is a huge concern for me.  If we're looking for a 2G, considering how the game is called/played in 2018, I prefer Sexton over him all day and I don't even like Sexton that much.

You and I are on totally different wavelengths overall it seems.  For instance, I wouldn't take either Carter or Williams in round 1.  If I wanted either of them guys, I'd just sign Taj Gibson or pick up Isaiah Wilkins as an UDFA.

I'm not knocking your opinion, just giving you mine.

Sexton over Doncic? Carter/Williams arent 1st rdrs? Ok then....Agree to disagree...Its all a crapshoot either way..................

[Spud2nique]

With Bud on board this question, there were two players that I target for us depending where we landed in the draft.

Doncic 

Mikal Bridges

 

Post Bud I’ve changed my targets a bit. Getting rid of Bud actually changes the scheme we’ve used for 6 years. Not sure what style Lloyd Pierce is coming in with, is it a run n gun philosophy used with his former teammate at Santa Clara and the Suns teams he had, or will he grind it down a bit and go tough D first and let the defense dictate the offense?

 

Since I have no idea what philosophy I would probably want the most publicized guys in the draft. Look, we are the Hawks, since Nique, we honesty haven’t had that marquee guy that the general viewer would be familiar with and watch. I’m going with the biggest potential+the biggest name and to me, 3 guys stand out.

1. Ayton- Didn’t you always want the Hawks to draft Shaq as a kid. Well, this guy is probably one of the most dominant guys since Shaq as far as being able to man handle guys. The biggest name for sure.

1A. Michael Porter Jr. consensus best player in high school for the longest time out of the Washington Area. Silky smooth wing that could translate into a dominant scorer. We haven’t had one since Nique. JJ yes, but he still wasn’t that guy. The back injury doesn’t concern me because he’s so young and he still played in the same year he had the surgery which tends to lessen its severity in my mind.

1B. Trae Young. Prolly the biggest name in college basketball this year. We’ve all seen him bomb 3’s and make passes. To those that think he’s Jimmer, believe me he’s not. The guys can spread the floor, name of the game today. Plus, all the college basketball networks wanted to get this guy on tv. He sparks interest in the younger population and that translates to ratings. Like a bunch of little wannabe Curry kids in the bay, kids in the ATL will be dawning his jersey in no time at all. WE WOULD BE ON NATIONAL TV A LOT MORE!

 

Now, Ayton with the 1st without question, but Porter and Trae are nice but I’m pulling a Celts/Sixers deal to slide down and grab one of these guys if that’s who I ultimately wanted. 3-5 pick range for Porter as in stands and 4-8 range for Trae as of now.

 

In any event, if we do indeed land tha 1st pick tomorrow night, we will have publicity that we haven’t had since...ever. Honestly since I’ve been following and I’ve been rooting for us to get ping pong balls to land Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning, etc. it’s never happened, if any team is due for recognition, it’s us!

 

 

GO HAWKS!!!!

[NBASupes]

55 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Top 15 in the league?  At his size, he'd have to become like a Giannis-type but I don't see him having the handle for it.

I see a lot of people penciling Doncic in at 2G but I think he's too slow for that.  To me, he's Hedo Turkoglu which means he's more a 3/4.  I'm way down on Doncic despite the gaudy numbers he has.  Translatability is a huge concern for me.  If we're looking for a 2G, considering how the game is called/played in 2018, I prefer Sexton over him all day and I don't even like Sexton that much.

You and I are on totally different wavelengths overall it seems.  For instance, I wouldn't take either Carter or Williams in round 1.  If I wanted either of them guys, I'd just sign Taj Gibson or pick up Isaiah Wilkins as an UDFA.

I'm not knocking your opinion, just giving you mine.

What I meant is, Bagley if his projection is accurate, is guaranteed to be a top 15 player. 

Bamba and Ayton have to overseed their projections map which can happen due to their size and athletic abilities. But Bagley has the best and most accurate projections maps. 

 

Doncic actually has the best projection maps but the NBA is such an anomaly league and Doncic is slow and cant defend. Maybe he could be great but what position can he defend. Hes not 6'10 like Larry Bird. Hes 6'7.

[DBac]

Doncic

[KB21]

So, there are people that still believe Michael Porter Jr is good?

[Flight]

2 minutes ago, KB21 said:

So, there are people that still believe Michael Porter Jr is good?

You got a legitimate reason to believe he isn't?

[KB21]

Just now, Flight said:

You got a legitimate reason to believe he isn't?

Several:

*He's not nearly the shooter he is hyped up to be (between 30-32% on three point shots in Nike EYBL and FIBA competition)

*He's not very good at taking people off the dribble.

*Poor defender

*Poor passer that doesn't look to move the ball.

[Flight]

Just now, KB21 said:

Several:

*He's not nearly the shooter he is hyped up to be (between 30-32% on three point shots in Nike EYBL and FIBA competition)

*He's not very good at taking people off the dribble.

*Poor defender

*Poor passer that doesn't look to move the ball.

1 - Sample size is too small for me to believe he's a bad shooter

2 - Judging from when? His not completely healthy return from a back injury??

3 - Outside of Jaren Jackson, Mikal Bridges and possibly Bamba, you can pretty much throw poor defender on anyone. And it's the NBA, majority of young talent aren't great defenders.

4 - First of all I have no idea where you're judging this from, second not only is he not playing a position that requires him to do a lot of distributing, he's literally never been on a team that had him in a role of anything less than being the primary scoring option.

 

He's only 19, he's 6-10, can handle the ball like a guard and finding ways to score is his strong suit. Our team lacks a player that can be a primary scorer and you want to ignore MPJ's obvious potential to be that because of some flaws you found watching him playing off an injury.....cool.

[KB21]

11 minutes ago, Flight said:

1 - Sample size is too small for me to believe he's a bad shooter

2 - Judging from when? His not completely healthy return from a back injury??

3 - Outside of Jaren Jackson, Mikal Bridges and possibly Bamba, you can pretty much throw poor defender on anyone. And it's the NBA, majority of young talent aren't great defenders.

4 - First of all I have no idea where you're judging this from, second not only is he not playing a position that requires him to do a lot of distributing, he's literally never been on a team that had him in a role of anything less than being the primary scoring option.

 

He's only 19, he's 6-10, can handle the ball like a guard and finding ways to score is his strong suit. Our team lacks a player that can be a primary scorer and you want to ignore MPJ's obvious potential to be that because of some flaws you found watching him playing off an injury.....cool.

Those flaws were present during his AAU and high school days.  If this 6-10 guy with guard like ball handling skills can't take 5-8 defenders off the dribble in high school, what makes you think he is going to be able to do it against grown men who are bigger, stronger, quicker, and faster than the competition he has faced?

[Flight]

2 minutes ago, KB21 said:

Those flaws were present during his AAU and high school days.  If this 6-10 guy with guard like ball handling skills can't take 5-8 defenders off the dribble in high school, what makes you think he is going to be able to do it against grown men who are bigger, stronger, quicker, and faster than the competition he has faced?

 

Where have you seen him not able to take players off the dribble?? In high school attacking the basket was literally a strength many acknowledged for him. Dude was averaging 37 points a game his senior season along with 14 rebounds. If you're judging him off of his high school performances he's a top 5 pick. 

You may want to do some homework on him before trying to belittle his talent because he's not a bad player at all. Half these dudes are 18-20 years old, they all have flaws and they'll all get better. They just need to be drafted to teams, cultures and situations that can develop them the right way.