I know what happened last night.....

[Diesel]

Last night, Knight went into the draft Knowing that unless Livingston was available that we would not draft a PG...

So, when Livingston went down, Knight looked down his list. On his list was Chldress. I am happy that we choose Childress and Not Deng. Deng might have better size, but overall Childress have bettter game.

Then going down the line... #17 coming up. Remember Knight is resigned that he will not take a PG and really that he won't make a trade involving any of our 3 players that mean something. So at 17...

JS, JRS, Pavel, Monya, Harrison, and maybe KMartin were on his list. He chose Josh.

The thing about Josh is that he does have True SF size. If he works with the right coaching, maybe that bust label will be discredited. Still those were some of the meanest words ever uttered. For him it should be motivation. I hope it's not a reason to mope.

With Josh... IF we keep Diaw, I think Knight is considering 2 years to get him where he could be a star.. Kobe/KG style. At the same time, I believe that Donta will be a better player than Josh right now.

So, we may start off with: JT, Josh C, and Diaw as our first three. We need to stay tuned for 4 and 5.

I'm hoping for Arroyo, Swift, and Foyle out of Free agency... Along with guys we know.. Pryz, Collins...

[KB21]

There are a few players the Hawks might be interested in during next year's draft that fit the profile that Billy Knight has for a player.

Martynas Andriuskevicius is a long, active center that needs to work on his overall post game, but he can run the floor, shoot the ball, and pass the ball.

LaMarcus Aldridge is 6'11", 230 lbs, long arms, great athleticism, very active. With one year at Texas, he will likely be ready to make the jump.

Johan Petro, a 7'0" power forward/center prospect from France.

Chris Taft, a 6'11" power forward prospect from Pittsburgh.

[Lascar78]

yeah that's also why I'm glad we didn't force the issue. Babcock would have broken into a cold sweat and drafted Pavel at the 17 just out of fear of us not having big people. that would have been a huge mistake. I'm fine with our draft

[JB20]

I know what happened last night. Billy Knight smoked a bowl with Nique a few minutes before every pick. Nique then convinced them to take 4 SF's that combined might have as much talent as Nique did after he tore his achilles tendon.

[vonrauss]

Foolish foolish foolish...

That 17th pick would have been WAY better served by taking J. Nelson. I agree with JB20. Too many SF's. I liked the Childress pick, but then following that up with another SF made no sense.

Just plain dumb...

[Packfill]

Childress is going to play at the two guard.

[TheDude]

best available player..not position based...in the second round, you're looking for players that might actually make th team.

[Vafan]

What is all this love for Nelson. He has many shortcomings. His jumper is suspect, is short and has average athletic ability. Player of the year? Big deal, he is a senior and his team did well. But you got to give a lot of credit of Delonte West. Did you watch him play this year? He reminds me of Mateen Cleeves. Cleeves is not in the NBA anymore.

[cyman3]

i disagree

NELSON was 1st team ALL AMERICAN in 2004.

He won the John R Wooden Award as well as Naismith Award (accomplishment is similar to MVP of NBA)

Nelson was ESPN's and SPORTS ILLUSTRATED's national player of the year last year... beatin guys like OKAFOR (not to take anything away from okafor)

and if u think he accomplished these feat just b/c hes a senior... ur wrong

as a freshman, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED named him NATIONAL FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR (similar to ROOKIE OF THE YEAR in the NBA)

just answer this question... suppose the guy was 6'2 or 6'3"

where would he have been drafted?

i say, TOP 5! the dude is a leader, defender, as well as one of the best playmakers in the draft.

the ONLY knock on him is his average-shooting (which he can improve) and his height.

like the man said, if u think hes not as good as the others... blame it on his skill, not his HEIGHT!

in my opinion, hes a legit candidate for rookie of the year... esp playing for a team like ORLANDO where hes already marked as a starter.

[Blunt91]

Look like Jay Bilas said the 17thpick was strictly on potential down the road. I liked jameer to but let's face it Josh Smith has more potential of being a superstar than Nelson. Bilas also said the Hawks rarley take players who are great athletes like Smith. It is nice to have a change in picking our players now that Babcock is gone.

[cyman3]

dont get me wrong now... i hope JOSH SMITH proves me wrong and becomes the next Dominique Wilkens.

but as of now, it looks like hes nothing more than GERALD WALLACE (at best). and we all know what Nelson can give us... hes a sure thing.

and at the 17th pick, we're in a situation where we can pick a BIG SLEEPER...

i dont mind takin chances with 2nd rounders but at the 17th pick, i still think we shoulda went w/ Nelson (a sure thing... worst case, he'll be a solid backup PG playing 10 years in the NBA as a role player).

but ur rite- Smith does have potential to be GREAT... and i hope he does!