Cenk Akyol making a strong impression

[KB21]

Cenk Akyol

Billy may look like a genius for taking this kid in a couple of years.

[thesheedera]

Billy will get the credit, but I think I remember a quote from him satying something to the effect of, he wanted an international guy with the last pick, and trusted the scout responsible for international players to pick the right guy. Anyone remember that? I could be pulling this out of nowhere.

[Final_quest]

That's from the ajc article written after the draft. BK didn't even know what the guys name was.

The BK worshipers will give him credit though.

[thesheedera]

I guess if Billy hired the scout, Billy deserves some credit too. I frankly don't care who gets the credit. If this guy can come in and be our star franchise PG in a couple of years, I'll give Stan Kasten the credit.

[Final_quest]

Totally agree. We got him, that's the important thing.

[Lascar78]

I agree also. The GM is responsible for drafting. He has all kinds of people doing work for him, but in the end it's his call. Regardless, who cares, really.

On to more important issues, is it just me or is Cenk not even touching the floor, hovering above it? Maybe that's his secret...

[WraithSentinel]

Bring him on over now. Why wait the extra 2-3 years.

[emeans]

I agree. Bring this kid over right now. I wonder if he is another Ginobili. It sounds like he has a similar game. This kid sounds like a steal. When can/will he come over an play for the Hawks??

[WraithSentinel]

When he was drafted. I was thinking he was going to be our version of Manu. Look like it could actually happen.

[Lascar78]

If he is another Ginobili, why not let him develop at the right pace, like, say ... Ginobili. A good reason for Manu's success was that he stayed abroad until he was 25, where he progressively improved until he was the star. He would not have benefitted from sitting on an NBA bench instead. Darko would be in a much better place right now if he had stayed.

Making the transition is hard enough, there's no reason to force it before the players are ready. Leave him overseas for AT LEAST a year

[KB21]

I think the plan is to give him 2-3 years of time overseas before bringing him over. He's only 18 years old right now.

[AHF]

Quote:

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If he is another Ginobili, why not let him develop at the right pace, like, say ... Ginobili. A good reason for Manu's success was that he stayed abroad until he was 25, where he progressively improved until he was the star. He would not have benefitted from sitting on an NBA bench instead. Darko would be in a much better place right now if he had stayed.

Making the transition is hard enough, there's no reason to force it before the players are ready. Leave him overseas for AT LEAST a year

---

I totally agree with this.

[emeans]

Will we still have rights to him in 2 to 3 years? How does that work? Can another team draft him?

[KB21]

We will hold his rights for as long as he plays overseas unless the Hawks decide to relinquish those rights. He cannot be drafted again.

[jaywalker72]

To those who want to dismiss BK for turning to his scout and making his pick, we need only look at Pete Babcock's lack of faith in his scouts when he passed on Tony Parker in 2001 because HE wasn't sure that Tony could play in the NBA, even though the scout assured the Hawks he was good to go.

Sometimes, trusting those you have put in charge is a successful trait in itself. If this guy pans out, you could thank BK for trusting his scout.

FYI--Pete learned his lesson when he drafted David Anderson in the second round in what would be his last draft as Hawks GM.