Bigger need: wing defense or legitimate C? Who do we draft?

[raleigh]

Here's a link to the draft thread from last year (started in April) for those that are interested in how the discussion played out last time. viewtopic.php?f=7&t=896686

Its sort of intersting to see how our preconceptions about players ended up shaking out over the course of the process.

Wow. If it wasn't for my total brainfart with regards to TJ Ford, I looked pretty good. LOL.

In my defense, there was clearly something going on in Ford's brain that none of us had access to. I was at least correct about trading Claxton/Law for perimeter depth. Didn't see the Jamal thing coming, though.

I was okay with just about any of the PG's, and would state the same today.

KB and I were definitely two of the loudest proponents of Blair, for sure. KB was screaming it...

Here's what I said:

Blair's coach said he never missed a practice in two years.

Seriously. If he's there at 19, he MUST be the pick.

[Skyhawk1]

We need a center in the worst way, or atleast someone that can hit the boards. The Hawks are getting killed on the glass when they play teams that have true big men.

+1

[evildallas]

^^^ Rereading the old thread shows that a bunch of us of were SURE that Dejuan Blair was going to be gone before we picked.

I'm just saddened by the lack of exploiting the 2nd round by the organization. The year before I (and others) was screaming draft night to try to get a late 1st or early 2nd to get either DeAndre Jordan or Mario Chalmers (Minnesota sold of the pick that could have been used for either of them). In 2009, it was Blair, Marcus Thornton, or Jon Brockman (picks moved that could have gotten any of them). There is value to be had and often people looking to get out of their draft spots either for cash or future picks. I didn't bring Jerebko, the other steal of the 2nd because I didn't see him coming as I don't get to scout Sweden.

[azuresou1]

If we're smart, we take Jeremy Lin. Not only can he ball well enough to be a solid backup a la JJ Barea (albeit without much upside), but it'd be a genius marketing move to draft the first Asian-American basketball player since... some guy in like 1960.

[Harry10]

for a late first round pick, you just get the Best Player Available. alot of late first round picks end up being out of the NBA in only a few years. so it is pretty lucky to get an NBA player in the late first round who can stay in the league for the next 10 years.

a few international players turn out to be good late round picks like Parker or Manu, but the majority of international players in the late first round end up being busts.

if you study the draft you will notice that the majority of successful late round picks are:

athletic
upper classmen
highly productive
come from big and good basketball programs
American
tend to be Forwards

such players like ; Taj Gibson, Darrell Arthur, Carl Landry, Glen Davis, Jared Dudley, Creig Smith, Brandon Bass, Jason Maxiell, David Lee, Ronny Turiaf, Josh Howard, Tayshaun Prince, Carlos Boozer

Gani Lawal is the only guy i see the in the late round that fits the criteria and probably has the highest chance of success. he is athletic, highly productive, is NBA ready, and knows how to play in high pressure situations because he is from the ACC.

[killbuckner]

Azur- you and I are just different. In that situation I would always take the player I thought had the best chance of succeeding. I think you can always work out a trade later on if you have a surplus in one area. The key is to have players that can produce- once you have that you can flip them for whatever you need.

To me trying to fill a need in the draft is a big mistake because if the player doesn't work out then you are worried about blocking the player. If the Hawks had drafted Dejuan Blair not only would they have Blair on the roster but they would also have a better backup PG right now. (say Earl Watson)

[azuresou1]

I agree, we are quite different - I am not taking a 6'9 forward that will not see any playing time on my team, because my starting SF already only sees 29 minutes of playing time and there's no way a rookie is taking even more of his minutes. There is no trade value either for rookies that don't play, or at the least it is heavily discounted.

What part of we didn't draft Blair because everyone was concerned about his knees did you not understand? Sure, he's turned out well, but what if prior to the season he busted his knee again and never played again? Would you rather have nothing over Teague?

[killbuckner]

I would absolutely rather have 3 seasons of Blair than 4 seasons of Teague. Lets say that Blair is out of the league by his 4th season. How is that any worse than Teague being worthless this season? Do you have any doubt that if the Hawks currently had Dejuan Blair that they could trade him for a better player than Teague? When you draft a player you lock them into a reasonable salary for 4 seasons. After that its a crapshoot.

And if Blair were on this team I think it wouldn't be a problem to get him minutes. From day 1 he would have been the best rebounder on the team. The problem with Teague getting minutes is that he isn't capable of helping the team win. Blair is in a whole different category as he is already a useful NBA player. Seriously- what evidence do we have that Woodson will sit rookies that can actually help the team win? When Woodson has sat guys in the past- even after they move on we have seen that he was right to not waste minutes on them.

I just don't see the problem with having quality depth that you seem to. That seems like a nice problem to have where trying to wish and pray that Teague can fill a role on the team seems like a problem. If you get the best player then I never think you made the wrong pick.

[killbuckner]

Put it this way. When the jazz drafted Millsap they already had Boozer, Okur, and Kirilenko all of whom are probably best suited to play PF. Millsap was still able to get 18 minutes a night because he was a useful player. Do you really think that Millsap wouldn't have had any trade value with the way he played? When a player drops in your lap you don't worry about what position they play- you just draft them and worry about your "problem" later.

[raleigh]

for a late first round pick, you just get the Best Player Available.

Define that.

[Harry10]

^ most developed and most NBA ready

[Dedicated_76ers_fan]

I like a Jeff Teague for you guys. Bibby ain't gonna last forever and Jamal Crawford running ya team is da failz. You'll go back to playoff fodder if that happens. Teague will learn from Bibby, the under-rated winning PG(You should be happy to have a guy like Bibby). I wish we worked harder to bring Bibby into Philadelphia. How different would our team be with a 3pt shooting PG.

As for right now, what holds you guys back is that legit 5. I think that's your BIG need in the draft, and if possible to address it somewhat in the deadline.

If you get a legit banging 5, then it's ova. Neither CLE or Orl could beat ya.